Finding out Time: 5 minutes
By Jacqueline Harp – Angora rabbits can be an lovable and productive addition to a homestead as a result of their incredible functionality to supply a fiber that is extraordinarily sought-after by hand spinners and mills. Sooner than leaping into elevating Angora rabbits, nonetheless, it is vitally essential perceive that it is a wool-yielding animal, subsequently, fixed grooming and care is required to supply healthful rabbits and usable fiber. The fiber produced by an Angora rabbit is called Angora wool. Angora wool makes luxurious yarn, prized for its softness and warmth.
Meet the Rabbits
The American Rabbit Breeders Affiliation acknowledges 4 breeds of Angora rabbits — French, Satin, English, and Giant Angoras. On account of most people enhance Angoras for his or her wool, it is vitally essential select the breed that meets your fiber needs.
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A French Angora weighs between seven-and-a-half to nine-and-a-half kilos. It has an oval-shaped physique, and its face, ears, and legs are wool-free. The coat is offered in numerous colors, along with the “broken” pattern — a white coat with spots of shade. The wool is light, with an excellent amount of guard hair all via the fleece. Guard hair makes grooming less complicated, and it supplies a radiant “halo” look to yarn spun from the fiber. This rabbit produces about 4 to 16 ounces of wool. Wool can be harvested by shearing, nevertheless on account of the French Angora sheds naturally (molting), their wool might be harvested by plucking.
A Satin Angora weighs between six-and-a-half to nine-and-a-half kilos. It has an oval-shaped physique, and its face, ears, and legs are wool-free. The coat is offered in many colors. The wool has a pure shine, normally described as “holographic.” Thus, yarn spun from Satin Angora fiber exhibits an excellent wanting sheen that is just about three-dimensional. This rabbit produces solely about eight ounces of wool, making the fiber unusual, and it directions prime buck from fiber lovers. A Satin Angora can be sheared, or plucked when molting.
An English Angora weighs between 5 to seven-and-a-half kilos, making it the smallest of the 4 Angora rabbit breeds. It has a spherical physique with wool furnishings overlaying the entire physique. Furnishings are the tufts of wool found on the face, ears, and legs. The furnishings give this rabbit a nice, residing pom-pom look when in full coat. The coat is offered in many colors. The wool has minimal guard hair, making the yarn spun from it the softest of the 4 Angora rabbit breeds. The furnishings and lack of guard hairs make English Angoras slightly little bit of downside to groom, as a result of the wool tends to felt on-body. This rabbit produces 4 to 16 ounces of fiber. An English Angora can molt, so its wool can be harvested by plucking or shearing.
A Giant Angora weighs over nine-and-a-half kilos, with some reaching 12 kilos, making it a very powerful of the 4 Angora rabbit breeds. It has an enormous, spherical physique, with flippantly furnished face, ears, and legs. White is the primary coat shade. Each Giant Angora offers three sorts of wool: constructive under-wool (moreover known as down), awn fluff, and awn hair. If the awn hair is especially coarse, it might be eradicated by a mill in a course of known as “dehairing” sooner than being turned yarn. The three fiber varieties in a Giant Angora’s wool are generally blended collectively to create a strong, nevertheless very light yarn. This rabbit produces one to 2 kilos of fiber per yr. Giant Angoras can’t molt, thus, their wool can solely be harvested by shearing.
Housing
Angoras require lots a lot much less home than greater fiber-producing animals equal to sheep or alpacas. Each rabbit needs acceptable cage home, known as a rabbit hutch, normally 30”x30”x18” for an English Angora, the smallest of the 4 breeds; add home for greater rabbits. Housing must be properly ventilated, nevertheless not drafty, with sufficient lighting and security from the climate. Having a protected play house or lined run the place your Angoras can get supervised prepare can be a nice perform.
Cleanliness is a important subject inside the care of any rabbit. Cages must have a bunch pan for droppings that must be emptied every single day. To cease sore hocks, each cage must have a plastic sitting board, and that board must be cleaned every completely different day. Rabbit feed and hay must be saved free from pests equal to mice and raccoons, which could harm feedstuffs and unfold sickness.
One different useful aspect of Angora rabbits is that every one their pure waste — urine, poo (known as pellets), and hay — makes glorious compost supplies for the yard. Dried Angora pellets can be sprinkled immediately into the yard, or bagged and acquired to gardeners. Angora rabbit urine should be composted sooner than use.
Feed and Water
To water your Angoras, suspended water bottles are the easiest, as they protect chin and throat fibers from turning into moist and matted. A four-inch-wide small animal feeder for pellets is easy to scrub and prevents meals waste. To have the ability to produce prime quality wool, Angoras need a extreme fiber meals plan with not lower than 18% protein. Pre-made pellets might be discovered, otherwise you presumably can formulate your private mix. Extreme-quality hay must be accessible all the time in your Angora to nibble on, and using small animal hay racks minimizes waste. Likelihood is you may wish to current a small little little bit of unsweetened, dried papaya as quickly as each week as a digestive help and preventative for wool block. Angora rabbits love treats, nevertheless use them sparingly. A slice of latest apple is a welcome sight for an Angora after a grooming session.
Angora Wool Care
Grooming might be essentially the most very important ingredient in caring for Angora rabbits. A well-groomed rabbit offers usable fiber and stays healthful. As a fundamental rule, Angora rabbits must be flippantly brushed not lower than as quickly as each week, and plucked or shorn as quickly as every three months. Wool can be harvested by shearing mechanically with electrical shears or sharp scissors, by hand with combs, or by plucking the fibers by hand all through shedding season. With cautious coping with, all methods of wool harvesting might be a protected and optimistic experience for the Angora rabbit.
Checking for Allergy signs
It must be well-known that some individuals are allergic to Angoras, very like sensitivity to cat or canine hair. Angoras are self-grooming, and their saliva collects on the wool; some people may be delicate to it. Alternatively, Angora rabbit wool is lanolin-free, making it a nice fiber for a lot of who’re allergic to sheep wool. Sooner than bringing Angoras to your homestead, it is going to be sensible to substantiate that you simply’re not allergic. Furthermore, it is a good observe to label fiber merchandise comprised of Angora wool so these with Angora wool allergic reactions can choose to stay away from these devices.
Conclusion
When considering Angoras in your homestead, you solely need a small home and a few Angoras to convey magnificence and productiveness. Likelihood is you may want to start with one rabbit, to be taught the care and grooming whereas benefitting from the fiber harvest and added fertility in your yard. Whereas Angora rabbits do require a conscious technique to their administration, the rewards are properly worth it.
Initially printed in Countryside January/February 2022 and normally vetted for accuracy.