Housing? How fast does the hair grow?

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I am getting closer and closer to taking the woolie plunge! I am not sure about housing though. My current rabbits are pretty standard meat breeds and are housed in hutches tucked back in the trees and I use shade cloth in the warm months plus a fan to keep air circulating (so the heat doesn't build up anywhere). I am thinking that won't work for an angora, and I am pretty sure DH won't go for a basement set up due to the fluff that will, I'm sure, spread.

Also, how fast does the hair grow? How often do they get trimmed (looking at FA)?
 
I am looking too, and am talking to breeders. All of them are really firm on the fact that they need an indoor, temp controlled setup. I have a temp controlled mini barn so I am good to go. Hope you can hide yours in the basement. Some of them use a bedroom that is set up for them. Doubt it would work for me, but they seem to be able to pull it off.
 
My FA are now in a back bedroom, 5 does with two litters and on my back enclosed porch, 3 bucks and 3 grow outs. In southern AZ, its pretty much a given that they're going to need A/C at some point. Although, 2-liter bottles filled and frozen and refrigerated ceramic tiles to lay on during the heat of the day can do an awful lot with temp management. I used A/C once already during a warm week we've had this year, but, otherwise the tiles and bottles have worked well. They always have a fan on them, and I think that does just as much as anything else.
You could theoretically keep them shaved during the warmest months, but, Angora wool is an insulator, and it keeps them cool and warm.
As far as fluff, you're not going to see it loose around their hutches except when molting. And if you're already keeping them well groomed, you'll have harvested most of what is going to come out as it comes out. Where you choose to blow them out, if you choose that route, is where you're going to see a lot of errant wool. And, grooming and handling them, is when you find yourself with wool in your mouth, eyes, nose, etc... LOL! So, long winded way of saying their hutches are as messy as the average hutch. The grooming area is the messy place.
 
Ours live outside under a shady tree with tradewinds usually blowing through. But our high summer time temps get maybe up to ninety. I'll usually shear the herd in late July or early August so they'll be cooler for the two hot months we have.

They get sheared or plucked about three times a year. The ones here are English and of molting lines so plucking is an option.

Depending on the density of the coat, you can shear them with horse clippers but if the coat is too dense, then the clippers can't get in there to clip. Usually I default to embroidery snips - the small ones that look like hand held sheep shears.

If you do get loose hair stuck on the hutches, some breeders us a blowtorch to burn it off. Doesn't take much to burn hair. But that also means you're losing part of the 'harvest', if there's loose hair stuck on the wire.
 

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