how many angora rabbit do you need

I was wondering , how many French angora rabbits do you need in your herd to do the spinning.. LEt say... making Christmas gifts every year and some for your self.. ( about 6 pairs of mitts and the same for scarfs and a vest ect) just to get a idea.. I know it will go further if you were to mix the rabbit fur with something else.. What is the best choice for that... How many rabbits would be enough to have to get enough for what I want to do.. and don't forget there will be some breeding going on so I will not get wool from that rabbit. just a idea would help

I was reading about this - here's the tread is-it-worth-it-t16055.html?hilit=Skein

Typically a rabbit will produce 2-3 rolls of 6oz yarn per pluck and sweaters require 4-6 rolls of yarn.

You can blend in a different fibre (sheep, alpaca, etc...) to stretch the angora and still keep the 'feel' of angora.

thanks Dood... soo. two rabbit to make one sweater per year.. then one rabbit to make one scarf kind of thing.. more rabbits that better. .lol

I've been trying to calculate that for some time I have not gotten anywhere near 6 oz off my angoras yet, more like 2-4oz. This guy after convention (if he goes) is good for quite a bit of wool. Can't wait. I do mine by yard.

At my previous level, 2oz of Angora only got me 80 yards. I'd need 4oz to make something useful. This latest yarn is much thinner, laceweight, and I expect to get quite a bit of yardage out of it, more like 160 yards for 2 oz. If I need 600 yards for a lace shawl, I need between 8-9 oz, 2-3 bunnies, 4 times a year.

I'd say a dozen at least. (mostly kidding. .......mostly)

MaryAnn, it depends How thick/thin you spin, how many plies you make the yarn out of. And, are you going to spin all you pluck, or just spin the prime length for your yarn, and use the shorter fiber to blend with other wools.

Also, how many plucks/shearings are you going to get each year? As for breeding, I would recommend breeding about 30 days after they blow their coat, then wean at 4-5 weeks so the doe doesn't loose too much condition in her coat.

Then, if you are in a high heat area, will it stay cool enough long enough to pluck/shear the spring coat, and keep the summer coat sheared for comfort in the heat? Then, can you let the fall coat start growing in or will the summer heat hang on so long that you have to shear in August too?

Of course, if you have the angoras in a climate controlled rabbitry, you should be able to get 4 coats per rabbit per year, even with breeding.

Get as many as you can house!!!!

I have five currently, and I'm always scheming on how to fit more. I prefer to spin angora straight, and so I always seem to be lacking. And as far as sharing, um, well, I'm not a fan of sharing my angora. I'm goin to try to be better, but I won't guarantee anything.

I think I was the one who messed dood up on how much they molt out. Most will do an average of 3 oz a molt, but I do have one super dense oversized (NOT overweight) doe who produces about 6 oz a molt. This was from a line where the breeder went for the best wooler French Angora she could breed out. My doe Rue was the last of a litter of 3, and man does she wool, but she also has a long list of show defects. Her half brother is from the same breeder but was from a different doe, and he gives about 5 ounces a molt, as his coat is much shorter than Rue's. Actually most my angoras are from that breeder, so they all wool close to the same. Only my new girls are down to show standards.

I do agree though that it depends on how you spin. I do have one skein that is only 6 ounces and about 520 yards. It took me forever, but I was very happy with it. You can spin a hundred skein yard wih the same weight. Hard to say how many you'll need. I still say get as many as you can

I have 35.... Or something.... I mean, yes you have the yarn production, but then you also have the colors.. The colors kill ya. I enjoy grooming, and I love my rabbits, but I am about at my senior limit.

My satins give around 2-4 OZ every 16 weeks, my English around 6 oz at the same time. More isn't always better, look at quality as well. That is the sole reason I don't have Germans (well, and the funky bodytype drives my show side nuts). I simply don't enjoy dehairing their fiber, or spinning it with the guard hairs. The Satins and English, I get prime beautiful useable fiber.

thanks everyone.. I still don't know how many I need to do what I would like. as there is to many factors involve.. I was looking for an idea range about. ..to make one sweater and two scarfs and about two mitts a year... pure French angora rabbit fur...

Frenchies you shouldn't have to dehair if you get good quality woolers. I've never dehaired any of my harvest and my projects always turn out nice.

The choco doe seemed to be mostly guard hairs, but Louet and the black buck (hereby known as Ansel) have a good amount of wool.

It's an added plus that I have the JWs. The new Siamese sable doe has gorgeous 4 inch wool, and this group tends to have long, thick wool. I haven't weighed it, maybe and ounce, but with the amount of woolies I have, they probably make 2-3 extra angoras. They do have a lot of guard hairs, but not enough that I have to dehair them.

sky.. are jersey close to the same as the French angora just bit smaller rabbit.. is there fur the same thickness.

Mary Ann's Rabbitry":1tfas3au said:

sky.. are jersey close to the same as the French angora just bit smaller rabbit.. is there fur the same thickness.

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Jerseys are a cross of Netherlands and French. They weigh about 3lbs, and the wool is very similar the the French. If it was not for the ear length, I would not be able to tell my 6 week old french from the 4 month old JW. Until the face grows out, they are very similar in face, the JW gets a bigger, blocker head. My french tend to have heads like the REx, although this buck has a face like the SF.

Sorry, I digress. The crimp of the wool is the same length, texture and density, but more guard hairs like Satins.

which one do you prefer .

I prefer my Frenchies to my new JW pair since the Frenchie's coat is typically longer, but I will say, those little guys do produce for their size. I wasn't going to keep the JW's originally as they were only bought as a rescue since their coat condition was so severe (I have never seen mats that big on an Angora, let alone something 1/3 their size...) but these little guys might just earn their keep. Not to mention that would finally give me a dwarf breed that so many people are currently after in my area. My other rabbits are 'too big' for most people to want to deal with...

The French.

Jerseys are easier to find, easier to sell, and easier to house by far, I can fit three in the space of one French, but it only takes one French to get that same amount of fiber. They both come in the same colors, and the temperament is the same. But not all Jerseys have the same wool mine do, SOP only requires 1.5 inches of wool, I have a leg up there, they are not bred for their wool, but all French should be.<br /><br />__________ Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:37 pm __________<br /><br />Same for me, finally a dwarf breed people want, and will serve some other purpose here besides looking cute.

oh. ok, thanks

skysthelimit":2gkvhsd1 said:

Same for me, finally a dwarf breed people want, and will serve some other purpose here besides looking cute.

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Yes!! Thank you, finally someone who agrees!