What breed of Angora?

Rabbit Talk  Forum

Help Support Rabbit Talk Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BlueHaven

Well-known member
Joined
May 3, 2015
Messages
275
Reaction score
3
Location
Indiana
I love to crochet and have decided to get an angora rabbit just for a wooler. While I am a pet groomer and know the upkeep I have NO experience with angoras at all. I raise rex, so this will be new for me.
I love the look of the Satins but have heard the are spastic and jumpy, The english look daunting they have so much hair, and the french look a little I don't know,, dry? What breed to you like and Why?
 
To look, at I like the satins. Their wool is finer than the rest, so it's harder to groom and gives less wool. French angoras or german angoras would be the best for wool production, I think.
 
I have both French and Satin, and I like both breeds. I think they each have their ups and downs.

French are certainly huge fiber producers, but so can most Angora breeds be if you get into the right lines. I was slightly disappointed with my oldest doe for producing only 5.5 ounces this molt, but that's still a good harvest when it's usually estimated that they give only a pound a year. Also, well socialized French are usually comparable in temperament to a giant pillow. As far as fiber texture thy are supposed to be a coarser wooled rabbit, and if you have sensitive skin, the guard hairs that create the halo can irritate you. As far as size, I have oversized lines that finish out between 11-13 pounds usually, and though it's too large for show, I just processed some Jr's that I bet were at 5 pounds at 11 weeks, which is pretty impressive for also having to grow all that wool.

As far as satins, I'm still fairly new to the breed. The coat is so silky soft and shiny, but they do produce less and I feel like they mat easier, though admittedly the mats are also easier to remove with how slick the wool is. The three adult rabbits I have are from two different breeders, and they were well socialized, so the temperament is very similar to French, the only exception being that they don't stay still when you go to pick them up. They do try to get away, but once you have a solid grasp on them they settle down. Otherwise, they also come to the door for pets, take treats from your hands and sit well on the grooming table. No crazy tendencies to fly off the grooming table or to bite or anything stupid. I think temperament is more based on lines and how they're handled when young. I am surprised by how small they are though. The largest doe is only just over 7 pounds, but they are compact little rabbits, so if meat is an option further down the road they wouldn't be useless, just smaller.

As far as spinning, I enjoy spinning Satin and French pretty much equally, so I feel like it doesn't much matter there. Although I will say if your after that pretty sheen in the Satin coat you may stay away from certain colors like black at the start. Like I said I'm just starting, and though I can see the sheen of the fiber amazingly well on my REW, and pretty well on my chocolate chin and her chocolate kit, I can't see if at all on my black bucks, though I've been told my breeding buck has nice sheen. It looks almost the same as French to me, just softer coated. :)
 
In Indiana you have access to some really nice breeders in Angora from other areas of the Midwest. Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois all have reputable breeders with good fiber lines. Although I can't think of any in Indiana specifically at this second.
I have French, only. I did have an English about 10 years ago, and I adored her, and have enjoyed spinning her wool, but, the grooming on the face and ears is just an additional chore, imo, if you want a rabbit that is a wool producer.
I find the French to not only be a nice sized rabbit, with excellent wool production, but also a good docile temperament, when socialized properly. Add that you have more color variation than in any of the other breeds, and I can find no wrong. LOL!
Although the English may appear to have a lot of wool, and don't get me wrong, they do, the French actually has more. It is a larger rabbit, with a good staple length that will likely molt for you every few months. You can still get a 5 - 7" staple in those few months with good care, it's wonderful.
 
Ok I found a 5 month old chocolate agouti buck. He is very sweet. He was shorn before I picked him up and she spun his baby coat. She did not want much for him and he is pretty but a tad on the small side. He does have some hard mats on his feet so (I am a pet groomer so I can get them out I am sure) I will be working on him all week to slowly get these out.
How long could his fur grow back by say nov? Any chance of getting him on a show table with decent coat by then? I will be on the look out for a really good doe for him IF I can get his weight up to the standard by november. He does have some larger ones in his ped but he also has some that are small as well. HE could use a tad of weight so will just slowly build him up to the way I feed, and see if he improves in the next month or so. I love a project.phpUHk22CPM.jpg
 
BlueHaven":wu4inwtd said:
Ok I found a 5 month old chocolate agouti buck. He is very sweet. He was shorn before I picked him up and she spun his baby coat. She did not want much for him and he is pretty but a tad on the small side. He does have some hard mats on his feet so (I am a pet groomer so I can get them out I am sure) I will be working on him all week to slowly get these out.
How long could his fur grow back by say nov? Any chance of getting him on a show table with decent coat by then? I will be on the look out for a really good doe for him IF I can get his weight up to the standard by november. He does have some larger ones in his ped but he also has some that are small as well. HE could use a tad of weight so will just slowly build him up to the way I feed, and see if he improves in the next month or so. I love a project.


If he was shorn just now, he'll be in full coat again by July at the latest. He'll likely molt in August and be back in full coat or just molting in November. You'll find out what his pattern of growing and molting a coat is soon. However, he may not have been ready to molt, so you may see some coat growth, and then he'll molt. Junior coats are a bit funny.
At 5 months he's still at junior weight, and that's ok. I would expect him to hit his mature weight at about 8 or 9 months, but by 6 months he should be at least 7.5 pounds.
 
Back
Top