I just got three pure bred angoras for fur, they seem fully fluffed out. At what point do you shave them? They are 3 months...

Raising for wool etc. not meat!

thx

Didn't the person you purchased them from tell you if they shed or needed to be clipped? or anything else? Angoras all have different "timing"

mine are all on a 3 to 4month (depending on the bun) cycle with shedding. When they start to shed, I pluck them.

clipping....you want to catch them before they really start to shed, otherwise you will end up clipping some of the new wool as it comes in.....and you end up with tiny little hairs that don't spin and spinners HATE.

generally...the wool is 3 inches or so....you also need to be careful not to clip them down so far that they're left too short of wool if you're going to leave them outside...imagine being covered in a nice warm parka..and then suddenly you have a thin sweater.

I would at least wait till they reach puberty

As I understand it, the breed of Angora affects when and how you harvest the wool. I'm not expert on the this but what breed are yours, CH? French, English, German... a mix?

French all white pure bred--they are sending papers.

Paid $20ea... two male one female.

Most of the big time Angora Breeders I know wait until one year to shave them down.

you need to do it before the coat starts slipping but no way would I clip babies mid winter ...

I am going to house them in the garage--much warmer!

the meat buns are outside

I would leave the coats on until they start to molt out. French angoras are most likely to have a molting coat. FA breeders like the molting coat because it gives better color bands in the chinchilla and agouti colored coats.

When they start to molt, time to shear. You can leave a 1/2 inch of coat length on the rabbit to keep them warm.

How long is the coat now? As mentioned before, ask the breeder how long the rabbits usually hold the coats before molting. This would be an average number of months, since even rabbits from the same litter can vary in molting cycles.

Hope that helps.
Have a good day!

nice to see so many of us agreeing

What consistent temp outside should it be for outside housed rabbits to be sheared? We're in FL and temps keep dipping. I know my guy (at 9 months) NEEDS to be trimmed but I'm afraid to do it and then have close to freezing temps again.

So at least at 9 months they need it LOL

Rabbits can handle cold better than they can handle heat. Leave about 3/8 of an inch of wool on the rabbit when you clip and they'll be fine. If you are concerned about freezing temps you can put a tee shirt on them or make a little pullover from the sleeve of an old sweatshirt. Cut little hole for the front legs to go through.

Or if you see freezing temps coming, you can put some straw in the cage for them to nest in.

Have a good day!

I want to get some angoras just so I can make them sweaters!

That's my main reason for wanting a Skinny Pig (hairless guinea pig).

I've seen some english angora people that let the wool get a foot long. The standard says ideal length is 3 1/2 to 5 inches and longer wool is not to be a consideration on the show table. I don't know why they do that.
My giant buck is about 7 months old and I have never clipped him. Its been in the mid 30's during the day and mid 20's at night. He is starting to yank it out in strings, so I think he is getting over heated. I am going to be clipping him very soon. His hair is probably 5 inches, guessing without looking.