My rabbits shed… A LOT!

Celeste5 · Dec 11, 2024

So, when I got my rabbits, I didn’t think about how much they would shed. I just cleaned out their cage and noticed just how much fur seemed to be going to waste. Now, as a homesteader and crafter I feel like there must be something I can do with all of that fur especially after another member here, Alaska Satin, told me in another post that rabbit fur out did any other material for heat retention. My rabbits are all short hair and a pretty standard size so they’re no angoras or anything but still. I just don’t know? One of my rabbits is also a Rex rabbit so his fur is REALLY soft. I was thinking I could collect it as pillow stuffing but that would take a long time to collect and it would defeat the purpose of using such soft fur. Do any of you have any ideas?

Alaska Satin · Dec 11, 2024

Celeste5 said:
So, when I got my rabbits, I didn’t think about how much they would shed. I just cleaned out their cage and noticed just how much fur seemed to be going to waste. Now, as a homesteader and crafter I feel like there must be something I can do with all of that fur especially after another member here, Alaska Satin, told me in another post that rabbit fur out did any other material for heat retention. My rabbits are all short hair and a pretty standard size so they’re no angoras or anything but still. I just don’t know? One of my rabbits is also a Rex rabbit so his fur is REALLY soft. I was thinking I could collect it as pillow stuffing but that would take a long time to collect and it would defeat the purpose of using such soft fur. Do any of you have any ideas?

I also hate to waste all that lovely fur when it's molted out. Most of my rabbits are Satins, so they have slightly shorter than normal fur (though not as short as rex), so we haven't tried to spin it. But I have collected the molted fur and used it for felting projects; our kids' art teacher loves the satin fur for felting, as it produces a piece with unusual sheen, and the undyed colors are more intense than normal fiber. I haven't tried to sell it but I imagine I could.

I haven't done it but if I had the time, I'd also use it as stuffing for quilted mittens. It really is a phenomenal insulator.

It also doesn't hurt to keep a paper bag of spare fur, to add to next boxes of does who didn't do as good a job of covering their bunnies as you'd hope. (I found that keeping it in plastic baggies caused it to mold.)

Celeste5 · Dec 11, 2024

Alaska Satin said:
I also hate to waste all that lovely fur when it's molted out. Most of my rabbits are Satins, so they have slightly shorter than normal fur (though not as short as rex), so we haven't tried to spin it. But I have collected the molted fur and used it for felting projects; our kids' art teacher loves the satin fur for felting, as it produces a piece with unusual sheen, and the undyed colors are more intense than normal fiber. I haven't tried to sell it but I imagine I could.

I haven't done it but if I had the time, I'd also use it as stuffing for quilted mittens. It really is a phenomenal insulator.

It also doesn't hurt to keep a paper bag of spare fur, to add to next boxes of does who didn't do as good a job of covering their bunnies as you'd hope. (I found that keeping it in plastic baggies caused it to mold.)

That’s a good idea keeping it for other does. I hadn’t considered that. I sell a lot of things on Etsy so I tried to find some rabbit fur that people were selling for felting to see if that was even a thing and couldn’t find any listings. I think I might have seen a couple for some really long, pure white angora fur but that was all. I don’t know if I was looking up the wrong things or what but maybe I’ll try selling some on Etsy anyway.

Alaska Satin · Dec 11, 2024

Celeste5 said:
That’s a good idea keeping it for other does. I hadn’t considered that. I sell a lot of things on Etsy so I tried to find some rabbit fur that people were selling for felting to see if that was even a thing and couldn’t find any listings. I think I might have seen a couple for some really long, pure white angora fur but that was all. I don’t know if I was looking up the wrong things or what but maybe I’ll try selling some on Etsy anyway.

Sometimes people don't know they need something until you offer it to them.

It never occurred to our art teacher to look for rabbit fiber, but when we we gave her some, she absolutely loved it. Since you're collecting it anyway, maybe if you priced it competitively compared to other fibers, you'd pick up a following.

Celeste5 · Dec 11, 2024

Alaska Satin said:
Sometimes people don't know they need something until you offer it to them.

It never occurred to our art teacher to look for rabbit fiber, but when we we gave her some, she absolutely loved it. Since you're collecting it anyway, maybe if you priced it competitively compared to other fibers, you'd pick up a following.

Ya, I like that idea. Thank you!