Angora 101

[Cattle Cait]

I just got my first pair of French Angoras. I LOVE them, but I have no clue what I'm doing. So...

1) How often should I groom them? I've been doing it every day, but I've only had them for about a week.

2) How do I prep them for a show?

3) Do I NEED a blower?

4) My aunt told me that when I breed the doe I have to cut off her wool so that when she pulls hair it doesn't make too big of a mess. Is that true?

5) I also heard that once they've been "sheared" that they can't be shown because the length will be off. Is THAT true? These both have been sheared regularily before I got them, they were purely fiber animals.

Thanks!<br /><br />__________ Sat Dec 03, 2011 10:37 am __________<br /><br />C'mon, I know someone on here has Angoras.

 

[Secuono]

1) As often as they need it. I'm sure you can start to skip a day and see how they do. Brush them out, skip 2 days. Compare and choose the frequency based on the individual rabbits tenancy for bad hair days.

2) Can't help w/that one.

3) I'm going with no, but it would shorten the drying time. Otherwise, they will need to be carefully towel dried and kept indoors until fully dried, then brushed out.

4) I'm not sure how long their fur is, but it makes sense to trim it to a shorter, easier to manage length right before the breeders kindle. Just the underside of the rabbit should be good.

5) I've been told it messes up animal's fur texture, but I don't buy it. It would take longer to fill out and regrow to its original length for sure.

 

[arachyd]

As to #3...what drying time? Are you planning to bathe them? The blower is to blow any mats out of the hair. It's much easier on the coat than a brush would be and makes it simpler to get tangles out before they get bad. I have English angoras and I use the hair dryer on the cool setting to fluff the coat but many of the tangles can be worked out with fingers and a comb if you keep up with regular grooming.

 

[DumansArk]

CONGRATS!! Ohhhh, angoras are so beautiful! I don't have angoras, but with this little woolie mix guy I ended up with, I am looking at my ShopVac's blower attachment thinking... hmmmmm

I haven't tried it with him but if you don't have a hair dryer with powerful enough air flow the ShopVac will do - don't know how they will handle the noise though. This little guy I have thinks he's Superman but if the new angoras are nervous about their surroundings in this new place maybe this isn't the week to try this ;D

 

[opie7441]

We dye and spin our angora wool. Love doing that.
As far as less desirable wool and matted wool, we save for mama's and babies. All breeds of mama's will take it, we haven't had one reject it yet.

 

[AnnClaire]

I just got my first pair of French Angoras. I LOVE them, but I have no clue what I'm doing. So...

1) How often should I groom them? I've been doing it every day, but I've only had them for about a week.

Probably only once per week ... the FAs have more guard hair and that helps keep them relatively mat free.

2) How do I prep them for a show?

Not much help here, but show coats do better without brushing ... see next reply

3) Do I NEED a blower?

If you want to show, you will probably WANT a blower, and show coats do better with blowing and not brushing. Also, do NOT wash or wet an angora rabbit ... use corn starch or baby powder to remove stains.

4) My aunt told me that when I breed the doe I have to cut off her wool so that when she pulls hair it doesn't make too big of a mess. Is that true?

Actually, you will want to trim her belly fur so the kits don't get tangled in long hair while nursing and to clear the teats for them to find. For breeding, you might want to trim her tailgate so the buck can make the connection. And, finally, you might want to trim her dewlap fur to 1/2" so when she plucks it for the nest, it doesn't get wrapped around the babies and cause amputations of limbs or strangles them. If you don't trim this fur before kindling, take a pair of scissors and snip the fur in the nest. My satin doe will actually reach through the cage and pluck fur from the angora buck for her nest :lol:

5) I also heard that once they've been "sheared" that they can't be shown because the length will be off. Is THAT true? These both have been sheared regularily before I got them, they were purely fiber animals.

Some breeds require shearing so that isn't quite true. However, shearing can cause a molting angora to have a ragged look while growing out. Find out from the breeder whether your FAs are molting or shearing type and treat accordingly. I shear my EAs once per year and pluck the other 3 times.<br /><br />__________ Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:42 pm __________<br /><br />I use a shop vac on my EAs no problem. I do it OUTSIDE though, so the noise isn't a problem for them. And, in the winter, when it is cold, I finish them off with warm air from a blow dryer so they don't have to spend so much time blowing into their coats :lol:

A friend's son used her shop vac on one of their mini's and luckily she was watching as the nozzle was pointing at the poor bun and sent him sailing ... and she caught it unharmed :lol:

Some shop vac models have a reducer nozzle that you can get, but if for EAs or other full size angoras, just be careful and sheild their eyes and ears when doing the front end.

 

[SarahMelisse]

I'd have to second NOT washing angoras. As far as a blower goes, the blowers made specifically for rabbits are expensive ($100+). I use a small shopvac ($25) on reverse. Keep in mind that I bought it just for this reason and it has never been used for anything else. Just a thought.