For plucking, I don't really use any special equipment. I have three bags handy, scissors, a sticky tag, and a permanent marker. One bag is just for the prime pluck (3" or more long, no debris or dandruff, with good fiber integrity. I pluck a small pinch of fiber, hold it by the ends, and give it a little tug. I want to see the fiber simply separate, leaving a nice long tuft in each hand. If instead, the coarse tips of the awn hairs break off near the tip, I know this will be a yarn that will shed badly when spun. To solve this issue, I remove the longer and coarser guard/awn hairs, and put them into the grade 2 bag which I use for felting. Then, I can put the remaining down hairs in the spinning bag, as they are usually not affected.) The last bag is for the junk fiber such as mats, dandruffy fiber from mites, fiber with chaff, soiled fiber, etc. This goes into the compost pile with the other garden debris, or can be used as a mulch mat under shrubbery, just keep the wool several inches away from the trunk.
If I see any hay debris or pilling on the ends of the fiber, I brush lightly before plucking to remove it. Otherwise, you're just wasting good fiber getting tangled in the brush. I personally start on the center back, take a small pinch at the very tip of the fiber, and gently pull. If the bunny is in molt, the fiber should come right out. If you like your fiber to be all aligned the same direction for spinning, I take a box, and lay the little clump I just removed from the bunny into the box. The goal is to keep all the clumps side by side, facing in the same direction, when a layer is finished, tissue paper is put on top of the layer, and a new layer is started. This is the most premium of fibers, has the best resale value. Be sure to only put prime fiber that is 3" or more in the box, the rest goes into a separate bag. This presentation of fiber will make it easier to spin the very fine lace weight yarns evenly.
That said, I actually spin much heavier yarn by choice (spins faster, knits faster), and I don't bother with the fancy box. I save old bread bags, turn them inside out to be sure there will be no bread crumbs in the wool, and just put each clump plucked into the bag. I can usually pluck several locks out before I need to put the handful into the bag, makes the plucking go faster.
Be sure to grab from the very tip, so you're not accidentally plucking out the new coat coming in (if there is one). Usually, by the time I've plucked a patch several inches across, I can clearly see the length of the new coat left behind. The color is usually darker, and it will be shorter than the molting coat. It makes plucking easier to see where you have been, and can compare the fiber length to know where to go next. I keep working from the center back outward in rings.
To keep the bun from getting too tired of me working only in one area, I usually will switch out to the face for a little while (not their favorite thing, faces are personal--same with feet and tail areas), do any necessary trimming on the cheeks, pluck the forehead, cheeks and ears (that fiber goes into the grade 2 bag unless over 3", I do have some buns that give prime crimpy fiber, even on the ears.)
After I do a bit on the face, they seem real happy to have me go back to the back area. I continue working my way down the sides. The belly wool is often shorter, finer, and crimpier. I save flipping the rabbit over until the bunny is getting really bored with the whole sitting still for plucking thing. Flipping them over on their backs tends to be calming, as pressure when lying on their back usually induces quietness. Sheep have the same effect when sitting on their rump, which is why sheep shearers capitalize on that trait and do most of the shearing with the sheep on its rump.
While on their back, hind legs facing my knees, head tucked under my left elbow (I'm right handed), I check the genitalia (extra points given to bunnies that keep their butt fiber clean), trim/pluck the feet (and yes, you do sometimes get English with prime fiber even on the feet, and I give extra points for that, but I don't penalized bunnies for getting some leg mats.) Trim the nails, and pluck the tail and belly. Usually, leg, tail and belly wool goes into the grade 2 bag. Pay extra attention to the area under the front legs, the fiber tends to mat there.
Some bunnies like to switch positions often, and I'll simply work from the back down on whatever side they choose to present, no problem. Other bunnies just take a nap on the lap, and you have to pick them up to switch sides, depends on the bunny, works for me either way.
For trimming, another angora raiser suggested Fiskars spring-loaded micro-tip scissors for any trimming that needs done, or for shearing.
https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-1905...rs+spring+scissors&qid=1683300632&sr=8-2&th=1 (No, this isn't a plug for this seller, I don't know anything about them, just was looking for a photo and description to use.) It took me a little while to get used to them being so sharp, I had been using the Fiskars blunt tip kids scissors. But, oh, are these spring-loaded shears fabulous for tired old hands. I can work on bunnies for hours with no tendon issues, what a joy! I used to use the full size Fiskars orange-handled scissors to shear my sheep, they kept an edge much better than the regular sheep shears.
When done, I put a sticky tag on the bag of fiber, and use the permanent marker to record the date; name, color and breed (Satin, English, etc.) of the bunny; I keep a ruler in my grooming bucket, and record the length of fiber. I also make notes about whether the bunny sat well or not, how easy the fiber released, if there was any sign of fur mites (if so, I use Ivermectin before the bunny goes back to its home), if there was any matting, and if so how much and where; color depth on the hairshaft and richness of color; anything else of note. It only takes a word or two for each item, if needed, you can always use a second sticker, or put a paper note in the bag.
When I use the fiber, I weigh the bag first, and record the weight on the bag. I set the bag aside until a quiet rainy day, and then record the information for each rabbit on my bunny spreadsheet. This is an invaluable resource later, when deciding which rabbits to keep/breed. You can see at a glance how much usuable (prime pluck) fiber each bunny is producing, how easy they were to deal with, how easily the fiber released, any health issues. . .It's funny when you realize that some mousy individual that didn't catch your eye is actually producing the twice the usable fiber as some favorite bun that just keeps matting up.
