Angora under coat brush
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Jowsi002
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The best way to care for an English Angora’s coat is to use a force-air blower. Anything 1HP-2HP is best, and in my opinion finding one without a heat option is safer. Brushing/combing will break the coat and cause matting.
A lot of it depends on if it's a 'wooler' providing fiber for crafts or if it's a show bunny. As well as how many bunnies you have to groom. If it's a show bunny, then the air blower is the best. However, it is much more expensive than a comb and it's best to blow the coat outside since otherwise you get dust and dandruff and loose hairs everywhere.
Since the herd here isn't for show (we haven't had a bunny show on the island for years now), they get sheared down to near naked every three months or so. After they've been sheared, there's zero coat maintenance for the first several months. Then, a bit of combing with a long toothed steel comb (try the horse section at your local feed store) can get down into the lower layers of their coat and get any tangles there.
There's also a large variation in how much grooming any particular angora will need. We've been selecting easy care coats as one of the breeding criteria and that's made a huge difference as to how much grooming they need. Also, (although my actual hands on experience is limited) any hybrid - even an angora x angora hybrid between different breeds of angora - will have a much harder to manage coat. Some of them almost instantly matting right after grooming.
Since the herd here isn't for show (we haven't had a bunny show on the island for years now), they get sheared down to near naked every three months or so. After they've been sheared, there's zero coat maintenance for the first several months. Then, a bit of combing with a long toothed steel comb (try the horse section at your local feed store) can get down into the lower layers of their coat and get any tangles there.
There's also a large variation in how much grooming any particular angora will need. We've been selecting easy care coats as one of the breeding criteria and that's made a huge difference as to how much grooming they need. Also, (although my actual hands on experience is limited) any hybrid - even an angora x angora hybrid between different breeds of angora - will have a much harder to manage coat. Some of them almost instantly matting right after grooming.
@hotzcatz If you were in a cooler climate, would you shear as often? I don't have real winters like our canada friends, but I have weather that gets to the low 20's F. I have been toying with the idea of getting one wooller to play with. And I happened across some satins that were a kid project...they may be garbage, I have not seen them yet but they are pretty crazy cheap. I gather they were pets in a school, and they became a maintenance issue.
Satins, depending on the line can breed either molters, or need to be sheared. If it is a natural molter, which most are, you follow the coat for timing. The dense undercoat will start loosening at the neck behind the ears and progress backwards over the whole rabbit. You need to brush or pluck it out as it loosens. Typically this is every 3 to 4 months. French Angora are also molters. English Angora do not shed or molt (always the exception however) and they need to be sheared, and can be done as desired. Angoras that molt usually retain guard hairs and often the next coat coming in, so they are not really 'naked'. However it's at their convenience, not yours, like English.
Honestly I would rather it be at their convenience. I wouldn't want to leave a bunny naked in the winter! 
Thanks for the response.
Somehow the person with the cheap satins did not respond. I should ping them again, the ad is still up. However, I am still on the fence--I really worry about having time for grooming out mats. I would enjoy it, but my life is so busy right now. I might need to finish a few other projects first. This sounds like the kind of hobby to pick up once you are not still building fences, repairing roofs, and working 40h weeks away from home.
Thanks for the response.Somehow the person with the cheap satins did not respond. I should ping them again, the ad is still up. However, I am still on the fence--I really worry about having time for grooming out mats. I would enjoy it, but my life is so busy right now. I might need to finish a few other projects first. This sounds like the kind of hobby to pick up once you are not still building fences, repairing roofs, and working 40h weeks away from home.
I've heard that in France they use a depilatory feed (which isn't sold outside of France AFAIK) to get the hair to fall out. Then they brush the hair off and have a VERY naked bunny. They keep theirs in controlled climate areas and/or put a coat on them for a few weeks until more fluff grows out.
During wintertime here it can get down to the middle fifties (Fahrenheit) which is plenty cold for small bunnies. During winter, I'll leave about 3/8" of fluff on the bunny so they will be warm. They also have their little houses to go hide in which are warmer. Plus the girls live in big groups, so the one with a haircut can go snuggle up with a fuzzy one.
I'd thought EAs were one of the breeds who molted and it was the other fluffybuns who didn't? Well, whichever way, the EAs here molt and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. If I don't get them sheared on time, they molt and fluff gets everywhere. If they didn't molt, then the time to shear might be longer?
During wintertime here it can get down to the middle fifties (Fahrenheit) which is plenty cold for small bunnies. During winter, I'll leave about 3/8" of fluff on the bunny so they will be warm. They also have their little houses to go hide in which are warmer. Plus the girls live in big groups, so the one with a haircut can go snuggle up with a fuzzy one.
I'd thought EAs were one of the breeds who molted and it was the other fluffybuns who didn't? Well, whichever way, the EAs here molt and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. If I don't get them sheared on time, they molt and fluff gets everywhere. If they didn't molt, then the time to shear might be longer?
I know of a few lines of English molters, but because of the structure of their wool (the least amount of guard hair among the angora breeds) it makes them an even more high maintenance breed than if they hold onto their coat.
The majority of mats that develop in French and Satin is because owner's "miss" the beginning of the molt. All that released wool than clumps up as it is no longer attached to the rabbit, but also is prevented from falling off of the rabbit. The same structure that allows angora to be spun is the same reason it mats.
Angora take time. With lots of experience you can develop lines and habits that save you time, but in the end, angora just take a lot of time. They are labor intensive. Thats why angora is a luxury fiber. If you have the time, there's just nothing more rewarding in my experience.
The majority of mats that develop in French and Satin is because owner's "miss" the beginning of the molt. All that released wool than clumps up as it is no longer attached to the rabbit, but also is prevented from falling off of the rabbit. The same structure that allows angora to be spun is the same reason it mats.
Angora take time. With lots of experience you can develop lines and habits that save you time, but in the end, angora just take a lot of time. They are labor intensive. Thats why angora is a luxury fiber. If you have the time, there's just nothing more rewarding in my experience.
I'd heard all English were originally molters, but it was bred out of them when Florida Whites were introduced into the breed to keep the coat on them for show? But that was years ago, things are probably different now.
Some of the ones here have almost maintenance free coats. Others of them are way more work, but I have to occasionally use the high maintenance ones for breeding because there's a limited number here and I don't want them that far inbred. The ones with coats that aren't as dense are a lot easier to shear, some of the dense coats are hard to even get scissors into.
Do you find it difficult to get good breeding stock?
Some of the ones here have almost maintenance free coats. Others of them are way more work, but I have to occasionally use the high maintenance ones for breeding because there's a limited number here and I don't want them that far inbred. The ones with coats that aren't as dense are a lot easier to shear, some of the dense coats are hard to even get scissors into.
Do you find it difficult to get good breeding stock?
Molting had been bred out of the English breed, but as far as I know it was before they ever came to the US. Betty Chu would probably know as she currently holds the world record for longest wool with one of her English Angora. English lines that molt was more likely bred back into them in more recent times.
The German Angora which was developed from French and English Angora has never been a molting breed and they have been well established and documented since at least the 1920s.
High Maintenance can be the result of a number of factors, some being bad factors, but some being good too. Density of undercoat, which can make a coat a lot more difficult to maintain, also means more fiber being produced. I'd much rather feed a "difficult" rabbit and harvest 5 oz every 4 months, than feed the same amount for 2 or 3 oz. But, high maintenance can also be the result of poor quality of coat, a too coarse undercoat, not enough guard hair, etc. Thats why its really important to figure out what is making a coat more work than another. On the other hand an easy coat may be the result of too much guard hair, too little undercoat, lack of growth. These do makes coats easier to maintain, but as a fiber producer you don't want it either.
Good stock, truly good stock, can be difficult to find. I was really proud of my lines, especially my French, but RHD took so many of my rabbits. My vaccinated survivors will slowly help me rebuild, but, I will need to bring in new blood soon. Bringing in new stock will be great, but since I know exactly what I want it will take a long time to find it, unless I compromise with a lesser rabbit. I'm hoping my spring litters will have produced something at least that shows me I can pick up the pieces, but they're still 2 weeks out from their first evaluations.
We just had the Arizona State Rabbit Show. I was the only one that brought Satin Angoras. There were two exhibitors in French Angora, and there were three in English. This was the first year I've ever had competition in English. The closest other breeders I would consider are 12 - 16 hours drive away.
One of these years it would be wonderful to get to a big rabbit show! We don't seem to have them anymore on our island.
Sorry to hear about the loss of your stock, that sounds absolutely horrible! We don't seem to have RHD on our island (at least, not yet) hopefully it won't get here. How long had you been working on your lines before the RHD? I don't suppose the folks you got stock from before would have more? Once a rabbit is vaccinated for RHD does it then provide any protection to the kits?
We brought in six English angoras back in 2009 and that's pretty much been what we've had to work with. There was the original mother/son "breeding pair" that were my first two rabbits, but that wouldn't work for more than one more generation. That's when the three mostly unrelated pairs were brought in. Since then there's been two mainland bucks that were brought in by other folks and were bred to a doe from here and some offspring were obtained from that. Half new genetics, hopefully, although one of the imported bucks has no pedigree. There was also that Satin/German buck which was used but all the offspring from that have now been culled from the herd since they had miserable coats.
Most of the difficult coats seem to feel on the cottony side as well as mat more, so by breeding for silky coats, that seems to be increasing the maintenance free coats. I've not actually consistently weighed the wool harvests. I suppose I should, but usually it doesn't seem to happen consistently. Probably need a better scale, the one here is a food scale and is used for wool and rabbits although the rabbits have to sit in a basket.
Did any of the competitors at the show have stock you'd consider breeding into your lines? 12 - 16 hours away does seem like a pretty intensive road trip. That'd circle our island about eight times! At least it wouldn't involve air fares? Or is it the sort of trip to where air fares and rental cars makes sense? If there were a bunny show on the other end which would gather all the rabbit folks into one spot, that would be easier than driving for over a day to then go from place to place to see bunnies?
What age do you do your first evaluations on baby bunnies? Any specific points that you evaluate?
Sorry to hear about the loss of your stock, that sounds absolutely horrible! We don't seem to have RHD on our island (at least, not yet) hopefully it won't get here. How long had you been working on your lines before the RHD? I don't suppose the folks you got stock from before would have more? Once a rabbit is vaccinated for RHD does it then provide any protection to the kits?
We brought in six English angoras back in 2009 and that's pretty much been what we've had to work with. There was the original mother/son "breeding pair" that were my first two rabbits, but that wouldn't work for more than one more generation. That's when the three mostly unrelated pairs were brought in. Since then there's been two mainland bucks that were brought in by other folks and were bred to a doe from here and some offspring were obtained from that. Half new genetics, hopefully, although one of the imported bucks has no pedigree. There was also that Satin/German buck which was used but all the offspring from that have now been culled from the herd since they had miserable coats.
Most of the difficult coats seem to feel on the cottony side as well as mat more, so by breeding for silky coats, that seems to be increasing the maintenance free coats. I've not actually consistently weighed the wool harvests. I suppose I should, but usually it doesn't seem to happen consistently. Probably need a better scale, the one here is a food scale and is used for wool and rabbits although the rabbits have to sit in a basket.
Did any of the competitors at the show have stock you'd consider breeding into your lines? 12 - 16 hours away does seem like a pretty intensive road trip. That'd circle our island about eight times! At least it wouldn't involve air fares? Or is it the sort of trip to where air fares and rental cars makes sense? If there were a bunny show on the other end which would gather all the rabbit folks into one spot, that would be easier than driving for over a day to then go from place to place to see bunnies?
What age do you do your first evaluations on baby bunnies? Any specific points that you evaluate?
