Is it ok to breed two different type of angora

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I was thinking of breeding a French angora buck to the german girls... Would that be ok..

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

If you want good woolers, feel free to crossbreed! If you are breeding for show, not so much.

 

[skysthelimit]

Whatever works for you. All are good to spin, germans and french are closer to each other than french and english in relation to amount of guard hairs.

 

[DogCatMom]

They're your bunnies; if you like spinning or working with French x German Angora fiber, it's your privilege and your right, so long as they're healthy and otherwise fit bunnies!

But...if you're looking to $ell the fiber, that may be difficult. /putting on Spinner hat/

Spinners who have decided, through personal experience or experimentation, which breed of Angora fiber they prefer have worked through four and possibly five breeds: English, French, Satin, Giant (and German). I have English Angora combed top in hand and have French Angora en route to me via the U.S. Postal Service. So I'll soon be "two down, three to go" in the Acquisition phase of my experiment. (Psst: anyone who has 1 ounce of Satin, Giant, or German Angora fiber to sell, please PM me. thx)

If we consider the possible pairwise hybrids of these five varieties (breeds), that adds ten more potential experiments a spinner may need/want to go through to find her/his ideal Angora fiber as far as staple length, diameter of fiber, hand feel, needed twist, etc. If we look only at the ARBA breeds, there are four breeds + six potential pairwise hybrids. I'm not even going to go near color.... :shock:

There are spinners for whom "Variety is the spice of life," but there are also many spinners who, having found *their* fiber, simply want MORE of it--the same stuff, just more, please. And for whom four or five experiments are plenty!

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

thanks for the replies.......I don't show of yet.. so it is just for the fibre...german only comes in white.. so I will be using a white buck on the girls..I was just curious if I would frig up the fibre ,by breeding the two breeds together..

 

[PSFAngoras]

If you can get yor hands on one, a cross that is typically done is satin x French. I'm not sure how many generations or what work goes into it to get the satin gene out, but many people are trying to get the coat of a satin and the production of a French angora.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

PSf... it takes a long time to get the satin out and even still it throw backs here and there.. So I think I will stay clear of satins.. but thanks tho

 

[skysthelimit]

They're your bunnies; if you like spinning or working with French x German Angora fiber, it's your privilege and your right, so long as they're healthy and otherwise fit bunnies!

But...if you're looking to $ell the fiber, that may be difficult. /putting on Spinner hat/

Spinners who have decided, through personal experience or experimentation, which breed of Angora fiber they prefer have worked through four and possibly five breeds: English, French, Satin, Giant (and German). I have English Angora combed top in hand and have French Angora en route to me via the U.S. Postal Service. So I'll soon be "two down, three to go" in the Acquisition phase of my experiment. (Psst: anyone who has 1 ounce of Satin, Giant, or German Angora fiber to sell, please PM me. thx)

If we consider the possible pairwise hybrids of these five varieties (breeds), that adds ten more potential experiments a spinner may need/want to go through to find her/his ideal Angora fiber as far as staple length, diameter of fiber, hand feel, needed twist, etc. If we look only at the ARBA breeds, there are four breeds + six potential pairwise hybrids. I'm not even going to go near color.... :shock:

There are spinners for whom "Variety is the spice of life," but there are also many spinners who, having found *their* fiber, simply want MORE of it--the same stuff, just more, please. And for whom four or five experiments are plenty!

Yep, pretty much what I was saying on the other thread. I know I don't like English. I prefer French, but German is close, I would not refuse a mix, but some might.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I cant find a male .. so I might have to use a French angora.. I have till March to find one.

 

[skysthelimit]

Don't worry about it for now. I didn't have a male, so I had to breed the French to the english Crosses. And then I wound up with two bucks, so I can't breed them back to the new buck. Not sure what I will do, but I also don't know what type of coat they have yet. Atleast the German won't bring down your size like the english would.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

that's true sky.. the wool is almost the same and size is almost the same to .. THE GERman is a bit bigger tho.

 

[skysthelimit]

What size are your french?

My buck is about 10lbs, the the doe was about the same size. I did not realize how big they were until I got the new doe, and she's only 7.5. She looks like a baby compared to the other.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I am not to sure.. as I didn't weight them

 

[owlsfriend]

I crossed an English buck and Satin angora doe. I call the babies 50/50's because they are pedegreed on both sides. They look a bit odd and would not do well at show. They have clean faces and tufts of wool at their ear-tips. They have the silky feel of the Satins with the extra length of the English. I love it wool-wise. Also, I got a Lynx (color) out of the cross that I've not gotten any other way.

 

[Oceanrose]

I have mixed feelings on mixed breedings lol.

The fact of the matter is, you need to be breeding to a purpose and a standard. Purebreds keep us focused on that fact. There are also a lot of mediocre angoras hanging out. They matt easily, don't produce a lot of fiber, have poor temperaments etc.

That said: I do have some crossbreds here. The most common cross by far in this area is German-Satin. When properly done, 3-4 generations away, you get better length and density and also beautiful hand for the rabbits. I have a couple 12-15% German-Satins, and I have a lot of ARBA purebred satins who actually have German in them. I know where, and how much, most are registerable, (and registered) but IF I know they're there, I do inform people. Now, that said, I have a couple who is nice, but it wreaks havoc with the commercial type. I have very carefully selected rabbits with the best shoulders and rears, along with coats and I am ruthless as to what I keep. I strongly feel satins are as much a meat breed as a fiber breed and should keep that going.

Satin-French, yields you nothing more than more guard hairs. Most of my satins are pretty close to French in the amount of fiber, though it is finer and weighs a bit less. But 2-4Oz of prime is good.

English, depending on what you cross it to, can yield great results IF the English doesn't have a bad cottony coat. A friend just did a specific English cross to introduce a new color, and it's been fun watching their coats come in.

Selling hybrids, can be iffy too. Most people want purebreds period.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I am only want to breed French to the german.. I don't really like the English or the satin..

 

[skysthelimit]

English, depending on what you cross it to, can yield great results IF the English doesn't have a bad cottony coat. A friend just did a specific English cross to introduce a new color, and it's been fun watching their coats come in.

Selling hybrids, can be iffy too. Most people want purebreds period.

I got the FA/EA cross from CL. They weren't as big as french, had some wool in misc places French don't have, and it was matted and cotton like. Did not like that. At the time I had no FA buck, and I bred the FA to the EA/FA cross. So far, it looks like I got the FA wool and body but the EA size. I was hoping they were going to be does so I could cross them back to the FA, but thy are bucks, not useful to me, so they will probably be harvested them culled. The market here for woolers is low and mostly it's show people.