Mlferro54R
New member
How people use the lionhead for wool? I use our non-showables for what wool the have any ways. And how many people have Angoras like in Oklahoma or Texas, do ya'll have them inside w/ AC or trimmed and they stay outside?
Lionheads for wool? And angoras in the south heat?
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ZRabbits
Well-known member
Welcome to Rabbit Talk. Have Lion heads myself. More for my pleasure. They are inside and have enjoyed the A/C this hot summer. Yes, they are spoiled bunnies, lol.
Hopefully someone will come on here that raise Angoras to give you insight on the best way to keep them cool during the hot months. I think keeping them trimmed and outside during the hot months won't harm them at all. A/C not needed.
Lots of good info here at Rabbit Talk. Great people here too who are very helpful.
Karen
Hopefully someone will come on here that raise Angoras to give you insight on the best way to keep them cool during the hot months. I think keeping them trimmed and outside during the hot months won't harm them at all. A/C not needed.
Lots of good info here at Rabbit Talk. Great people here too who are very helpful.
Karen
Hi I have english angoras in NW Oklahoma and they are outdoor bunnies. They are sheared 3x over June, July and August. Then I let the coats grow for the winter and they will shed 2-3x before the heat comes on next summer. In the winter, I pluck rather than shear so that when it is done, they still have the new short coat coming in, and I also provide a hay box in their cage plus a 6mil plastic sheet over the open side of the shed at night to help keep the warmth in. In the summer, I also have runout pens on the ground so the buns can move around as they want in the heat of the day and I wet the pens down in the morning and mid-afternoon to help with cooling.
We keep ours outside but they are in the shade of the tree and have access to the tradewinds to keep them cool. They have shelter to get out of the wind if they want and a place to be in the breeze, too.
It doesn't get as hot here, though. Never gets to the extremes of temperature like the mainland does so the rabbits seem pretty happy outside. September is the warmest month (on average) and the highest recorded temperature was 91°F / 33°C in 1965. On average, the coolest month is February and the lowest recorded temperature was 55°F / 13°C in 1951. So, outside under a tree works pretty well for the buns.
They get sheared or combed out (easier than plucking, just comb the wool off with a wire toothed comb) as soon as their coat begins to slip. Sometimes if we need fiber, they get sheared more often.
It would seem you'd be able to use the fiber from a lionhead although there wouldn't be very much of it?
It doesn't get as hot here, though. Never gets to the extremes of temperature like the mainland does so the rabbits seem pretty happy outside. September is the warmest month (on average) and the highest recorded temperature was 91°F / 33°C in 1965. On average, the coolest month is February and the lowest recorded temperature was 55°F / 13°C in 1951. So, outside under a tree works pretty well for the buns.
They get sheared or combed out (easier than plucking, just comb the wool off with a wire toothed comb) as soon as their coat begins to slip. Sometimes if we need fiber, they get sheared more often.
It would seem you'd be able to use the fiber from a lionhead although there wouldn't be very much of it?
ZRabbits
Well-known member
AnnClaire":12tg3fw8 said:
lol, especially with a strong "DM" gene.
Karen
KKRabbitry
Well-known member
We raise a few English Angoras, in the central part of Oklahoma.
We just added AC this summer, before that they were in a barn that is pretty well insulated.......so it stayed a good 10 degrees cooler then the outside temperature.
It probably got up to about 90 in there. They did ok, we kept them clipped, and used ice bottles and fans. But it is hard on them.
Definitely no breeding during the Summer, try not to stress them, and keep them on their feed. A big thing is making sure they have cool water at all times. Those bottles heat up fast. We provide bowls of water in their cage, as well as water bottles....we've found the tend to drink more that way.
The first year we had rabbits we kept them in a shop that was not insulated, so it got HOT. We did lose two rabbits that year, although surprisingly all the Angoras made it. Still, it was so stressful on all of them, we were finally able to move them to the insulated barn. Even there it was hard to keep them cool, so we saved our pennies and this year we added an AC. No more stress on the bunnies, no more stress on us!
We just added AC this summer, before that they were in a barn that is pretty well insulated.......so it stayed a good 10 degrees cooler then the outside temperature.
It probably got up to about 90 in there. They did ok, we kept them clipped, and used ice bottles and fans. But it is hard on them.
Definitely no breeding during the Summer, try not to stress them, and keep them on their feed. A big thing is making sure they have cool water at all times. Those bottles heat up fast. We provide bowls of water in their cage, as well as water bottles....we've found the tend to drink more that way.
The first year we had rabbits we kept them in a shop that was not insulated, so it got HOT. We did lose two rabbits that year, although surprisingly all the Angoras made it. Still, it was so stressful on all of them, we were finally able to move them to the insulated barn. Even there it was hard to keep them cool, so we saved our pennies and this year we added an AC. No more stress on the bunnies, no more stress on us!
