sex change fairy strikes again! .... welcome to the club by the way. 
Plucking vs Shearing ...and questions on fibre
- Thread starter cindys6436
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rabbitgeek
Well-known member
Blower: I've used small 2HP shop vacs with the blower feature. They are a little noisier than Metro Force blowers, but only about $40.
The hose is kind of short, but I was able to bungee cord the vacuum under the grooming table to keep it close to the rabbit. The shop vac plastic housing can survive being dropped better than a Metro force. After dropping a Metro it whined like a jet engine turbo.
Plucked versus Sheared: I've usually sheared the rabbits when they start the molt. I avoid the new growth by leaving 1/4 or 3/8 inch long wool on the rabbit. The old short stuff left behind will molt out and come out during grooming.
Although some spinners will not buy sheared wool, I've always found enough buyers to buy all the wool we wanted to sell. I know a breeder who sells sheared wool 4 ounces for $20 and sells plenty!
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
The hose is kind of short, but I was able to bungee cord the vacuum under the grooming table to keep it close to the rabbit. The shop vac plastic housing can survive being dropped better than a Metro force. After dropping a Metro it whined like a jet engine turbo.
Plucked versus Sheared: I've usually sheared the rabbits when they start the molt. I avoid the new growth by leaving 1/4 or 3/8 inch long wool on the rabbit. The old short stuff left behind will molt out and come out during grooming.
Although some spinners will not buy sheared wool, I've always found enough buyers to buy all the wool we wanted to sell. I know a breeder who sells sheared wool 4 ounces for $20 and sells plenty!
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
You can spin it with or without another fiber. Spun without another fiber it can be the most wonderful soft marvelous feel in the world. It's just that it's very much like spinning milkweed fiber Plucking gives you the root, which helps to catch around the fiber as it spins, which is one reason that many spinners will pay a higher price for plucked angora vs sheared.
You just need to go slowly when you're learning with it. My reference to carding it with sheep (or alpaca or...) was to get the idea of how it works, and how to spin, before attempting angora alone. Plenty of people have learned to spin on angora alone, and done fine.
Sheep's wool will hold to itself easily. On it's own it has a natural wave or curl to it. Angora is mostly straight or just slightly crimpy.
It's all in what kind of yarn you want. If you want the super soft, elegantly warm angora, then you spin it straight. If you want a heftier yarn, but with a soft feel, you card it in with other fiber. There is a silk/angora yarn that is just.....fantastic looking.
Plucking gives you the root, which helps to catch around the fiber as it spins, which is one reason that many spinners will pay a higher price for plucked angora vs sheared. You just need to go slowly when you're learning with it. My reference to carding it with sheep (or alpaca or...) was to get the idea of how it works, and how to spin, before attempting angora alone. Plenty of people have learned to spin on angora alone, and done fine.
Sheep's wool will hold to itself easily. On it's own it has a natural wave or curl to it. Angora is mostly straight or just slightly crimpy.
It's all in what kind of yarn you want. If you want the super soft, elegantly warm angora, then you spin it straight. If you want a heftier yarn, but with a soft feel, you card it in with other fiber. There is a silk/angora yarn that is just.....fantastic looking.
rabbitgeek
Well-known member
I want share a lesson I learned about blending angora with other fibers.
Blending soft angora with scratchy alpaca does not make the alpaca less scratchy. So be careful what you blend with.
The alpaca is not super scratchy, it just doesn't feel that good on my neck as a scarf.
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
Blending soft angora with scratchy alpaca does not make the alpaca less scratchy. So be careful what you blend with.
The alpaca is not super scratchy, it just doesn't feel that good on my neck as a scarf.
Have a good day!
Franco Rios
I started plucking/combing my trio today and the fiber sticks quite tenaciously to my hands. Solution?
Learned when my hymie struggles that she might be nervous...might be reacting to the cats...or might be saying 'let me go already, I gotta poop!'. Anyone care to guess what today's message was?
Learned when my hymie struggles that she might be nervous...might be reacting to the cats...or might be saying 'let me go already, I gotta poop!'. Anyone care to guess what today's message was?
:lol:
little himi is VERY personable
clinging to hands is from the static electricity in the dry air of winter I found that I can mist them slightly...VERY lightly..and it helps. Someone here mentioned upping the humidity in the room; another solution was light handcream before plucking.
little himi is VERY personable
clinging to hands is from the static electricity in the dry air of winter
I found that I can mist them slightly...VERY lightly..and it helps. Someone here mentioned upping the humidity in the room; another solution was light handcream before plucking.
Devon's Mom Lauren
Well-known member
Aileen":26wpq7un said:
Uhhh let me guess..... "I gotta PEE?"
cereshill
Well-known member
So how do you shear a french angora?
What do they use as a dipilitory?
thx
What do they use as a dipilitory?
thx
Shearing is done using a scissors, usually. You try to cut it when the new stuff is first growing in so that you don't cut the ends of the new fiber. I believe some people use a hair clipper, like you might use on a human. Put the plastic teeth on it to raise it up off the skin 1/2 inch (or whatever level) Either way, you have to be VERY careful not to nick bunny.
The french use a feed additive that is not available easily here in the U.S. It's fed 3 days before they are due to harvest. Then the entire layer of hair/wool can just be pulled off easily. The rabbit it left totally naked (sometimes they leave a line down the spine). The rabbitries that do that are ENVIRONMENTALLY CONTROLLED. apparently the heat is cranked up on harvest day so the rabbits don't go into shock, then gradually lowered as they grow a new coat.
The french use a feed additive that is not available easily here in the U.S. It's fed 3 days before they are due to harvest. Then the entire layer of hair/wool can just be pulled off easily. The rabbit it left totally naked (sometimes they leave a line down the spine). The rabbitries that do that are ENVIRONMENTALLY CONTROLLED. apparently the heat is cranked up on harvest day so the rabbits don't go into shock, then gradually lowered as they grow a new coat.
cereshill
Well-known member
I will try using scissors first; will then put them in a warm garage...
Getting the hair off the rabbit can be a chore at times. The rabbits here are English Angoras and they slip their coat every four months or so. Once they get extra fuzzy and then they start putting hair on the wires of their cage as well as in the brush, then it's time to get the hair off the bunny. Usually I pluck as much as possible off the bunny. I just pull off everything that will come off in small bunches and put it in a big gallon sized glass jar. I have a jar for each bunny so the colors stay separate. After I get tired of plucking them, then there are scissors to trim up the parts that don't pluck easily. Usually I put the scissored parts into something else, for the dirty fur or matted fur, I chop that into smaller pieces and use that for nest box material. After they've been plucked they look like naked rats so they get extra material in their nest boxes to stay warm. The pretty much have their nest box in their cage all the time since they like to hide in it as well as sit on top of it.
All I have to spin with right now is a home made drop spindle. It's pretty light since it's a chopstick with a wooden disk on it. If you know any carpenters who have a drill for making doorknob holes those make great drop spindle circles. They make a quarter inch pilot hole in the middle of a fairly large disk of wood. I cut them out of local hardwoods like koa, ohia and monkeypod. Jam a handy chopstick through the hole, drill a tiny hole in the top and put a wire hook and another wire hook on the edge of the wooden disk and it's ready to go. I just card the wool a little bit and then spin it pretty tight with the drop spindle. The yarn would kink up on itself if it was let loose. Then I wind it onto a home made bobbin. It's the same holes cut with the hole drill except I used the top of a plastic bucket and some pencils through the centerhole. I could make an nicer one of wood, but I was just testing the idea first before using nicer wood. Those are set into a holder so I can ply up to three plies for the yarn. Overspin the fiber on the drop spindle, put it on a bobbin, get two bobbins full of fiber and then spin those together going in the opposite direction the plies where originally spun. That makes yarn. Then wind it into big loops and tie the loops together in places. Wash it in warm water - a bit of shampoo wouldn't hurt and some folks use a bit of conditioner although angora is already pretty soft. I wring it out and twist it a bit, some folks whack it on something, I think at this stage. Then hang it to dry. After it's dry, roll it loosely into a ball. Yarn shouldn't ever be rolled tightly since that takes the stretch out of it and angora doesn't have much stretch. Angora yarn because of it's lack of stretch, is great for sweaters and collars and such, not so good for things like socks and hats that are better with stretchy type yarns.
All I have to spin with right now is a home made drop spindle. It's pretty light since it's a chopstick with a wooden disk on it. If you know any carpenters who have a drill for making doorknob holes those make great drop spindle circles. They make a quarter inch pilot hole in the middle of a fairly large disk of wood. I cut them out of local hardwoods like koa, ohia and monkeypod. Jam a handy chopstick through the hole, drill a tiny hole in the top and put a wire hook and another wire hook on the edge of the wooden disk and it's ready to go. I just card the wool a little bit and then spin it pretty tight with the drop spindle. The yarn would kink up on itself if it was let loose. Then I wind it onto a home made bobbin. It's the same holes cut with the hole drill except I used the top of a plastic bucket and some pencils through the centerhole. I could make an nicer one of wood, but I was just testing the idea first before using nicer wood. Those are set into a holder so I can ply up to three plies for the yarn. Overspin the fiber on the drop spindle, put it on a bobbin, get two bobbins full of fiber and then spin those together going in the opposite direction the plies where originally spun. That makes yarn. Then wind it into big loops and tie the loops together in places. Wash it in warm water - a bit of shampoo wouldn't hurt and some folks use a bit of conditioner although angora is already pretty soft. I wring it out and twist it a bit, some folks whack it on something, I think at this stage. Then hang it to dry. After it's dry, roll it loosely into a ball. Yarn shouldn't ever be rolled tightly since that takes the stretch out of it and angora doesn't have much stretch. Angora yarn because of it's lack of stretch, is great for sweaters and collars and such, not so good for things like socks and hats that are better with stretchy type yarns.
