I love the way the angoras look, and I'd love to be able to spin their wool. But don't they require a lot of maintenance?
Sometimes, depends on the breed, age of the rabbit, and how long you keep the coat. I breed English Angoras in NW Oklahoma where we had 8 weeks of 100+ temps daily last summer. Not showing yet, but will be next year.
I keep hearing different suggestions as to how often to groom them. I have lots of questions about them..
~How often do you groom them?
As often as needed and sometimes only the area needed ... for my EAs, I groom the facial furnishings each morning when I feed, takes just a few minutes per bun and doubles as cuddle time ... and this is when they are caged 24/7.
Once per week, I also groom behind the front elbows/along the side and above the hock on the back legs and across above the tail. As the fiber gets longer, I will groom as many as 3x per week with an overall grooming on the weekend.
Also, part of the grooming for any long haired breed is the area around the privates ... basically, I keep that clipped short at all times ... it helps keep the poop from matting on the fur, helps keep the buck from developing urine stains and smell, and in warmer weather, helps keep heat scald down for the bucks.
~How do you groom them?
I place mine on a Workmate workbench with a berber area rug draped over it. I sit in a chair and that puts me just about face to face with the bun, but allows me to stand up and reach from front to back. I do this OUTSIDE
in the warmer months and on an unheated, enclosed back porch in the winter.
First, I place the bun on the workmate and blow the coat. Using whichever comb/brush needed to free any mats or vegetable matter.
Next, I place the bun facing me on the workmate and start with the furnishings and ears, then turn the bun and work my way from behind the ears down the shoulders, along the sides and back to the rump, and then from the tail up over the hips. From there, I will stand the rabbit up and do the chest and belly.
Last, I will blow the bun out again using the slicker brush to "whisk" the ends of the hairs to remove any loose/shed hairs.
This takes about 20 minutes.
What do you use to groom?
I use a cat slicker brush, my shop vac on "blow", a tangle remover steel toothed comb, a plastic rat-tailed (people) comb, animal nail clippers, short fiskars scissors.
~How do you deal with the heat in the summer? I live in NC, it can get to 100 degrees some summer days...
As I said above, in NW Oklahoma, we have scorching hot summers and can have wickedly cold winters, but we generally have a decent breeze blowing most of the time and very low humidity. This past summer, I simply clipped all my angoras in May, June, July and August. Since they were in short coats, I also put them in runout pens during the day where they could dig in the dirt, lay on concrete pavers and didn't bother with a coat. As their coat grows out, and debris starts to become embedded in their coat, I move them back to their cages full time.
When I shear them, if it is before they blow their coat, but still at a spinnable length, I just use the fiskars to clip starting with a part down the spine and clipping at just above skin from back to front.
If they are blowing their coat, I will pluck the prime fiber (over the back and somewhat down the side and over the rump, then shear the shorter fiber that is left.
~Are there breeding difficulties because of the long hair?
No, see above about clipping in the grooming section.
~Does anyone have any experience with colonies? or outdoors? I have an outdoor colony...
As mentioned above, mine get time in a runout pen daily in the summer, and after blowing their coat in the winter.
~Will other rabbits mess up their wool?
If the cages are close enough, you can get other rabbits chewing on any fiber that goes through the wire. One time, I had a doe build her nest and she was able to reach through the cage wire to pluck fiber from the buck (she was a satin doe, no where near that long of fiber LOL) So, in any situation, you should be mindful of neighbors and such. In the runout pen, I see the other rabbits helping to groom the angoras as their hair gets longer. I also feed a 16% pellet with a supplement of oats and BOSS for coat maintenance.
If they are outside, or if they dig, does it mess up their wool?
Only in the sense that the dirt can get down to the skin in the longer fiber and is difficult to groom out, even with a blower.
~How much wool do you get?
One doe regularly gives me 5+ oz of prime fiber 2-3x per year, depending on when her molt falls in relation to hot weather. The buck gives me 4-6 oz of prime under the same situation. I generally get another 2-3oz of secondary fiber that is long enough to spin, but is a short staple length.
How often do you get wool?
2-3x per year, could be 4x if I kept the EAs inside in the airconditioning
But don't they require a lot of maintenance?
Back to this, no, not necessarily, and I get back much, much more than I put into them!!! My doe is a sweetheart, my buck is a character, but both of them are extremely personable and gentle.
I realize that you already said you had changed your intention of getting angoras, but maybe this will give you a bit more overall perspective on how rewarding it can be to have angoras in your rabbitry. I look at the grooming time as quality "face time" with my angora.
