Care of the Angora Rabbit

Housing

Due to it’s hollow fibred coat the Angora Rabbit has special requirements over other breeds.  The coat is highly absorbent sucking up water like a sponge. On no circumstance should the rabbit be allowed to get wet, they are never bathed as doing so would lead to hours of work drying and de matting. 

Angora fibre is also prone to felting, something that is taken advantage of   with the  lovely felts that are made from it’s fibre.  On the rabbit however this is disastrous causing major discomfort and skin problems . 

As breeders we strive very hard to place the animal in the best hands possible, it is important that you understand the high maintenance requirements of this  breed BEFORE  you buy your lovely fluffy baby.

The Show Angora is generally kept in a good sized hutch with a wire floor.   The floor allows droppings and urine to fall through and so keeps the bunny dry and clean. Floors need to be cleaned regularly in order to prevent dirt building up.  Wire floors are in fact very comfortable for the Angora. They are easy to make. 

Tests where rabbits were allowed to use several floor areas showed that the Angora actually preferred to sleep on the wire flooring. It acts as a kind of hammock and allows air to circulate around the animal keeping it cool, dry and comfortable.  Angoras are equipped with well furnished thickly furred feet so sore hocks are never a problem with them.

wire floor frame

Clipped Angoras , breeding stock or pets,  that are kept with their coats trimmed short, say below 3 to 4 inches long,  can be bedded on a thick layer of shavings and chopped straw.   I have found that if this is kept clean and dry the rabbit can stay clean, mat and stain free.    My babies are kept on straw until they are ready to be split into their individual cages.  

Arty on chopped Straw mix "Bed Down" available for horses.  Arty is now a Daddy :)

Hutch size is an individual’s choice but needless to say the bigger the better.   Like all rabbits Angoras need enrichment either by adding toys etc. and  allowing them an amount of freedom.  My breeding stock get exercise in the paddock, a great way to get a mating is to allow the pair freedom in the paddock for an afternoon !  My show coats have a large wire dog cage with wire floor that they can stretch their legs in and get a bit of fresh air.   Of course you can have them running round the house, great fun to watch them just be careful of electrical wires and of course the inevitable raisons produced.

Our Rolls Royce hutches from Avondale..  I am thrilled with the quality of these hutches... I am sure they will last a lifetime.  Contact details on the Links page.

Feeding.

So many rabbit foods to choose from these days, where should you start? A great dog breeder friend told me once that one food isn't generally any better than another but what is important to the animal is that there is consistency.  This allows the gut to build the necessary environment with gut flora to utilise the food to its best advantage. I have to agree. 

One thing I have always noticed is that an animal you have bred, usually does better than one you have bought in no matter what age.  I am convinced that this is because even as a foetus they have started to build their immune & nutrition systems to the environment that surrounds the doe.  As long as you are providing a good balanced diet with the correct amounts of fibre necessary to the rabbit you should have no problems.  

First, most importantly, find a reliable local supplier. There will be a time when you run low and have to make that dash to get a new sack of food so make sure they are close and have reliable stocks.  Talk to your merchant who can tell you what is a good seller. We all have our favourites. I use the Allen and Page Herb and Fibre mix.  This mix is a lovely smelling and looking mix and the rabbits adore it.  It also makes the rabbitry smell lovely, good for me!  They are doing incredibly well on it and my litters have done remarkably well on it so I am loathed to change. As well as your mix you should supply hay or a substitute. For years I have fed hay and put up with the problems it can cause.. it is not always in top condition and I have had the inevitable mite problems associated with it. Well, I am afraid enough is enough and with the incredible advances made with equestrian products in recent times I no longer feed hay.  Instead I use a dried grass substitute.  Usually Readigrass but during the period that this is not available I have been using Graze On.  This is just a quality grass that has been dried and baled and has none of the problems that hay can bring.  My rabbits look better than ever and don't seem to miss the hay at all.  I also feed stuff from the garden, primarily dandelion leaves but do not give a lot of greens or carrots etc as I found this can lead to scours which of course is the last thing you need with an Angora.  My stock have lovely shiny coats, good muscle and body mass and seem content so its obviously working ! Obviously water on tap is important.  

A note on Evolution then....  

One thing that amazes me when people talk about rabbit nutrition is that they harp on about wild rabbits.  We are dealing with DOMESTIC rabbits that have been kept by man for over 2000 years.. in that time they have evolved through our selection to thrive on the now traditional diet of the domestic rabbit, a dry mix, hay of some sort and green treats. They have also been selected, maybe unwittingly to be docile and HAPPY living in a hutch. Naturally breeders would chose to keep and breed from an animal that was easy to handle, a good dooer and happy in the hutch environment over generations we have produced what we know today as the domestic rabbit. That's not to say that they do not enjoy their freedom and it would be nice to think that breeders bear in mind the mental well-being of their stock as much as their general physical health.

Little Roo, Mum of Hafody and Apphia, takes her turn in the paddock.

Grooming.

OK the major Angora issue is care of that coat.  I think the Show Angora is probably one of the most difficult coats to care for.  To present one for show is a mammoth undertaking requiring constant attention.  The coat can felt overnight during the difficult shedding period.  The coat is so fragile it is very  difficult to keep the fibre on the rabbit and not all over the house. 

Note this is the SHOW Angora, you will find that after the first clip the coat is more manageable and if you clip fairly regularly your Angora will be quite easy to care for.  In fact my clipped Angoras do not generally need brushing between clips if the coat is only allowed to grow to 3 to 4 inches long.  Of course neglect will bring with it problems, so you do need to keep on top of the clipping and brushing.

The coat is parted with the forced air, any knots are teased with the fingers.  The brush is hardly used on the coat to prevent breakage.

The finished product.  Hafody after his maintenance groom.  Note the essential mug of tea in the background !

The show coat is maintained  by blowing the coat with forced air, either from a powerful hairdrier with a cool setting or a reversed vacuum cleaner.  The coat is parted with air and any knots gently teased apart with the fingers.  Very little brushing or combing is actually done as this tends to break or pull the coat.  The idea is to keep the coat on the rabbit as near perfect as possible, it is an art. The  process is really best seen first hand, ask the breeder to demonstrate.  If possible have several lessons or demonstrations.

Blowing the coat should be done every day on a full coat or every other day or so if it is a good textured coat.  Generally show animals are kept in show coat for say 7-9 months before the coat starts to really shed and begin to look tatty, some longer, some sooner. Be warned you are really up against it as rabbits have a tendency to "scratch that itch" or chew that coat to get at the little morsel caught within it !  Aaaarrghhh..... ask ANY Angora breeder and they will have a chewing story where they have lavished hours on a show coat of a magnificent animal only to come home from work one day and find that Cilla has given herself a nice haircut ! Aaaarrrghhhh :)  The joys of Angoras .

At the end of their show life the coat is clipped and the rabbit is kept for breeding or for producing spinning fibre.  In the UK Angoras are generally only shown in their first coat as this has the finest silkiest texture.  On occasions a rabbit's second coat can be denser with more depth of colour and they can make it again on the show bench as a come back rabbit if the texture is still good.

Gaston

Tulsety Golden Haze ("Gaston " AaBBCcDDee) was brought in to help shoulders and fronts on my Sooties. He is a Golden Angora that carries a self gene to produce Sooty Fawn.  He combines the best of Willowcot, Bourne and Atlantis lines. Many thanks to his breeder Paula Pyke. He was named after a Sealion at Prague Zoo that sadly was killed in the terrible flood there. I collected Gaston after my visit to Prague and it seemed fitting.

Clipping

The pet Angora can be clipped much sooner say 4 – 5 months.  The second and successive coats tend to be more manageable.  Slicker brushes and combs can be used to stop the coat matting and collect any loose shedding fibre.  This fibre can be kept for spinning.  Regular clips 3 – 4 times a  year will keep the bunny in good condition. Remember the Angora has been bred to produce fibre and that’s what it does best.  Sooner or later you will have to clip to maintain a healthy animal. Once again, for the first time perhaps seek some help from the breeder.  Different people have their own methods either clipping with electric clippers or using scissors.  There are only a couple of clippers up to the job.  The coat is so fine that many clippers just cant cut it at all, Aesculap make a specific Angora blade but I have found they blunt very easily and are forever clogging on the fine coat..  Scissors are your best (and cheapest) bet, most commercial Angora farms use scissors which I think proves they are still best for the job.  It is very easy to nick the skin as it is so fine.  Even hardened breeders manage the odd nick or two, best to cover with an antispetic powder.  It will normally heal very quickly.  I will be adding photos from a clipping session soon. 

Remember individual does have teats in different places.. learn where they are for each doe!  Here Sioux has her belly trimmed very short just before kindling to enable the babies to find the teats amongst the dense Angora coat. I do this 3 days before the due date. The does are initially clipped a day before mating so when the babies are due, they have a good inch of coat which is plenty to make a nest. 

Handling your rabbit thoroughly will teach you the anatomy of the Angora and you will then know the  layout of such things as teats and testicles !!!! Once the bunny has been clipped you can spot on some ivomec, clean the ears and trim the nails and she is then ready to pop back in her hutch maybe with some straw for warmth.  Of course it is best to time your clips before the really cold weather sets in.