I hope that you will take this has a guide and will seek out all the other great sites, that our out there on owning an angora.
Owning an angora is truly an art and will keep you crafting for years to come. They come in many colors, with solid being the only recognized color. Brokens are not yet recognized by ARBA but just gorgeous. They are the smallest of the angora family. Their weight ranges on average between 5 and a little over 7lbs and are in the shape of a basketball. I get asked many time about the personality of an angora. They are sweet and docile and are much like a little dog. They love attention and will allow you to spend hours fussing over them. I would recommend them to any child, yes; but with an adult has main care giver. Angora's require a lot of grooming time and will need to be tended to on a daily basis.
Housing your angora
All our angora's are housed outdoors in 24x24 cages for the adults. Mom's with kits need bigger cages of course. If you choose to house your bunny outdoors, make sure it's in a barn or in an enclosed area, to protect them from the aliments of the weather. Remember cool in summer and protected from the wind in the winter. You also need a good size water bottle, we use 32 ounce ones. A crock dish works great for these big fluffy balls. All bunnies in my opinion, love to flip their dishes and chew. If you choose a feeder, make sure it's big enough to protect their face furnishings. They mat extremly easily.
Toys
Has with all of us they get bored too! Give them something to occupy their time away from you. Laundry or fabric softner tops washed throughly are great. Baby toys that are chew proof and checked on a regular basis are great. You can also use soda bottles and put inside stone or I use marbles. Make sure you securely attach the top with duct tape so they can't get what's inside. Chewing is another favorite past time of bunnies. Untreated pieces of lumber are great to occupy your bunny. You can use fruit tree branches too. Make sure they are dried first! Empty tissue boxes, paper towel and toilet paper rolls are also great!
Feeding
I find there is so much differences with the feeding of any breed of bunny. You have to find what works best for you and stick with it. There is no magic formula that will give you the perfect wool. It takes a consistancey with grooming and making sure your bunny as plenty of water and most of all exercise. The below is what we use and works for us. Someone else might do something else, this is just a guideline of what we do here. Angora's need a good quality feed with a handful of hay daily. We use Purina Show, but Heinold Wool and Manna Pro show are also excellent feeds. We have a hard time getting feed and the Purina Show seems to work for us and keeps the wool breeds in condition. As I stated before to each his own on what feeding method works for you.
This is the ingredients we use in our feed. In the warmer months we omit the calf manna and sweet feed.
For every 40lb bag of feed I mix approximately 1 (small) coffee can of the following;
Calf manna ........you can also use Purina Annamex (only in the winter months if you live where it's cold outside, otherwise only give maybe 3 or 4 pellets every other day
Barley
Black oil sunflower seeds (great coat conditioner)
My guys do not like crimped oats so I buy 2 of the 42 oz containers of old fashioned oats and add it to each 40lb bag.
Mix the above thourghly! They love to pick out the favorites and leave the rest so don't get alarmed if certain stuff is picked out.
Amont to feed depends on the angora. Mom's I free feed along with the kits and the adult bunnies get around 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup depending on the bunny. Some bucks like a little more and so do some of my does some eat less.
At night we generally give a handful of hay between the bunnies wire so they can get fibre and digest any wool they might have ingested and to process their pellets.
Onto the favorite amongest bunny people treats
We do give our bunnies treats on a weekly basis. I also give our bunnies treats after a grooming session. Our guys seem to love cheerios and shredded wheat (not frosted) French bread is also a favorite of my crew. I can go get some day old loaves and share it with everyone. They seem to sense when it's treat day and enjoy nibbling for hours.
As for what we do here on Sunday is our day of choice for a bowel of goodies. So they recieve no feed but a small tidbit of what we have to offer. It all depends on what we have in the fridge at the time and each bunny has his or her preference has to what appeals to them. Generally it's bananas, parsley, rasberries or any fruit or vegetable we seem to have on hand. Each one gets a small handful to enjoy. Remember no bunny under 6 months old should recieve any of this.
Unto Grooming
This is where I get a lot of mail. You have to decide when you want to own one of this awesome creatures. 1 do I have the time to devote to them on a daily basis. This is what is required for their health and happiness. If you can say yes I have the time to devote then I will try and guide you as to what as worked for us in past years.
I took the time to listen to other angora breeders and have incorporated it and by trial and error. Each angora has it's own type of wool and some are easier than others to groom. So I'm not any expert by any means of the word. I do what works for me and you will find with time and patience you will have a nitch for what works for you.
I love the doggy man slicker brush and couldn't live without it. I also have several wide tooth flea combs, that are a Godsend for those days where you need to work out a mat or two. I also have a blower that I try and use 2x a week. We don't show so we only need to use it to keep the dander off the skin and prevent matting as much as possible. If you were trying to obtain a show coat you would need to get into a routine of blowing daily. If you blow your bunny on this basis you only need to do a slight touch up with your slicker brush. Some people ask about blowing the bunny. I hold our bunnies ears when I blow them to keep control of them. Others don't need to; I guess it's a security type of thing, to make sure my bunny doesn't decide to leave. Blowing your bunny removes all loose fur as well as dander and opens the fur up so you can see any webbing or mats. You can prevent a big mess from happening by keeping on routine with your bunny.
If you have your angora for a pet or fibre bunny. You can still keep your bunny looking great! I get my bunny on a mat or secure surface. I start with my brush and gently brush the back of the neck and work my way to the butt. You can do it however it works for you. You don't need to brush hard just like you would your kid soft strokes.
Now another big question I get asked often. "How often will my bunny loose it's wool"? ( a natural process of growing in new wool) I believe most breeders term it as harvesting off the old wool or plucking it, so the new can grow in. I find that the majority of our bunnies do it at differen't times. Hint here you can tell when your bunny is leaving a trail of wool behind him or you grooming sessions are getting tougher. This is a tale tale sign that you are about to have a 2 hour or more session with your bunny. Generally we find our adult bunnies need to be cut or plucked every 4 or 5 months. I have some other angora friends, who tell me their bunnies can go almost a whole year, before they have to cut the fur off. So I'm guessing it would be the genes in the bunny or the environment, that would effect how often to cut or pluck the wool. It's really easy to do.....you get your bunny secure and cut off the wool, you will see just where to cut it off by the way the old fur is. You just keep cutting and it should come off in a big clump.
Preventitive measures against parasites
To prevent wool mites and help keep wool on my angora's I use Ivormectine.
A small pea size amount stuck inside parsley once a month or once weekly if showing is all you need. You can buy it at any feed store. It will kill any wool mites or ear mites that your bunny may pick up.
I do use Wazine for pinworms........some breeders prefer not to treat against pin worms we do. I use 2 tblsp per gallon of water. I mix it up and give it to them for 4 or 5 days in a row. I do this usually in the spring and fall.
Last bit of care advice for angora owners
If you do not show and are not using your bunny for fibre purposes. Please think of clipping your bunny down. It will make him/her feel comfortable and keep your grooming time to a minimum. If you house your bunny indoors remember to use a fan or keep them in a a/c that is controlled.
Since our bunnies are outdoors we provide shade trees and fans that circulate the air. Remember the eliments especially the heat is very stressful and can be fatal to your angora. I use ice bottles when I can and sometimes I use ceramic tiles, that you can buy cheap at any home depot store. Wetting your bunnies ears can bring down there temperature dramaticly, as well as misting them slightly. Watch you don't get it inside there ears you can give them an ear infection if you do. If I think my guys are exterting to much with the heat and need an extra boost I have mini ice cube trays that I fill with gatoride and freeze. This will give your bunny a much needed treat and give back anything they have lost with the heat. We learned this in 4H and have never forgoten it!
Rabbit Suppliers
Pet Edge Where I purchased my blower from. I bought an Air Force 4.0 and absolutely love it! Also good supplier for grooming tools. I purchase all our grooming tools from them. The doggy man slicker brush is something I couldn't do without!
Damars another good supplier and pretty reasonably priced.
Klubertanz another source of your bunny needs
Some internet sources:
American Rabbit Breeders Association www.arba.net
National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club: http://narbs.tripod.com/
Candy Haenszel (genetics) www.psci.net/~haencaoo/
Betty Chu (great grooming tips) http://home.pacbell.net/bettychu/
Great links to care manuals www.angorarabbit.com
I hope I've been able to help you on your new angora adventure!!!!!!
Laurie and Katie Roosa
Please No Re-producing without permission.
