Angoras...

So, what is the care really like for them? How much time per rabbit do you spend grooming per week? Is it really a huge pain?

I have a Giant Angora, and two english angoras. Your supposed to blow them out like twice weekly. And they require a different diet. I feed mine a mixture of 18% protein rabbit pellets, calf manna (they need protein to grown all that wool), bird seed, and oats. Also hay everyday. (Wool block) And one day a week you have to just feed them bird seed and hay. (to completely wash out their systems) They always need fresh water (Like every other rabbit) And you have to keep their cages SUPER clean (So much nasty stuff gets stuck in that wool....ugh) I spend about twice the time grooming my Angoras then I do the fuzzy lops. They require a lot of work- but its worth it. They are the sweetest rabbits I've come across so far. (Watch out for straight BEW's though- I've heard they are mean)

Okay...

I spend maybe a few hours throughout the month grooming the 16 hollands I have. So probably 15-20 min/month/holland.

How much time per English angora? (those are my fav...)

I had a trio of English Angoras and it was a nightmare trying to take care of them. I TRIED to blow them out daily, keep them mat free as best I could, but molting was TERRIBLE and they'd get mats on their face,- how do you remove cheek mats around the whiskers?! SERIOUSLY!!!

I loved them, but I sold them out, I just could NOT deal with them and those coats

oh man the dingle berries a a PITA. I dread the days when my Jr woolies start moulting into their Sr. coat and those are tiny woolies.

if you're thinking of showing an English Angora prepare for at least 30 minutes of grooming per day per angora to keep the coat prime. if you're looking at a wooler or pet, grooming takes 10-15 minutes a day.

when I showed english angoras mine were very competitive because I groomed them each daily with the blower and also the slicker brush as needed, I had 5 show coats going at the time, it took easily 1-2 hours a day to keep them in coat and pretty. all of them had genetially easy care wool except for one.

grooming time also depends on the angoras genetics and how prone it is to matting..

with my two pet english angoras now I keep one who has a crappy coat genetically in a puppy clip at all times, the other has a naturally mat free and easy care wool so she grows it out to 5 inches and then i shear it or i pluck her for spinning.

forgot to add.. when I was showing the grooming was not a pain but it was a chore but the results on the table were worth it. but it was ALOT of work, and since i was a full time college student with a part time job, raising another high maintenence breed (hares) i couldn't keep up so it became overwhelming and i sold out of them.

now since I don't show them I find it more relaxing to blow out ruby and blizzard on nice days and brush them.

Poor crappy coat Blizzard

Yes, both my bucks are mostly for spinning. One is a baby- and the other has a super easy practically no mat coat. The giant is super easy to care for- plenty more guard hairs. It takes a while to blow them out. I just love them

I totally agree with this. Right now between working full time and going to school at nights, I simply can't manage to groom every day, but I have to make up for it every few days by grooming a lot longer and with greater attention to detail. Two of mine have wonderful coats that are not prone to mats and one is a bit less so, but I couldn't imagine having one with a poor coat- I would clip constantly. Right now I harvest by plucking for my own spinning interest and it seems like they have nicer fiber and better color by that method versus shaving, but that is just my opinion and I am no expert by any means.

When I have more time after my job goes away, I plan to groom all my angoras every day again. I do not plan to have more than six adults at a time- otherwise I wouldn't be able to manage and that isn't fair to them or to me. By the by, I don't blow my angoras at all right now- I have a problem with blowing fuses in my home when I use a blower. Also, once you use a blower, you really need to keep doing it.. like forever, and that is a difficult commitment to make sometimes. Be prepared for a fine dusting of white skin dander on everything after you blow for a while, too.

Cleaning cages is a pain, but a propane torch does wonders most of the time and a BBQ brush and elbow grease can finish the job. During molt, expect hair everywhere - in the cage bars, in the food dish, in your nostrils.. I love fiber time, but fur rollers and towels are my friend.

Are angoras worth it? To me- YES! But I wouldn't have purchased any if I knew my life would stay as busy as it is right now. Because I am going back to school full-time in block scheduling, I am essentially dedicating a part of every day to the bunnies and that works well with angoras. They really are the sweetest- my gypsy doe that is an escape artist is absolutely the most lovable bun- I can sit with her for hours petting or brushing her and and she will just purr and soak it up.

Best of luck!

Lauren

Is there a difference in coat care between the angora breeds? Like...do some have more gaurd hairs than others?

Caring for AFL wool wasn't annoying, it was pretty easy. I got out of them because my Mac died random one day and I wasn't as much of a fan of Luna and the one baby I got from them was pet quality and so I sold Luna and the baby.

hehehe, that was a bit harsh of me wasn't it..
I can't speak for your other 2 angoras Keep but I can absolutely say that Blizzard's matting was NOT your fault at all, its just how his coat is. He has very little guard hair and has a soft texture to his coat, not the silky feel he should have. In his "old age" of 3-4 now his coats gotten worse.. lol but he's a good boy very mellow.

Absolutely, French are the easiest to care for they have the most guard hair, they don't mat as much as English, Satins or Giants. Giants have non-realsing wool so they have to be clipped, some lines of English/French also don't release their wool it must be clipped too. (they don't molt but their wool will "slip" loosing texture/density)
Satins have the most difficult coats IMO.. a friend raised them when I started in English they have to be clipped as babies often in order to grow coats due to the fine texture of the wool. They are VERY pretty though.

ALL angoras have more difficult than AFL/JW wool, they will need significant more grooming then those breeds, they have fewer guard hairs and different texture to their wool resulting in more blowing and brushing to prevent matting. Their wool is not easy care, although there are easier care wool lines and individual bunnies.

I was where you were and I know how hard it is! They are absolutely worth it from their personalities to their beauty.

Thanks Whitney!! I've always felt bad I couldn't keep the angoras in coat, it helps to know part of it was just the wool they had .

So for the English Angoras, which lines tend to be the least-matty? I really don't care much for the French. I like the face and ear fur of the EA's. And all this texture/density talk...so much easier to feel "this is good, this is bad" but could you try to describe it?

I have one pet angora, and love him to death. The older he gets (and the more times he gets clipped) the coat gets easrier and easier ot manage. I spin his wool and show him *ocassionally* at 4H shows. I sure do love him though!