Breed

Husbandry Topics

Fleece Characteristics

English Angora (EA)

• Smallest of the Angora Breeds – 5-7 lbs (6.5 lbs max show weight)
• Round “Cobby” body type
• Requires smaller cage size often living quite happily in 24 x 24 cage
• Carries the most full ‘furnishings’ including fully wooled face, ears, belly and legs. This is an aesthetic feature and not productive spinning wool. These areas do require meticulous grooming and maintenance.  This feature also gives the English it’s characteristic puppy dog appearance endearing it to many pet owners. Let’s face it, that face may not be profitable for wool, but it’s cute to a fault.
• Guard hair and undercoat are very uniform making the wool more prone to matting and requiring more intense grooming and cage cage.
• Many are bred to molt only after prolonged periods as long as 16 months. The coat MUST be attended to when the rabbit begins to molt. Failure to remove the molting coat can cause loss of both the molting coat and the new growth through matting and felting of both growths.
• Comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns.
• Often of a very quiet and good natured temperament.
• Not known as the best of mothers or most prolific of breeders. Can be quite troublesome in these respects.

• Provides the smallest harvest of wool by weight per fleece but sometimes the longest staple length of the breeds. Expected yield per fleece averages around 3.5 ounces. Lengths of 10+ inches are not unheard of. More common lengths of 6-8 inches are somewhat common.
• Due to the length of time a show coat can be held prime, the harvested wool can be quite dry and lifeless.
• Truly prime wool is the finest and silkiest of the angora breeds.
• Bloom is of the ‘puff’ variety rather than fur-like. The longer the staple length, the less bloom will result.
• Spins to a smoother and silkier yarn with less loft than other breeds.
• Color is less intense than other angora breeds and shows a subtly of color rarely achieved by dying alone.
• Wool may be harvested at molting eliminating cut end staples.
• Due to the fragility of the fiber it is more prone to pilling once woven or knitted.

Giant Angora (GA)

• In contrast to the English, the Giant Angora, true to it’s name, is the largest of the recognized Angora breeds averaging 10+ lbs with a commercial body type.
• Due to their size the Giant requires a significantly larger cage and extra care must be taken to assure the integrity of it’s foot pads. In some cases this means floor pads or different flooring materials.
• Giants have some bangs, ear tassels and leg wool but not as profound as the English. A nice balance between non-furnished and adorable.
• By standard, the Giant is to have a triple coat with evenly balanced guard hair and 2 types of undercoat fibers. This wool style makes the Giant coat much easier to care for than the English and about equal in care to the French and Satin.
• The Giant is to have a significantly more dense coat than the other 3 recognized breeds due to it’s wool structure.
• Giants, like English have the reputation of being difficult breeders and unreliable mothers. It is wise to ask extra questions about litter size and survivability when purchasing animals for breeding purposes.
• Giants, by standard, do not ever fully molt their fleece. Wool must be shorn by scissor or shears. This offers the breeder complete control of the timing of harvests but limits the wool to only shorn staple.
• Giants are generally known to be of a very quiet temperament and tolerant of nearly any environment making them a good choice of house pet. They can often be seen at a show sitting for hours on their grooming table without moving.
• True Giants only come in White with Ruby eyes. Colored are considered crossbred since another breed was required to be introduced to produce the color.

• Giants produce the highest weight yield of wool per shearing. Average expected yield is 6 – 10 ounces for a 3-4 inch staple length.
• The wool of a Giant is significantly higher micron and more ‘heavy’ than that of the other angora breeds. The wool is more uniform but has less crimp character making it a bit less easy to handspin.
• The bloom of the Giant wool is more fur-like and if the wool is too coarse can have some prickle factor. Choosing for a longer staple length helps to minimize this unpleasant effect.
• Since Giants do not molt their wool, all wool harvested will be shorn by scissor or shears. This provides an even staple length with a high percentage of high grade wool and if well shorn, a low amount of second cuts. If poorly shorn the second cuts can be very problematic.
• Giant wool is stronger due to it’s higher micron count and is much less fragile and prone to pilling but if short stapled can be prone to shedding out of a fabric.
• You may purchase raw Giant Angora wool in any color you like…as long as you are fond of White. J

French Angora (FA)

Note: The French Angora and Satin Angora are virtually the very same animal with one significant difference in the wool fiber. Many of the husbandry considerations will be the same for both breeds.

• The FA is a medium to large breed averaging 8-9 lbs.
• Body type is the same as the more commercial meat breeds making this rabbit a true multi-use animal productive for wool, pet and meat use if the breeder is so inclined.
• The FA is a heavy and active breed so cages should be of a larger size minimum 24x36 and larger if space permits. Older animals usually benefit from foot pads or floor coverings to prevent hind foot calluses.
• The FA temperament is active, curious and playful. This makes the FA an attractive pet for people who enjoy a ‘puppy like’ personality. Aggressive or threatening behavior should never be tolerated and such animals should not be bred.
• Does can be quite protective of their cage space and require respect in handling. This same trait also tends to coincide with does which are very attentive and protective mothers. FAs are known for breeding readily and successfully raising litters of 6-10 kits routinely.
• Bucks can be assertive and even claim a breeder as ‘their own’ with humming and marking (spraying) behavior. While this behavior should be controlled it does hallmark an assertive and productive breeder.
• This active behavior can sometimes cause animals to prematurely matt their coats around the front limbs neck.
• Grooming in FAs is minimal when a good quality coat is bred for and cage hygiene is maintained. Normal fur on the head, ears and legs eliminates the need for grooming areas of the fleece that will not be used for prime wool production.
• Since FAs do molt periodically anywhere from 4 months to 10 months, the coat MUST be attended to when the rabbit begins to molt. Failure to remove the molting coat can cause loss of both the molting coat and the new growth through matting and felting of both growths.
• French angoras come in a very wide variety of colors and patterns. It is the only recognized breed shown in a broken pattern – that being of colored and white areas on the body. The color of the FA and SA is the most dense of the angora wools.

• The French angora provides a fleece of 6-10 ounces on average with each molt cycle. This is primarily prime wool since the animal grows no unusable wool on it’s head or legs and minimal on the belly.
• The FA wool is to have a healthy luster but not a high sheen as is seen on the Satin Angora.
• The wool of the FA is to have a distinct guard hair evenly distributed throughout a dense and highly crimped undercoat. This crimp gives the FA wool is wonderful character and makes handspinning a delight.
  This guard hair is NOT to be coarse or overly hair-like despite the unfortunate wording of a previous ARBA Standard of Perfection. Some ‘old style’ coats were noted to be very easy care but were short (never growing past 3 inches), very coarse with a very high percentage of guard hair. This is referred to as a ‘dog coat’ by breeders and though nice for pets is tragic for use in textiles.
• The FA wool blooms into a long and soft fur-like texture. When woven or knitted densely the texture easily simulates a fur pelt making it a wonderful substitute for pelted furs.
• FA wool is not fragile and if well shorn to eliminate short cuts and of a sufficient staple length is not at all prone to pilling or shedding in the final fabric.
• French angoras come in a very wide variety of colors and patterns. It is the only recognized breed shown in a broken pattern – that being of colored and white areas on the body. The color of the FA and SA is the densest of the angora wools.

 Satin Angora (SA)

Note: The French Angora and Satin Angora are virtually the very same animal with one significant difference in the wool fiber - sheen. Many of the husbandry considerations will be the same for both breeds.

• The SA is a medium to large breed averaging 8-9 lbs.
• Body type is the same as the more commercial meat breeds making this rabbit a true multi-use animal productive for wool, pet and meat use if the breeder is so inclined.
• The SA is a heavy and active breed so cages should be of a larger size minimum 24x36 and larger if space permits. Older animals usually benefit from foot pads or floor coverings to prevent hind foot calluses.
• The SA temperament is active, curious and playful. This makes the SA an attractive pet for people who enjoy a ‘puppy like’ personality. Aggressive or threatening behavior should never be tolerated and such animals should not be bred.
• Does can be quite protective of their cage space and require respect in handling. This same trait also tends to coincide with does which are very attentive and protective mothers. SAs are known for breeding readily and successfully raising litters of 6-10 kits routinely.
• Bucks can be assertive and even claim a breeder as ‘their own’ with humming and marking (spraying) behavior. While this behavior should be controlled it does hallmark an assertive and productive breeder.
• This active behavior can sometimes cause animals to prematurely matt their coats around the front limbs neck.
• Grooming in SAs is minimal when a good quality coat is bred for and cage hygiene is maintained. In contrast to FA wool, the SA wool is more prone to ruin once it begins to compress and matt. Early grooming intervention is key.
• Since SAs do molt periodically anywhere from 4 months to 10 months, the coat MUST be attended to when the rabbit begins to molt. Failure to remove the molting coat can cause loss of both the molting coat and the new growth through matting and felting of both growths.

• The Satin angora provides a fleece of  4-8 ounces on average with each molt cycle. This is primarily prime wool since the animal grows no unusable wool on it’s head or legs and minimal on the belly. SA wool is finer than FA wool and though spinning into the same length of yarn will weigh less and feel ‘lighter’ on the animal. The actual productive yield is nearly identical that of the French Angora.
• The SA wool has a very high luster and silk like shine. When well crimped and textured it actually has a glittering effect which is quite attractive.
• The wool of the SA is to have a distinct guard hair evenly distributed throughout a dense and highly crimped undercoat. This crimp gives the SA wool is wonderful character and makes handspinning a delight.
  This guard hair is NOT to be coarse or overly hair-like despite the unfortunate wording of a previous ARBA Standard of Perfection. Some ‘old style’ coats were noted to be very easy care but were short (never growing past 3 inches), very coarse with a very high percentage of guard hair. This is referred to as a ‘dog coat’ by breeders and though nice for pets is tragic for use in textiles.
• Satinization of the wool also gives it a distinctly smooth silk-like quality. This can make spinning a bit more slippery but not difficult with just a bit of practice.
• The SA wool blooms into a long and soft fur-like texture. When woven or knitted densely the texture easily simulates a fur pelt making it a wonderful substitute for pelted furs.
• SA wool is not fragile and if well shorn to eliminate short cuts and of a sufficient staple length is not at all prone to pilling or shedding in the final fabric.
• Satin Angoras come in a very wide variety of colors and patterns. The color of the FA and SA is the densest of the angora wools.