Angora rabbit

The Angora rabbit is one of the oldest groups of domestic rabbit breeds, which is bred for the long fibers of its coat, known as Angora wool. They are gathered by shearing, combing or plucking. There are at least 11 distinct breeds of Angora rabbit, four of which are currently recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association : the English Angora, the French Angora, the Giant Angora and the Satin Angora. Other unrecognized breeds include the German Angora, the Finnish Angora, the Chinese Angora, the Japanese Angora, the Korean Angora, the Russian Angora, the St Lucian Angora and the Swiss Angora.

History

The Angora is said to have originated in Ankara '', in present-day Turkey, and is known to have been brought to France in 1723. The Angora rabbit became a popular pet of the French royalty in the mid-18th century, and Angoras had spread to other parts of Europe by the end of that century. In the United States, garments made of Angora-rabbit wool have been popular ever since they first arrived in the early 20th century. However, only during World War II did domestic production expand to meet the demand for more than a year. This valuable, soft, silky, fiber aroused much interest, and quickly people became enamored with the production process.

Angora-rabbit wool

Angoras are bred mainly for their wool, which is silky and soft. At only 14–16 micrometres in diameter, it is similar to cashmere in fineness and softness to the touch. A healthy adult Angora's wool will grow approximately per month. Regular grooming is necessary to prevent the fibre from matting and felting on the rabbit, which causes discomfort and can lead to pain and even infection. Angora wool is harvested every three to four months throughout the year. The coat needs to be monitored after 6 months of regrowth since it may tend to "die" and easily mat.
Angora wool may be gathered periodically by hand-plucking the hair within the coat that are being naturally shed. Full harvesting is done by shearing the coat with clippers or small scissors, often while the rabbit sits atop a groomer's turntable. Shearing typically starts at the head, moving across the shoulders to the tail. The rabbit is then flipped and the underside is shorn from tail to chin. Between of wool may be harvested from a Giant Angora.
Because rabbits do not possess the same allergy-causing qualities as many other animals, their wool is an important alternative.

Health

Wool block

Because of the length and abundance of their hair, Angora rabbits are particularly susceptible to wool block, a potentially lethal blockage of the digestive tract. All rabbits ingest some of their wool when they groom themselves, but their digestive system is sometimes not able to pass that foreign matter. The length of Angora hair compounds the risk of impaction, which can lead to death. Clipping or plucking an Angora's wool every 90–120 days is necessary to prevent wool block.

Wool mites

Cheyletiella parasitovorax is a skin parasite commonly found in Angora rabbits. Signs of infestation are flaky skin patches and fur loss. Wool mites reduce fiber yields and the resulting skin flakes are detrimental to the fiber quality. Wool mites may be treated with ivermectin or with carbaryl powder.

Angora rabbit breeds

The iconic long coat of the Angora is the result of a rabbit gene referred to as l. This "Angora gene" is present in all Angora breeds. It has also sometimes been utilized in the development of other rabbit breeds or other breeds' new varieties. "Dwarf Wooly" breeds including American Fuzzy Lop, Lionhead and Jersey Wooly are now recognized in the U.S. by ARBA. Belgium and France have their own Dwarf Wooly breeds. There is also a rare Mini English Angora breed in New Zealand.

English Angora

Weight:
ARBA-recognized varieties: Agouti, Broken, Pointed White, Ruby-eyed White, Self, and Shaded

Before 1939 there was one breed of "Angora Wooler". In 1939 ARBA reclassified 'Angora Wooler' as English Type and French Type. In 1944 ARBA officially separated Angora rabbits into two breeds: English Angora and French Angora.
Rabbits of the English Angora breed are adorned with "fur", growths of wool on the ears and the entire face except above the nose, and front feet, along with their thick body, and wool. They are gentle in nature, but they are not recommended for those who do not groom their animals. Their wool is very dense and needs to be groomed twice a week.
This is the smallest Angora rabbit of the four ARBA-recognized breeds. This breed is more common as a pet because of the facial features that give it a puppy or teddy-bear look. If the texture of the wool is correct, the maintenance is relatively easy; however, if the texture of the rabbit is cottony, it requires a great deal of maintenance. Beginning spinners may find the wool challenging.
The English Angora can be bred to have broken colors—i.e., white with black spots—but this is not accepted by ARBA standards and would lead to a disqualification when showing the rabbit. The toenails should also be only one color, but the ears could be folded over at the tips, and the furnishings on the face may cover their eyes. Notably, the English Angora is the only one of the Angora breeds that has hair covering its eyes.

French Angora

Weight:
ARBA-recognized varieties: Agouti, Broken, Pointed White, Self, Shaded, Ticked, and Wide Band

This breed has a dense undercoat. If the texture is correct it requires less maintenance than other Angora breeds. Small ear tufts are allowed but not usually preferred by breeders. ARBA recognizes the same colors as with English Angora, but with the addition of ticked and wide band. They are shown at ARBA shows using the types 'white' and 'colored'. As with other ARBA-shown rabbits, toenails should also be only one color.
The French Angora is one of the large Angora breeds at, with a commercial body type. It differs from the English, Giant and German Angora in that it possesses a clean face and front feet with only minor tufting on the rear legs. The color of a French Angora is determined by the color of its head, feet and tail. This variety of angora fibre has smooth silky texture. Beginning spinners may find Angora wool a challenge.
Desirable characteristics of the fibre include its texture, warmth, light weight and pure white color. It is used for sweaters, mittens, baby clothes and millinery.

German Angora

Weight:
IAGARB-accepted varieties: Albino or Colored
*Albino
*Black
*Dilute Black^{a/k/a Blue}
*Brown^{a/k/a Chocolate}
*Dilute Brown^{a/k/a Lilac}
*Tortoiseshell
*Dilute Black Tortoiseshell^{a/k/a Blue Tortoiseshell}
*Brown Tortoiseshell^{a/k/a Chocolate Tortoiseshell}
*Dilute Brown Tortoiseshell^{a/k/a Lilac Tortoiseshell}
*Agouti^{a/k/a Black Agouti, Chestnut Agouti, Wild Agouti}
*Dilute Black Agouti^{a/k/a Blue Agouti or Opal}
*Brown Agouti^{a/k/a Chocolate Agouti}
*Dilute Brown Agouti^{a/k/a Lilac Agouti or Lynx}
*Yellow^{a/k/a Red or Fawn}
*Chinchilla
*Dilute Black Chinchilla^{a/k/a Blue Chinchilla or Squirrel}
*Brown Chinchilla^{a/k/a Chocolate Chinchilla}
*Dilute Brown Chinchilla^{a/k/a Lilac Chinchilla}

Though common, the German Angora is not currently recognized by ARBA. The International Association of German Angora Rabbit Breeders maintains a breed standard for the German Angora.

Giant Angora

Weight: Minimum
ARBA-recognized varieties: Ruby-eyed White

The Giant Angora is the largest of the ARBA-recognized Angora breeds. It was originally developed to be an efficient commercial producer that could be sustained on 16–18% protein pellets plus hay, and live in the standard sized, all-wire cages.
Because ARBA wouldn't allow German Angoras to be shown due to their body type being considered too similar to other Angora breeds, Louise Walsh of Taunton, Massachusetts, created a new breed. She used German Angoras, French Lops and Flemish Giants to develop a completely different 'commercial' body type. ARBA officially recognized the Giant Angora in 1988. Its coat includes three types of wool: soft underwool, awn fluff and awn hair.
The awn-type wool exists only in the Giant and German Angora breeds. The Giant Angora has furnishings on the face and ears. Many people confuse the German with the Giant Angora, but it is their body type that differs.
The only color variety ARBA currently recognizes for the Giant Angora is the Ruby-eyed White, a color that indicates the genetic absence of pigment. The Giant Angora produces more wool than the French, Satin or English Angoras. The Giant Angora is the only 6-class animal in the Angora breed. It should have a commercial-type body with a very dense coat of wool. The head should be oval in appearance, that is broad across the forehead and slightly narrower at the muzzle. The Giant Angora should have forehead tufts and cheek furnishings. The head trimmings should be noticeable, but does have lighter trimmings than bucks. The ears should be lightly fringed and well tasseled. The Giant Angora is also the only breed of angora that is shown only as a ruby-eyed white. A Black color variety of the Giant Angora is in development but has not been sanctioned by ARBA.
The Giant Angora coat contains three fiber types for its texture. The underwool should be the most dominant over the other two types of hair. It should be medium-fine, soft and delicately waved and have a gentle shine. Beginning spinners may find Angora wool a challenge.
The Awn Fluff has a guard hair tip and is a stronger, wavy wool. The Awn Fluff is found between the underwool and Awn Hair. The Awn Hair, also known as guard hair, is the third type of fiber. The Awn Hair is a strong straight hair that protrudes above the wool and must be present and evident.
The classification of the Giant Angora is different from the other three breeds owing to it being a 6-class animal. The junior buck and junior doe must be under 6 months of age and have a minimum weight of. The intermediate buck and intermediate doe are 6–8 months of age. The senior buck and senior doe are 8 months of age or over. The senior buck must weigh at least. The senior doe must weigh at least.
When Giant Angoras are judged the majority of the points are based on the wool, which includes density, texture and length. The points for 'general type' include the body type, head, ears, eyes, feet, legs and tail.
Like many other 'giant' breeds of rabbit, the Giant Angora grows slowly. A doe usually takes more than a year to reach maturity. A buck can take up to 1.5 years to mature.