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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 Sheep 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 (ARBA): 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.
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.
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; if the texture of the rabbit is , 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. When an English Angora rabbit is shown, the toenails should also be only one color, the ears could be folded over at the tips and the furnishings on the face may cover their eyes. The English Angora is the only one of the Angora breeds that has hair covering its eyes.
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 (hairless) 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 (all the same color). 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.
Though common, the German Angora is not currently recognized by ARBA. The International Association of German Angora Rabbit Breeders (IAGARB) maintains a breed standard for the German Angora.
Because ARBA wouldn't allow German Angoras to be shown, 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 (REW), a color that indicates the genetic absence of pigment ( albino). 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 (head trimmings) 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.Summary on the description of a Giant Angora, American Rabbit Breeders Association, Standards, spring 2012.
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 (size and weight). A buck can take up to 1.5 years to mature (size and weight).
The Satin Angora was developed in the late 1970s by Mrs. Meyer of Holland Landing, Ontario, Canada, who crossed French Angoras with rabbits of the Satin breed. In addition to the sheen (for which the Satin is known), true red and copper pigments emerged in the new rabbits. In all 'satinized' coats, the hair shaft has a semi-transparent outer shell that reflects light, resulting in deep color, high luster and an extremely soft and silky texture to the hair.
The Satin Angora (like the French Angora) has no furnishings on the face, ears or feet. The Satin does not produce as much wool as other Angora breeds, but this trait is being improved upon through selective breeding. While more difficult to keep groomed than the Giant or French Angora, the Satin is less difficult than the English Angora. Because of the soft texture of the wool and the lower guard-hair count in the coat, matting occurs more readily. Daily combing is therefore recommended.
Satin Angora wool is said to be stronger for spinning than other Angora varieties, but because of its slipperiness it can be more difficult to spin.
(August 2009)
File:Russisches Angora-Kaninchen (Jean Bungartz, Kaninchenrassen, 1902, p065).jpg|Russian Angora
Russisches Angora-Kaninchen
(Jean Bungartz 1902)
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