Angora is a group of breeds of rabbits with fluffy long hair. For the first time, animals of this species began to be bred in Turkey, in the city of Ankara. This settlement was once called Angora. Hence the name of these unusual fluffy animals.
Rabbits of this variety were first brought to Europe in the middle of the 18th century. The first beauty of the Angora was estimated to know France. The rich people of this country, including the royal family, kept cute animals as pets. Later, these rabbits began to breed and farmers to obtain fluff.
Exterior Features
Recently, many artificial materials have been invented that can successfully replace natural wool. Therefore, only meat rabbits are bred on farms today. But sometimes in the courtyards you can, of course, meet Angora animals. Such breeds are especially popular in China. In this country, downy rabbits are bred simply in huge quantities. Also, Angora animals are often kept in families simply as pets.
The main feature of rabbits of this species is, of course, a very long fur, 90% consisting of down hair. From the wool of such animals, a very high-quality, delicate and warm yarn is obtained. Angora rabbits do not grow too big. The weight of adults can vary between 2-4 kg, depending on the breed. But fluff from each such animal can be collected up to 1 kg per year.
The color of the hair in Angora rabbits (the photos on the page confirm this) can be very different. On the farms, animals of this species are bred black, white, cream, etc. The body of such rabbits of most breeds is short, and the bones are thin. Therefore, outwardly animals usually resemble a small fluffy ball in some way.
What breeds exist
After the English rabbits were brought to Europe, they, of course, attracted the attention of breeders as well. Breeds of animals of this species have been bred several. Today, Angora rabbits can be bred on farms:
French
German
giant
white downy;
English
satin.
English Angora do not grow too big. Their weight can reach up to 3.5 kg. These animals are completely covered with hair - from head to toe. The muzzle of representatives of the English variety is wide and flat. Only the nose and part of the paws peep out from under the fur of these rabbits.
The German Angora breed is distinguished primarily by pure white fur. Such rabbits can weigh up to 5 kg. A feature of the German breed is also that its representatives rarely molt.
The French Angora rabbit, photo of which is presented above, has an elongated body shape. Adult individuals of this species weigh about 4.5 kg. The hair of the representatives of this breed is very smooth. It does not require care for itself as thoroughly as in other varieties of downy rabbits. The muzzle and paws of these animals are not fluffy.
The weight of giant Angora rabbits can reach up to 5 kg. The hair of such animals is most often white. Rabbits are very fluffy. But, like the German variety, they molt quite rarely. Among other things, the ears of these rabbits have long spectacular tassels.
Satin Angora rabbits are easy to recognize by their broad forehead and fluffy legs, muzzle and ears. The fur of these animals can be white or color. Her structure is very soft, and the hairs themselves look glossy.
White down rabbits are characterized primarily by a well-developed skeleton and the absence of a breast. Also, these animals can be recognized by short ears with tassels. These rabbits were bred once in the USSR. And therefore, it is this breed that farmers consider to be the best adapted to the conditions of the Russian climate at the moment.
How to choose the right rabbits
When buying Angora animals for breeding, you should first of all pay attention to:
The hair of a good Angora rabbit has the same density over the entire surface of the body. If the animal has bald spots somewhere, you should not buy it. Of course, the rabbit's fur should, among other things, look attractive, and the fur should be smooth, glossy and not too fallen off.
Of course, acquiring for a new economy should be exclusively strong and healthy pets. In order to determine if the animal is not sick, you must first try to pick it up. A healthy active rabbit will certainly start to break out and try to run away. In the subsequent caught animal must also be carefully examined.
The eyes of healthy rabbits are glossy, shiny, not fogged. The wool under the tail of a sick animal will never be smeared with feces. And of course, you should not buy emaciated rabbits with defects or any injuries for their economy.
What should be the cells
Of course, first of all, the farmer who decided to breed Angora, will need to think about arranging suitable “dwellings” for them. Ordinary rabbits in farms can be kept not only in cages, but also in enclosures. For Angora animals, this method of growing, unfortunately, is absolutely not suitable. Rabbits of this species are most often planted in cells one at a time.
The fact is that the character of Angora rabbits is as cocky as the representatives of smooth-haired breeds. In a fight, these animals often spoil each other's hair and tear down the fluff. And this, in turn, can lead to losses.
Only young Angora rabbits can be kept together in one cage, that is, those animals that have not yet reached puberty. Such animals are usually planted 3-5 pcs. in one cell. In this case, females and males are usually kept separately.
The room where the cages with animals will be installed should be bright and ventilated. However, in a draft of such rabbits, in no case should they be kept. Animals of the Angora variety are less healthy than representatives of meat breeds. Therefore, they should be protected from colds as carefully as possible.
Cages for Angora rabbits should be large enough. The advantages of animals of this species include accuracy. For example, furry rabbits always go to the same corner to the toilet. Of course, in addition to the “latrine”, the Angora’s cage should have enough space for it to move, lie and sit freely.
Down rabbits are very shy, therefore, in their case, no sharp objects should be in their cages. Frightened, the pets jump sharply up or to the side. Having run into a sharp object, the animal can not only be seriously injured, but even die.
Features of the content of the Angora rabbit
In order to grow healthy down animals with high-quality wool on the farm, the farmer needs:
develop a suitable diet for your pets;
periodically comb out fluff in rabbits;
to prevent diseases;
daily cage cleaning;
provide animals with clean drinking water.
For successful breeding of rabbits, you should choose good producers and properly care for pregnant and lactating females.
What to feed
The diet of Angora rabbits is not much different from the menu of ordinary smooth-haired. Since these animals are not grown for meat, barley or oat crushed, as well as boiled potatoes, they are usually given a little less. But such animals should receive plenty of dried grass or hay, as well as root crops.
A feature of Angora rabbits is that they can form wool congestion in the digestive system. The fluff of such animals is long, and licking themselves, they often swallow it. Down rabbits cannot bring out wool plugs (as cats, for example) do. The formation of congestion in the digestive tract often leads to the death of the animal.
To prevent this from happening, rabbits should be given more feed containing fiber. It can be, for example, hay or carrot. Also, experienced farmers, in order to avoid death due to wool traffic jams, recommend that dandelions be added to the menu of Angora rabbits.
The terms of collecting fluff
The fluff in Angora rabbits grows quite quickly. From adults it is usually collected once every two months. Moreover, removing fluff from animals is allowed all year round. The only thing is that in winter it is usually not completely collected from rabbits. Otherwise, animals can catch a cold and get sick.
In any case, it is supposed to collect fluff when the hair on the body of the animal ceases to grow. This usually happens at the moment when the length of the fur of the animals reaches 6 cm.
On fur farms, fluff from rabbits can be collected in two ways: shearing and pinching. In this case, the second technique is most often used. The fluff collected by the pinch has a large length. Therefore, it can also be used for spinning.
Plucking down
When using this technique:
Angora rabbit is planted on its knees;
comb the hair to remove litter;
take a comb and squeeze between it and a thumb a small strand of fluff;
make a slight jerk in the direction of hair growth;
repeat the procedure with the next strand.
They usually begin to pluck fluff from the front legs. Next, go to the back and stomach. At the final stage, fluff is carefully collected from the rump and hind legs.
Rabbit haircut
This procedure is performed using sharp scissors. When applying this technology, it is allowed to remove even not completed hair growth. Therefore, sheared fluff is usually uneven in length. Remove wool from Angora rabbits using this technique as follows:
parting along the back in the direction from the tail to the head;
perform a haircut to the right and left of the parting, moving along the sides to the stomach.
When using this technology, scissors should be captured with small tufts of animal hair. On the heads of rabbits and legs, fluff in most cases is not sheared.
Cell care
Of course, there should not be any dirt in the "dwellings" for Angora rabbits. Firstly, it can lead to an increase in morbidity and mortality. Secondly, the presence of dirt in the cells will certainly cause a deterioration in the quality of animal hair.
Floors in cages are best done lattice. In this case, less dirt will accumulate on them. Cleaning in the cells is supposed to be carried out at least once a day. At the same time, once every few weeks, it is also desirable to disinfect the "dwellings" of Angora rabbits.
Breeding
As producers on the farm, they use only the strongest, most active and healthy animals without breed defects and with good hair. In the cells of rabbits selected for breeding, queen cells are installed.
The first mating of Angora females and males is usually carried out at the age of 5-8 months, after the second or third haircut. In this case, the rabbit is planted in a cage to the rabbit, and not vice versa. After two weeks, the procedure is repeated for reliability.
During pregnancy, rabbits are given more concentrates and vegetables. During childbirth, additional containers of water are necessarily placed in their cells. After a round, the nest is checked for the presence of stillborn cubs. Rabbits are usually taken away from the female at the age of 1.5-2.0 months.
Baby Care
Young Angora rabbits begin to eat independently at the age of about 2-3 weeks. They come out of the mother liquor and try to try what the rabbit eats. Therefore, at this time, it is advisable not to put food in the cage with the female that can cause diarrhea. This can be, for example, beets, raw potatoes or a large amount of unsafe grass.
Concentrates and carrots to rabbits, like their mothers, can be given freely. Hay and grass before throwing into a cage should be checked. Even a small amount, for example, nightshade, which got into the stomach to the cub, can cause severe poisoning and death.
It is advisable to plant Angora rabbits from their mother in several stages - in batches of 2-3 pcs. with an interval of several days. This will help the rabbit and calves to avoid severe stress. Groups of young Angora rabbits are kept for a maximum of 4.5 months. Next, animals are seated in separate cages.
Home breeds
Angora down rabbits look very impressive. That is why they are sometimes kept just as pets. Very often, people buy dwarfish Angora rabbits at their pet stores. The exterior of such animals is practically no different from the appearance of animals bred on farms. The exception is only their even smaller growth.
The weight of an adult dwarf decorative Angora rabbit is usually 2.5-4.0 kg. There is also a mini-variety bred in Russia, whose body weight does not exceed 1.5 kg.
In any case, care for decorative downy rabbits at home should be no less thorough than on the farm. That is, the animal needs to be well fed, combed periodically and kept its cage clean.