The Angora rabbit is a variety of domestic rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are seven different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit , cottontail rabbits (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, an endangered species on Amami Ōshima, bred for its long, soft hair. The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of 850 metres , and as of 2007 the city had a population of 4,751,360, which includes eight districts under the city's administration. Ankara also serves as the capital of Ankara Province, Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country situated in the Anatolian peninsula, located in Western Asia, and Eastern Thrace, located in southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest;, along with the Angora cat The Turkish Angora is a breed of domestic cat. Turkish Angoras are one of the ancient, naturally-occurring cat breeds, having originated in central Turkey, in the Ankara region and Angora goat The Angora goat is a breed of domestic goat that originated in Ankara (formerly known as Angora) and its surrounding region in central Anatolia, in present-day Turkey. The rabbits were popular pets with French France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, royalty in the mid 1700s, and spread to other parts of Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the early 1900s. They are bred largely for their long Angora wool Angora wool or angora fibre refers to the downy coat produced by the Angora rabbit. While their names are similar, angora fibre is distinct from mohair, which comes from the Angora goat. Angora is known for its softness, low micron count , and what knitters refer to as a halo (fluffiness). It is also known for its silky texture, which may be removed by shearing Sheep shearing, shearing or clipping is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a shearer. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year . The annual shearing most often occurs in a shearing shed, a facility especially designed to process often hundreds and sometimes, combing, or plucking Plucking can mean the process of removing human hair, animal hair or a bird's feathers by mechanically pulling the item from the owner's body. There are many individual breeds of Angora rabbits, four of which are ARBA recognized.They are English, French, Giant and Satin. Other breeds include German, Chinese, Swiss and Finnish, to name a few.
An English Angora rabbit
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Coat and appearance
Angoras are bred mainly for their wool because it is silky and soft. They have a humorous appearance, as they oddly resemble a fur ball. Most are calm and docile but should be handled carefully. Grooming is necessary to prevent the fibre from matting and felting on the rabbit. A condition "wool block" is common in angora rabbits and should be treated quickly.[1] These rabbits are shorn every three to four months throughout the year.
Medical Considerations
Rabbits are unique because they do not possess the same allergy-causing qualities as many other animals. The average rabbit can live for about 5–7 years when kept indoors and well-cared for. However, many outdoors rabbits have a shorter lifespan. Maintenance is a must. The Satin Angora has a much lower guard hair count and their wool becomes easy tangled. Regardless of breed, all Angoras must be monitored to prevent wool block, a condition where their innards become clogged with hair.
Breeds
There are four different ARBA-recognized Angora rabbit breeds: English, French, Giant and Satin. The German Angora is also common, but is not ARBA recognized. It has its own association; the IAGARB.
English
A ruby-eyed white English Angora doe.- Weight: 2.0–3.5 kg (4.4–7.7 lb).
- ARBA-accepted varieties: Ruby Eye White, Pointed White, Self, Shaded, Agouti
Prior to the 1939, there was one breed of "Angora Wooler". In 1939, ARBA reclassified "Angora Wooler" into "English Type" and "French Type". In 1944, ARBA officially separate Angora rabbit into two breeds: English Angora and French Angora.
Rabbits of the 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 thick and needs to be groomed twice a week.
This is the smallest Angora rabbit of the four breeds recognized by ARBA. This breed is more common as a pet because of the facial features that give it a puppy dog or teddy bear look. If the texture of the wool is correct, the maintenance is relatively easy; if the texture of the rabbit is cottony Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Pakistan, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the most widely, it requires a great deal of maintenance.
The English angora can be bred to have broken colors, (ex: the rabbit is white with black spots.) This is not accepted by ARBA standards and would lead to a disqualification when showing the rabbit. When showing an English angora rabbit the toe nails 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 rabbit is the only rabbit that has hair covering its eyes.
French
A French Angora rabbit- Weight: 3.5–4.5 kg (7.7–9.9 lb).
- ARBA-accepted varieties: Agouti Agouti refers to a number of species of rodents as well as a number of genes affecting coat coloration in several different animals. Agouti fur contains a pattern of pigmentation in which individual hairs have several bands of light and dark pigment with black tips, Pointed White, Self, Shaded, Ticked, Wide Band, and Broken.
This breed has a preponderance of guard hair on the surface, with wool as an 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, plus broken. They are shown at ARBA shows using the types "white" and "colored" (broken being a colored). As with other ARBA shown rabbits toe nails should also be only one color.
The French Angora is one of the large Angora breeds at 7½ to 10 lbs, 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 (all the same color)
German
- Weight: 2.0–5.5 kg (4.4–12 lb).
- IAGARB-accepted varieties: all (not subject to ARBA standards)
This breed, while not ARBA recognized, is common in the United States and Canada. It looks much like the Giant Angora. The majority of German angora are ruby-eyed white or albino Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin. Albinism results from inheritance of recessive gene alleles and is known to affect all vertebrates, including humans. The most common term used for an. Back in 2006 several Black German Angora were imported to the USA and Canada.
Many hand spinners have bred the German Angora with another type of colored angora (or non angora in some cases) in effort to acquire color in the more dense non-matting German- type wool. These resulting rabbits are called German crosses; not to be confused with the rabbits called German angora hybrids. Briefly explained, a German Hybrid is a rabbit that when you look at its 3 generation pedigree there are only 100% German angoras listed as ancestors.
A separate association for German angoras exists called the International Association of German Angora Rabbit Breeders, or IAGARB. Instead of conformation showing, the emphasis is on both the wool bearing properties & the body type characteristics of the rabbit for commercial purposes. The rabbit must meet objective standards and perform well on 90 day shearing tests in order to be officially recognized as a registered German angora rabbit.
IAGARB will now also recognize colored [hybrid] German angora rabbits; and they may achieve a German registration if they conform to the IAGARB breed standard and prove their wool bearing ability by passing the Judges testing via 90 day wool shearing tests. Since IAGARB registration is independent of parentage or ancestry, any REW (ruby-eyed-white) or colored angora rabbit that meets the registration standards of the club can be registered as a German Angora. The notion that they come only in white is a common misconception, as the rules have recently been changed to include colored angoras as well as ruby eyed white.
Giant
A Giant Angora buck- Weight: 4.5 kg (9.9 lb) or larger
- ARBA-accepted varieties: Ruby-Eyed White Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin. Albinism results from inheritance of recessive gene alleles and is known to affect all vertebrates, including humans. The most common term used for an
The Giant Angora is the largest of the ARBA accepted angora breeds, having been created by Louise Walsh, of Taunton, Massachusetts to be an efficient wool producing rabbit sustained with 16-18% alfalfa based rabbit feed & hay and living in the standard size all wire cages used for commercial breeds. Its coat contains three types of wool: soft under wool, awn fluff, and awn hair; the awn type wool exists only on the giant and German angora. This breed should have furnishings on the face and ears. Many people confuse German angora with Giant angora, but they are not the same.
This is the largest of the four ARBA recognized Angora breeds. The only color ARBA officially recognizes for Giant angora is REW (Ruby Eyed White), or as more commonly referred to as an "albino"-indicating the absence of color pigment in the genetic makeup. The Giant Angora produces more wool than the French, Satin or English Angora. Unlike the German angora Giant Angora rabbits do molt. But it is a partial molt when the coat is approximately three months old. Some of its wool can be harvested by plucking. The remaining wool which is not easily removed in that manner may be cut or shorn. Like the German Angora, They require their wool to be harvested at least once every 90 days.
Since rabbits ingest their wool when they groom themselves clipping off of their wool at least once every 90 days is considered a must in order to prevent "wool block" from occurring. the wool swallowed by the rabbit can not be coughed or vomited up and will cause the rabbit to slowly starve to death as its digestive system and intestinal tract fill up with their ingested wool, if left untreated wool block can lead to death. It is widely held among serious angora breeders that along with ample cage space to exercise and feeding fresh horse quality hay on a daily basis will help keep the wool moving through the system and prevent wool block. it is also widely held that feeding both bromaline (found in fresh pineapple) and papaya occasionally will aid in breaking down the ingested wool, and aiding in its passage through the rabbits system.
Like many other "giant" breeds of rabbits the Giant Angora grows slowly. A senior doe usually takes 1+ yr to reach full maturity (size and weight). A senior buck, can take up to 1.5 years to fully mature (size and weight).
Satin
A broken satin Angora rabbit.- Weight: 3.0–4.5 kg (6.6–9.9 lb).
- ARBA-accepted varieties: Agouti Agouti refers to a number of species of rodents as well as a number of genes affecting coat coloration in several different animals. Agouti fur contains a pattern of pigmentation in which individual hairs have several bands of light and dark pigment with black tips, Pointed White, Self, Shaded, Ticked, Wide Band
The Satin Angora is derived from a cross between a Satin Rabbit breeds are notably different varieties of domestic rabbit created through selective breeding or natural selection. Breeds recognized by organizations such as the American Rabbit Breeders' Association may be exhibited and judged in rabbit shows. Breeders attempt to emulate the breed standard by which each breed is judged. This breed listing and a French Angora. This breed is named for the extremely soft texture of its wool. It has no furnishings on face, ears, or feet, and it is also easy to groom compared to the English variety. Satin Angora's wool is said to be stronger for spinning Spinning is an ancient textile art in which plant, animal or synthetic fibers are twisted together to form yarn. For thousands of years, fiber was spun by hand using simple tools, the spindle and distaff. Only in the High Middle Ages did the spinning wheel increase the output of individual spinners, and mass-production only arose in the 18th than other varieties of Angora.
They are shown at ARBA shows using the types "white" and "colored"(broken not approved). As with other ARBA shown rabbits toe nails should also be only one color. The color of a Satin Angora is determined by the color of its head, feet and tail (all the same color).
This breed does not produce as much wool as other breeds of Angora rabbits. This trait is being improved upon by selective breeding. The wool should have a silky texture with good guard hair for ease of maintenance.
Personality
Angora Rabbits are active, playful and social with lots of personality. They enjoy the attention of their owner, as well as the companionship of other rabbits and often house angora will nap with a docile mannered cat. They enjoy having toys, for example a plastic ball, a pine cone, a piece of soft wood, a stuffed sock, or an old glove.
References
| This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008) |
External links
- ^ "Angora Rabbit Breeds - How to Care for Your Angora Rabbit". http://www.joyofhandspinning.com/angora-care.shtml. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
- Angora Breeder Exhibitor in the UK
- National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club official site
- German Angora Information, pictures, links to sites in Germany
- Home of Grand Champions Information on breeding, caring for, and showing Angora rabbits, as well as an extensive photo gallery.
- Spang Angoras Information on the French Angora Rabbit
- International Association of German Angora Rabbit Breeders official site
- Information on the humane breeding of Angora rabbits
- German, Giant & French angora rabbit Info, Photos, educational & health articles. Angora Wool for use in fiber arts, step by step how to spin angora into yarn, links
Categories: Rabbit breeds | Ankara
Examiner.com
I adopted my first rescue rabbit way back in 1984, less than an hour before he was to be euthanized. He was a gorgeous English angora with the sweetest ...
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hu, 15 Jul 2010 16:15:03 GM
Originating in Turkey, the . Angora rabbit. is one of the oldest varieties of domesticated rabbits in the world. . Angora rabbit. history The first historical reference of this rabbit dates back to 100 BC, when French monks began to ...
Q. He was very neglected with very overgrow nails and mats all over. He also has a bald spot where he was badly injured. He is very under weight and I have never had a rabbit so under weight before. I have already taken him to the vet and the groomer and I can't take him back to the vet in fear that his heart can't take it. (You know rabbits hearts) He is fine physically except what I have mentioned above. They said to feed him and love him but I was wondering what else to feed him besides the normal rabbit feed and the fruits and veggies. I know no broccoli cabbage lettuce and eggplant. Any foods I can give him to help and spoil him like he deserves?
Asked by Married and loving it!!!! - Wed Jan 31 00:07:24 2007 - - 9 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Try a pellet that is higher in protein. Angora's use a lot of it with the continual wool growth they do. You might also like to add some Alfalfa/Lucerne hay to his mix. If he's been neglected you'll find that just moving to a normal healthy diet will put some weight on him. I wouldn't introduce too much sweet stuff right now, it may mess up his digestive system. Don't underestimate the power of good old TLC either, it can go a long way to helping him recover. Good luck!
Answered by mbunnyau - Wed Jan 31 07:16:38 2007
