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Either Turkey really is an amazing country, or there is some factor there that influences the length of downy hair in animals, or simply the “discoverers” of long-haired breeds of farm animals know how to create myths, but all domestic animals with fluffy long hair are considered to be natives today from the outskirts of the Turkish city of Ankara. And all these animals always have the word “Angora” in their breed names. Angora rabbits are no exception here.
Initially, the long-haired rabbit was discovered, of course, in Turkey, from where it was taken to Europe. The cute fluffy animal quickly gained a lot of fans, but there weren’t enough purebreds for everyone. And the climate in many countries was not suitable for the southern animal. When crossing long-haired animals with local breeds of rabbits, it turned out that long hair can be inherited, even if not in the first generation. As a result, European countries began to appear their own breeds of Angora rabbits. Now there are more than 10 Angora breeds in the world.Of these, 4 are recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association. The rest are either recognized by national organizations or are still being worked on.
Such a new, not yet formalized breed is the Angora dwarf rabbit. Previously, all breeds of Angora rabbits were bred not for fun, but to obtain wool from them for making cashmere - the most expensive woolen fabric. It was rabbit fur that made cashmere so soft, warm and expensive. Even wool angora goat inferior to rabbit. Therefore, the Angora has never been dwarf; this is unprofitable for rabbit wool producers. The usual weight of the Angora rabbit, depending on its variety, ranges from 3 to 5 kg.
But the demand for wool, even for cashmere, is falling, although today Angoras are bred in China specifically for their wool. But the demand for miniature fluffy balls, causing affection by their very appearance, is growing. It is convenient to keep small rabbits in an apartment, although many people confuse the concepts “decorative rabbit" and "dwarf or miniature rabbit." An ordinary Angora weighing 5 kg can also be decorative if it is kept not for its wool, but as a pet. The miniature Angora rabbit is no longer suitable for industrial breeding, but it can bring a lot of pleasure to owners.
Miniature breeds of Angora rabbits
The ways of breeding miniature angoras are different. Some breeders simply select the smallest representatives of existing breeds. Others add dwarf breeds of rabbits to Angoras.
Russian dwarf angora
In 2014, the breed of miniature rabbits “Russian Dwarf Angora” was included in the State Register of Russia.True, if you go by the words of the breeders themselves, this is not yet a breed in which all long-haired animals that meet certain requirements are entered into the stud book. That is, work is still underway on a fairly diverse (pun intended) population of long-haired rabbits with low weight. The weight of the animal should not exceed 2 kg.
Desirable traits of the future breed
As a final result, breeders want to see an animal with a weight of 1.1 - 1.35 kg, a strong well-built body, a short wide head and relatively short ears no more than 6.5 cm long. Unlike Western Angoras, the Russian Angora should have good hair growth heads. Many Western Angoras have almost the entire head covered with short hair, which is undesirable for the Russian Dwarf Angora.
The main problems that are being worked on are crooked paws - a legacy of the original stock exported from Poland, and instability in the length of the coat.
Much attention is also paid to the quality of wool. It should be thicker than that of industrial Angoras, but at the same time remain down, without turning into guard hair, to maintain the appearance of the rabbit, as in the photo above. It is possible to increase the amount of awns, which will prevent the fluff from falling off and will make it easier for owners to care for the rabbit at home. Here the breeders themselves have not yet decided in which direction to move.
The colors of the Russian Angora can be white, black, blue, black and piebald, piebald, red and piebald.
American fluffy lop-eared rabbit
The fluffy ram was obtained by crossing first a Dutch Fold with an English Butterfly to obtain a piebald color, then with a French Angora, since the resulting offspring had deteriorated wool. The maximum weight of an American furry sheep does not exceed 1.8 kg. In fact, this is not yet a breed either, since the variation in the exterior and length of the coat is quite large and it happens that a fluffy little rabbit is suddenly born from the Dutch Fold. The point here is that the French Angora gene is recessive and, recorded as Dutch Fold, the sires actually carry the “Angora” gene.
Desired breed standard
The body is short and compact. The legs are thick and short. The animal should hold its head high. The ears hang strictly to the sides. The hair on the head is semi-long. The length of the coat on the body is 5 cm. The colors are very diverse.
However, the coat of this breed is coarser than that of real Angoras and is much easier to care for. Grooming requirements include daily running your fingers through the animal’s fur to prevent the formation of tangles.
Large breeds of Angora rabbits
The most common and internationally recognized breeds are the English and French Angoras, plus the Giant and Satin Angora rabbits. To these breeds should be added the German Angora, not recognized by the States and registered by the national association of rabbit breeders in Germany, and the Soviet white downy rabbit. Today, Chinese, Swiss, Finnish, Korean and St. Lucian should be added to these breeds.And there is a suspicion that these are not all currently existing breeds of Angora rabbits.
All Angora down rabbit breeds have a common ancestor, but, as a rule, local breeds were added to all of them to make the animals more resistant to changed living conditions. Turkish purebred Angoras would hardly have withstood the conditions even in Europe, not to mention the Russian frosts. And today it is impossible to keep a Russian Angora rabbit on the street. Even modified into a white downy breed, this breed requires keeping in a warm room in winter.
English and French Angora rabbits
The photo shows an unclipped English Angora.
This is her after her haircut.
Without knowing the nuances of caring for Angora rabbits, you can’t tell from photographs that they are the same breed.
Photo of a French Angora rabbit.
Until 1939, there was only one breed of rabbit, called the Angora Down. Due to the presence of two very different lines, from 1939 the breed was divided into the English Angora rabbit and the French Angora rabbit. The photo shows that the English Angora has an overgrown head. Even on her ears she has long fur, which makes her ears appear semi-erect. The paws are also covered with long hair. The wool of the English version is longer than that of the French Angora.
The English Angora rabbit is the smallest breed recognized in the United States. Its weight is 2 – 3.5 kg.
The color of English Angoras can be white with red eyes, white with dark eyes, solid of any color, agouti, piebald.
In the photo there is an English white Angora rabbit with red eyes, that is, an albino.
So you have to take the word of the author of the photo about red eyes.
The French Angora has a head completely covered with short hair. The ears are “naked”. On the body, the fur is distributed so that the body appears spherical, but the paws have short hair.
In contrast to the English Angora, the French Angora is one of the largest Angora breeds. Its weight is from 3.5 to 4.5 kg. The colors of these rabbits are similar to their English relatives.
Giant Angora
The largest Angora, bred by crossing German Angoras, French rams and Flemish giants. This is the only breed that has only white color. All giant angoras are albinos.
Satin Angora
The animal of this breed is somewhat similar to the French Angora. But why be surprised if this breed was developed by crossing a satin rabbit with a French angora.
The photo shows a satin rabbit.
This Angora received the name “satin” for the special shine of its coat, inherited from the second parent breed.
The Satin Angora has less coat than the French and has a different texture. It is considered more difficult to spin because it is more slippery. Only solid colors are officially allowed. Nowadays, piebald has also appeared, but it has not yet been officially approved.
White down
Soviet-made animal. The downy white dog was bred in the Kirov region by crossing local animals with French Angoras. Further, the selection was based on the strength of the constitution, vitality, down production and increase in live weight, which in an adult animal is 4 kg. From white down you can get up to 450 g of wool, in which down is 86 - 92%.
The downy white is much better adapted to Russian natural conditions than other Angoras.
Caring for Angora rabbits
Fundamentally, keeping these animals is no different from keeping any other breed of rabbit. These animals eat the same things as their relatives. The main difference is the long hair.
If the wool clogs the intestines, the animal will die. As a preventive measure, Angoras are fed fresh hay without restrictions. Hay prevents the formation of wool mats in the animal's gastrointestinal tract.
The Angora's coat must be brushed periodically to prevent it from matting.
English, satin and white down breeds require brushing every 3 days. The collection of fluff from them is carried out 2 times a year during molting.
German, Giant and French Angoras do not shed. Their wool is completely sheared once every 3 months, collecting 4 harvests of fluff per year. It is recommended to brush these animals once every 3 months. It's clear. There is no point in combing short hair, but it’s time to cut long hair. Before cutting the animal, it is better to comb it.
Grooming a German Angora
Lifespan and breeding of Angora rabbits
Angoras live as long as other rabbits, that is, 6 – 12 years. Moreover, the better the care for the animal, the longer it will live. Unless, of course, we are talking about a rabbit farm, where the rules are completely different.How long animals live on a farm depends on their value. Particularly valuable ones are discarded at 5–6 years of age. But usually the lifespan of female rabbits is 4 years. Then the female rabbit’s reproduction rate drops and productivity decreases. It becomes unprofitable to keep it.
Young Angoras for breeding are selected from six months. Assess the length and quality of the coat. If the parameters do not suit the owner, then, after harvesting the animal’s wool 2–3 times, the animal is sent for slaughter.
The same requirements apply to the breeding of Angoras as to the breeding of other rabbits. The owner of an ornamental animal can trim the hair around the female's genitals and nipples for hygiene purposes.
Conclusion
When getting Angora rabbits, you should be prepared for the need to care for their fur, no matter what the breeders of this breed say. Especially if you are breeding Angoras not for business, but for the soul and you want your pet to win at the exhibition.
