Extras

An excerpt from www.angorarabbit.com

This little book has saved a bunny or two for me...

Angora Rabbit Guidebook by Margaret Momphard
Margaret has been secretary of the Mid America Angora Club for many years, and has served the National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club as a Sweepstakes Chair and District 5 Director. She has been very competitive on a national level with her rabbits and is highly regarded in the fancy.

THE HISTORY OF THE ANGORA
It is believed the Angora rabbit originated in Ankara, Turkey. It is also believed the long-haired goats and cats also originated here.

The French were among the first to raise the Angora rabbit. They were kept as house pets until after the Revolution. At this time they were more noted for their beautiful wool.

The Angora was imported to England in 1777. Royalty had the peasants raise the animals to spin their wool into yarn. The English royalty regarded the Angora as a "fancy rabbit" or pet. The English formed clubs that specialized in the Angora.

The Angora was brought to the United States sometime after World War I. Here too, a specialty club was formed in 1932. The United States considered the Angora rabbit to be a multipurpose animal. It was known for its wool production, fancy show animal, and as a pet.

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HOUSING YOUR ANGORA

CAGES:

Everyone has their idea of what seems to be the perfect rabbit hutch. What may work well for some may not work for others. I prefer to use cages that are 24" x 30" that are 18" high. I do have some cages that are 24" x 24" x 18" and find them suitable for the young rabbits. My cages are made of 1" x 2" wire on the sides and top with 1" x 1/2" wire on the floor. Some people use the baby saver wire on their cages, however, I have not used this as I have urine guards on all of my cages which seem to protect babies from falling through the wire.

BUILDING:

It is extremely important to protect your Angora from the outside elements. I have mine in a building that is well ventilated. One needs to make sure the rabbits are not in a direct draft. If you must house your rabbit outside be sure to have the cages covered to protect the rabbits.

Angoras can withstand various temperatures, however, extreme heat can be fatal. If your rabbit is used to being outside be sure it is in a shaded area. If temperatures are above 80 degrees you need to place a frozen water bottle ( a two liter soda bottle works well) in the cage so the rabbit may lay against it to cool off. A rabbits ears are its thermostat so I suggest you lightly mist the ears to help cool it down.

In winter temperatures it is best to shield the rabbit cage from the winter winds, snow, etc. The hardest part of having your rabbit outside in the winter months is trying to supply enough fresh water as it will freeze quickly.

WATER:

It is best to use water bottles with angora rabbits. Using a crock for water causes their furnishings to mat more quickly.

FEEDERS:

I use 4" crocks to feed my rabbits that have the lip on them so when they decide to 'dig' in their food it is not wasted.

FEED:

I use Heinhold Wool Formula with my rabbits, however, other feeds may be used. I feed a 3/4 cup of feed per day. I also feed alfalfa or hay daily to help break down wool that has been ingested so they don’t get wool block. One of the things I have also found useful is to feed a quarter-cup of wild bird seed (I buy mine at Wal-Mart) twice a week. They love it and will usually eat the bird seed before the pellets.

Treats are always enjoyed by rabbits, however, too much of a good thing can cause diarrhea. Various treats can consist of: carrots, dried bread, crackers, apples, corn, corn stalks, grass, banana, dried pineapple, etc.

WOOLBLOCK:

Angora rabbits can die from woolblock. Where cats and dogs can vomit when they have a hairball rabbits cannot. The best way to treat woolblock is prevention. Grooming the rabbit frequently and providing a proper diet is well worth it in the long run. If you do have problems with woolblock one of the first signs will be the rabbit is not eating and/or the size of the droppings gets smaller than usual for that rabbit. I have found the best treatment to be dandelions (if you are as fortunate as I am to have lots of them available). I feed two large handfuls per day along with all of the alfalfa, hay, and bird seed the rabbit will eat. I do not feed any pellets during this time. Once I see the size of the droppings has gotten larger again I will give pellets to the rabbit.

Other remedies can include giving pineapple juice (frozen concentrate) one tablespoon of juice to two tablespoons of water, papaya tablets, petromalt (hairball remedy for cats) or Colace syrup.

One should also clip the wool as short as possible so the rabbit does not ingest anymore wool.

EXERCISE:

Everyone should have some exercise including your rabbit. Allowing your rabbit to run and have fun either outdoors (if the weather permits) preferably in a fenced area is very beneficial to your rabbit. I have a deck that my rabbits get to take turns using or I put a play pen up in the barn for them to spend the day in.

GROOMING:

Your grooming supplies need to consist of at least a soft slicker brush and flea comb or regular hair comb.

You should groom your rabbit at least once a week. I suggest you use a soft slicker brush as it will not pull out large amount of wool that a harder slicker brush will. You need to make sure you groom the belly side as well as the top. I find it easiest to hold the bunny like a baby to groom the belly and hind legs. I then place its ears between my knees to groom the face, (which I use a flea comb on the cheeks) chest, and front legs. To groom the top side of the rabbit I just sit it on my lap and start at the side and work to the top.

If you have several rabbits you may want to invest in a pet blower, however, they are not cheap! Before I purchased my pet blower I used the exhaust on my wet/dry vac to blow the loose wool from the rabbit before I brushed it. If you don’t have a wet/dry vac, you may want to use a hair dryer. Be sure not to use a heat hair dryer as it will dry the rabbits skin and cause dander.

I find most people who only have one or two rabbits usually just brush their rabbit and don’t do any blowing and that is fine too, however you will find the rabbits wool will be less dense.

You will find that your rabbit will shed its coat anywhere from 7 to 12 months. Your first indication of them shedding their coat will be when you are grooming large amounts of wool will brush out. At that time you will need to either clip or pluck the wool from the rabbit. Clipping (cutting the wool) is the fastest way to remove the wool from the rabbit. Plucking can take several days before the rabbit is completely done.

If you have an angora for a house pet, I suggest you constantly keep the wool clipped to a shorter length. You will have less wool to clean-up around the house and your grooming time will be minimal. I have several people who have angoras as house pets because they love their gentle nature, they keep them clipped with a 'poodle' cut!

HOUSE TRAINING:

Some of you may want to house train your bunny. This is not a difficult process, but it is time consuming.

Step 1:

Place your new rabbit in the cage and do not disturb or handle for about 24 hours. Observe which corner the rabbit uses to urinate in. Once the rabbit has scented out one spot to use as its toilet it will always return to the same spot.

Step 2:

Put your litter box over the selected corner. Once you determine the rabbit is using the box you may start handling the rabbit. Start by removing your bunny for 10 to 15 minutes several times a day.

Step 3:

You may now leave the rabbit out of its cage for longer periods of time, but watch carefully and return it to the cage if it shows signs of lifting its tail to urinate. If you catch it urinating outside of its cage you can spray it with a water bottle and return it to the cage. By the end of the third week you should be able to leave the door of the cage open so it may enter to use the litter box.

Step 4:

If you catch the rabbit using a rug, etc. for the litter box, spray the spot with apple bitters and it will not return. NEVER hit your rabbit for urinating on the floor, this will only make it mean and aggressive.

Step 5:

Rabbits love to chew on things. They will chew lamp cords, chair legs, carpets, etc. I would suggest you rub tobasco sauce on the cords and if you start to see it chew on the cord use your water bottle and spray it.

Step 6:

When you leave home, NEVER leave your bunny out. Always put it in the cage.

Step 7:

Your bunny may leave some droppings here and there, however, a whisk broom and dust pan will take care of this. Do not leave the droppings on the floor, as this will only encourage your bunny to use this area for its new toilet.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Northern California Angora Guild Angora Handbook; Second Edition, 1990

Promoting Angora Rabbits Across the Nation; National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club

National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club Guidebook

CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

There are many clubs and organizations that promote the angora rabbit and you may want to join..

MID AMERICA ANGORA CLUB

AMERICAN RABBIT BREEDERS ASSOCIATION

NATIONAL ANGORA RABBIT BREEDERS CLUB

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Should you have any further questions regarding raising your angora rabbit, please feel free to contact us either by mail or phone. We would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Wishing you the best with your new angora rabbit!

Tom and Margaret Momphard
909 Highway E
Silex, MO 63377

e-mail: [email protected]