French Angora Rabbits
by Pegg
Thomas
If you’ve had the privilege to handle, much less spin, some prime plucked
French Angora fiber, you know you’ve held a piece of heaven in your hands.
The silkiness, the color, the softness, it all comes together to make something
very special. It makes many spinners feel the need to rush out and
buy one for themselves. But before buying a rabbit, there are some things
you should know and consider about the breed.
French Angora rabbits are a larger breed, weighing between 7 ½
and 10 ½ pounds as adults. They require a cage at least 24”
by 30” to live in. As with all angora breeds, a wire bottom cage is
best as it keeps the rabbit and wool free from droppings and urine.
While they do just fine in a barn or garage, they do need to be kept out
of direct drafts in winter and direct sunlight in summer. Angora rabbits
will suffer more from over heating than from cold weather. Their special
coats keep them very warm in the winter months.
French Angoras produce two types of fiber, a very soft and crimpy undercoat
and the smooth, silky guard hairs that grow slightly longer. Because
of the abundance of these guard hairs, the French Angora produces a more
vibrant natural colored coat. In the white French, the guard hairs provide
a shine and glimmer to the coat. The guard hairs also help keep the
softer undercoat from matting, making the French rabbits easier to groom
than the other angora breeds.
Like all breeds of angora rabbits, French need to be groomed. Good
quality French with proper coat characteristics are the easiest of all the
angora breeds to care for. They still need a good brushing or blowing
(using a commercial pet blower) at least once a week as the coat grows out.
And since they are kept on wire floored cages, they also need regular toenails
trimmings.
French Angoras are a shedding rabbit. Shedding is a natural process
that should happen 3 or 4 times a year. When the coat starts to shed
you can grab the end of the fibers between your thumb and fingers and just
slip it away from the new coat growing underneath. There should be
at least ¾” of new growth under what you’re removing. This process
is called “plucking” and does not hurt the animal. Young animals, not
used to being held still or plucked, should be done over several days to
prevent stressing the animal. Older rabbits will generally sit quietly
for an entire plucking.
Clipping the fibers can be done with either hand scissors or electric
clippers using a skip tooth blade. There are three drawbacks to clipping.
One, you’ll be cutting off the color tips of the new growth underneath, which
leaves the fibers full of little nubs we call “second cuts.” Two,
cutting leaves a blunt, slippery end that often works back up out of the
yarn, usually in uneven tufts. And three, unless you’re very, very
good at this, nicks and cuts to the rabbit are common. But clipping
is certainly faster than plucking.
French Angoras can live a long time with good care and nutrition.
Rabbits that are kept for fiber production and not bred to raise litters
will live longer than actively breeding rabbits. The life span of a
breeding French is around 6 years. Non breeding French may live as
long as 10 years.
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