Breed Focus: Angora Rabbits

Helen Babbs finds out about these easy-to-keep rabbits with their luxury fibre

Are you looking for livestock that's small enough to pick up, doesn't churn the paddocks into mud, and produces valuable luxury fibre every 3-4 months? Such a creature does exist, in the form of angora rabbits. "Compared to our sheep, the rabbits are ever so much easier," says Sarah Paul of Bigwigs Angoras earnestly. While she might have been slightly influenced by a hectic day lambing, angora rabbits have great potential for smallholders, particularly for those with limited acreage. "I have eight at present," Sarah explains, "which is very manageable, while still producing enough fibre to sell at wool shows.

WONDERFUL WOOL

The most striking thing about an angora rabbit is, of course, its amazing woolly coat. "They look about three inches bigger all round, with their full fuzz," Sarah notes. This thick coat grows all over the rabbit, apart from their faces, even along the backs of their ears, at a rate of 1 inch per month. "The best fibre comes from their back and sides, while it's a little bit shorter on their chest and belly."

The angora "wool" is composed of two layers: long, straight, silky guard hairs; and a shorter, slightly crimped undercoat. "Even the guard hairs are incredibly warm and soft, which is why it makes such soft, luxury yarn," Sarah explains. "The three types of Angora rabbit - English, French and German - have different proportions of undercoat to guard-hair, but it's all still fabulously soft."

Sarah's current batch of rabbits are all the French type. "They get slightly more guardhair as they age, but come in a lovely range of colours: pure white, chocolate, sable, agouti, gold which is a really a fawn, then many shades of grey from blue to dark 'smoke"." The English type are smaller, with softer fibre, although in the same range of colours, while the German type are largest but only pure white.

SHEARING TIME