Angora Rabbits

Making your own~ German Angora Rabbit Farm

Of course, we all have different reasons for making the choices we do. Here are just a few things you may want to consider before deciding if you want an angora rabbit.

    The German angora pros-

• These fluffs are a kind and silly bunny. A sweet breed of rabbit.
• they make good sense if you want a lot of fluff to spin and sell. The average bunny in my barn produces about 10 oz of prime fiber every 90 days.  So be prepared to harvest, harvest, harvest, and harvest again in a year.
• The German angora is good on the bottom line. Pound for pound German angoras out produce my sheep by a long shot, take up less space, and consume less then sheep any day.  Angora fluff is selling for about $7 per oz.  (You will need a good marketing strategy to sell anything.)
• …are the least amount of maintenance of all the breeds of angora rabbits. I don’t brush or blow their coats.  I shear every 90 days.
• angora fluff is so elegant and ethereal to wear.  It is 7 times warmer than wool, produces the most beautiful halo, can be felted into a thin stable material.  It is wonderful to blend.

And the cons-

• There is no getting around the amount of fluff you will have if you do not have a good marketing strategy or do not use up 10 oz every 90 days.
• This is a special bunny with special needs and there is no getting around extra care. Plan time to shear. You need to have a vested interest in spinning or marketing to own this breed of rabbit. (There is nothing wrong with owning just a rabbit or even a bunny that doesn’t produce as much fluff. There are so many fun breeds out there that are great for fun.)
• The extra ugly reality is they are susceptible to mites, fly strike, and wool block. If you keep angoras for more then just a bit you will most likely encounter some of these problems. (If you should ever have a problem and need a resource, I am here to help you.  You can contact me about this I will give you the information I have.  There is no shame in not knowing how to fix something you haven’t encountered before.) There are ways to minimize the ugly.
• Sometimes you will have to choose to shear a bunny at a time that you won’t get prime fiber. Maybe heat or motherhood.
• If you plan on harvesting their fluff and getting the best return on your investment you will need to be on time for shearing. This is also your best defense against fly strike and wool block.
• I like to let my bunnies out for a good romp, but for the last bit of grow out they need to stay in their pens to keep clean.
• They don’t always “breed like rabbits”.

Is the German Angora the right rabbit for you?

It’s not hard to entice would be buyers, but I have talked many more people out of bunnies then I have sold.  Remember to do you research and know what you are getting yourself into.  When you have made the decision to invest, jump in with both feet and be prepared for the fun and the frustration.   I would love to stress that it is so important to set in your mind the commitment it takes to make the angora a fit for your farm.  It seems no matter how real I paint the picture there have been too many people come back to me and ask if I will take back the bunny they bought.  It is always a little sad…  At this point if you have a question or hesitation about angora bunnies, it may be time to pause…

…it doesn’t mean that you can’t revisit this in the future, but it is a good thing to listen to your gut.

When you have decided to make that commitment:

Here is some of the things that I have done for the warren I have set up, and the program that works for me.

“The bunny, the bunny, oh we love the bunny…”    ~My friend Maria

These bunnies are very sweet, and it is sooo easy to fall in love with…

Why German angora bunnies make good sense for a little back yard fiber business:

• Just starting out it is fairly inexpensive to begin small and work your way up to the level you are comfortable with. This had a huge appeal for me!!

Angora Rabbit Habitat

• It is reasonable to provide them with outdoor shelter suitable for their needs depending on your area. I live in Hermiston where the summers get over 100*F for several days or weeks.  The winters can get down below freezing as well for several days or weeks.  More extreme areas will need to make different accommodations. However in my case, up until 2005 I didn’t have them in a barn.  My philosophy has been that they have been a little hardier not kept in the most sheltered environment.  One other thing that I have chosen is to not use trays for poop collection.  I clean it up off of the ground.   It’s ok to challenge me on this one.  I would also say that we all have different environments, and challenges to deal with in housing that no two warrens will look the same.  I always think it is fun to see what you have planned for your bunnies.  Leave me a picture in the comments or send me an email.  I would love to see what you have!

The Bunny Palace:

• For the longest time all I had was a hutch type shelter. I chose to make my own cages.  That way I could make them the size that I want.  Early on Gail, who I bought my first bunnies from, told me that she liked her cages 24” high because the bunnies love to stand up and see what is going on.  It really is sweet to see the bunns stand up and see “What’s up doc?”  I also chose to make them at least 30” x 32” and I have several larger just for fun.  Angoras are a special case… snigger snigger.  All of the bunns get to go out on the lawn here and there.  I do have plans to make a more permanent bunny run.  They love to hop about.  I am hoping 2021 will bring about a secure bunny run.  They won’t be out on a 24-hour basis by themselves, but it is so fun to let them out for a time to be real wild bunnies.

What to feed your angora rabbit

• The other reason raising German angoras makes sense is that angora rabbits are low on the input and high on the output. My initial reasons for getting bunnies was to have some fluff to spin and make gifts for my peeps.  And oh my.!. it has turned into so much more than that.  I love it.  The bunnies have paid for themselves and afforded me to get some sheep to add to the pot.
  • One bunny will eat 1 cup of rabbit food a day. Along with that I also provide them with a handful of good quality grass hay, a thimble full of black oil sunflower seeds and fresh water.  At 1 cup per day it takes 65 days for 1 rabbit to get through a 50 lb bag of rabbit food.  I do drive a bit to get some really nice quality feed, and pay $20 a bag.  Doing the math that ends up being $0.31 per day and $112.30 for the year.  The other expenses for the year are not calculated but you can work that out for yourself.

How much does angora rabbit wool sell for?

• Now on the output side if we just look at fluff each bunn in my barn is conservatively producing 10 oz of prime fiber every 90 days. There is more value adding to do if you have the gumption and where with all to make that go, but we are just dealing with feed and fluff for now.  That ends up being 40 oz per year.  The lowest amount I will part with this angelic fluff is $100 when you buy a lb.  Which works out to be $6.25 per oz.  That ends up being $250 for the year.
  • With only these 2 elements being calculated each bunny is making about $137.70 per year. Not too shabby.

German Angora Rabbits for sale

A huge piece of taking on animals is having a contingency plan in place.  There will always be things that get in the way, and things that happen to change our lives.  I think that is how we grow.  Think about what resources you have if you want to go on vacation.  Who will take care of them?  Do you have an exit strategy for when you decide this isn’t working for you anymore?  It could be for years to come, but these are such great answers to think about before you set up all this fun.  My friend has a really good mind set with her animals.  She has said (while training her horses) that she wants her animals to be so sell trained that they would be able to walk into any home when the time comes.  I love that mindset!

Occasionally I have bunnies available. I always welcome your questions and comments. If you to sign up to Follow the Fun you can see all the fun things that go on here at the farm. There is a place in the newsletter for the animals we have available for sale. Please note that we want to make sure that this is the right fit just as much as you do. You can hit reply to our email anytime to see if what we have.

If you are looking for some more info IAGARB has some more great info for you. There is also a breeders list if you are looking for someone in your area with bunnies.

All the Angora blog posts:

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  Utilizing Angora Fiber
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