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German Angora Rabbits
Learn through my experience about angora bunnies here at the warren by joining the newsletter.
German Angora Rabbit Pros~
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- These fluffs are a kind and silly bunny. A sweet breed of angora rabbit.
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- 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.
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- The German Angora Rabbits are good for 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 $12.50 per oz. (You will need a good marketing strategy to sell anything.)
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- ...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.
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- 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.
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And the Cons~
~There is no getting around the amount of fluff, so you will need a good marketing strategy or use up 10 oz every 90 days.
~This is a special bunny with specific needs. There is no getting around extra care. Plan time to shear. Sometimes you will have to shear a bunny at a time that you won’t get prime fiber, maybe heat or motherhood. (There is nothing wrong with owning a bunny that doesn’t produce 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 angora rabbits 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. There is no shame in not knowing how to fix something you haven’t encountered before.) There are ways to minimize the ugly.
~When 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 many reasons I use caution.
~The German Angora Rabbits don’t always “breed like rabbits”.
On the Farm...
Why German angora rabbits make good sense
for a little back yard fiber business
Angora Rabbitat
- It is reasonable to provide them with outdoor shelter suitable for their needs depending on your area. I live in North Eastern Oregon 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 enclosed controled environment. Another thing that I have chosen is a minimum or trays for poop collection. Up until this year all the bunns were on one level and I clean it up off of the ground.
- We all have different environments, and challenges to deal with in housing, so 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 do!
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 were 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 say “What’s up doc?” I also chose to make them at least 30” x 32” and I have several larger just for fun. There are several reasons why I give them their own space. 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 to 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 play wild bunny games.
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 $30 a bag. Doing the math that ends up being $0.46 per day and $168.46 for the year. The other expenses for the year are not calculated but you can work that out for yourself.
German Angora Rabbits For sale
Are you ready?
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!
Angora Rabbits for sale:
Occasionally I have bunnies available. I always welcome your questions and comments. If you to sign up for our newsletter Welcome to the Warren you can see all the fun things that go on here at the farm. This is the place where I outline my policies and prices, and give you the current photos, and pedigree info of animals 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 make a deposit on the bunny you are dreaming about.