Angora Breeds
English AngoraBreed Standard:
|
French AngoraBreed Standard:
|
German / German-Hybrid Angora
|
What's the difference between Germans, colored Germans, and German Hybrids?
When German Angora's were first brought to North America the Ruby Eyed White (albino aka REW) was the only color. Although the German breed is not recognized by ARBA, to be considered a purebred German, the animal must trace its lineage directly back to only animals imported from Germany. The desire for alternate colors led to the cross breeding of the Germans with other breeds to gain the variety of colors while maintaining the production quality of German Angoras. When the hybridized rabbits are bred up to a greater percentage of German they can attempt to be registered with IAGARB as German Hybrids. In 2006 black German angoras were imported from Germany. Since then various recessive genes being concealed by the albinism of the REW rabbits have expressed by producing chestnut, red, fawn, and chocolate rabbits to date. These colored rabbits are considered pure bred because they do not owe their color to another breed unlike the hybrids.
When German Angora's were first brought to North America the Ruby Eyed White (albino aka REW) was the only color. Although the German breed is not recognized by ARBA, to be considered a purebred German, the animal must trace its lineage directly back to only animals imported from Germany. The desire for alternate colors led to the cross breeding of the Germans with other breeds to gain the variety of colors while maintaining the production quality of German Angoras. When the hybridized rabbits are bred up to a greater percentage of German they can attempt to be registered with IAGARB as German Hybrids. In 2006 black German angoras were imported from Germany. Since then various recessive genes being concealed by the albinism of the REW rabbits have expressed by producing chestnut, red, fawn, and chocolate rabbits to date. These colored rabbits are considered pure bred because they do not owe their color to another breed unlike the hybrids.
Satin AngoraBreed Standard:
|
Angora Fiber
Angora wool is 8-10 times warmer than sheep's wool. Like alpaca, it is self cleaning because it is hydrophobic. All angoras except giants and germans shed out their wool every 90 days. During this time, the fiber can be spun into yarn directly from the bunny. Angora wool does not have "memory" which means it can felt and continuously stretch out if not mixed with other fibers. The fiber can be spun as yarn and produces a nice halo. It can also be mixed with other fibers before spinning. Shorter fibers can be felted into mittens and socks which will be very warm, can be individualized in size, and will repel melting snow, water, and sweat.
Angoras for Profit
Many of us keep Angoras to support our own fiber hobbies because the fiber cost can really add up when you buy it retail. Everyone does things a little different and I get asked a lot if angoras are a money maker, or a money sink. The short answer is that it really depends how you manage them. As a small farm you can break even without too much effort but to really make an income you are going to have to plan on scaling up and looking into alternative feed sources like fodder to reduce your expenses. Farming is not a high return on investment so don't plan on getting rich, plan on putting in a labor of sweat, blood, and tears and investing a lot back into your farm.