| Breeding GoalsOur interests evolve as we continue to work with the wool our rabbits produce. While there will always be a place for the purebred German Angora and its fabulous white wool in our rabbitry, we are entertained by the various colors hybrids can introduce. Currently, there are two tangents to the breeding direction here.  One is to continue producing Satin/German crosses who have an increased yield, while maintaining satinized wool characteristics. The other is to promote the rufus gene and orange creme wool in rabbits that meet the IAGARB breed standard. Both of these goals require a lot of work, culling, and cage space. Since we do not have excess cage space and are not willing to become a rabbit mill, our breeding program is slow going and painstakingly rigorous. We test kits for production early on and keep continuing records on all animals to try and reduce personal bias in the selection process.Overall, the primary objective is to produce quality rabbits with high wool production.Rabbit Colors/Wool Colors
Angora rabbit colors are described by their head colors. While the description will give you some idea of the color variation in the body, the color description of the head does not translate into the color of the wool. Angora rabbits basically produce three wool colors: white, shades of gray, and shades of cream/taupe.
Depending on the individual animal, the gray wool may have black or brown guard hairs, flecks of brown or white, may be satinized or flat. However, the overall color will appear shades of gray. Similarly the creme/taupe color may have rufus red flecks, dark or light guard hairs, or the undercoat appear almost white. All three color groups may be flat or show a satin sheen. Generally, you can expect the following color descriptions to produce these wool colors:
Creme/Taupe Shades
Faun/fawn, red, torte
Gray Shades
Black, chocolate, torte, agouti
White
ruby-eyed white (REW), blue-eyed white, white
Purebred vs. hybrid/cross
Why do the purebreds cost so much? Between line breeding and rigorous standards, animals with purebred German Angora lineage tend to produce more wool, be more consistent between individuals, and they reproduce more consistent offspring. While the wool production is more consistent, the wool tends to have considerably less sheen and slightly more coarse.
In contrast, the hybrids and crosses may vary widely within a single litter with some animals meeting the breed standard for German Angoras and others looking like a french or satin angora with widely variable coat characteristics. They are more likely to have issues with molting and synchronicity, low production, and uneven growth across the body. Unfortunately, this unpredictability requires the discerning breeder to cull more rigorously. But the resulting wool color and texture can be well worth the effort. It is truly divine.
So why breed the hybrids? Because we hand spinners are suckers for color, sheen, and texture. Plus the unknown is entertaining. Currently, there is no colored stock consistently meeting the German Angora Standard set by IAGARB, but the goal is an enticing one.
Wool characteristics
This section is under discussion ....
Topics to come include:
- Bucks vs. Does
- Crimp
- Sheen
- Length
- Synchronicity
- Uneven Growth
- Color Banding
| | Happy Rabbits are Healthy Rabbits
Beyond the basics of clean housing and proper medical care, we are of the philosophy that a happy rabbit is a healthy rabbit. And, theoretically, produces more wool ;) Therefore we ensure proper nutrition, tasty water, fresh air, and natural light. All of our bunnies enjoy "yard time" where they run around in our spacious fenced enclosure, eating grass/licking snow, investigating scent markers left by other bunnies, and digging holes (much to our chagrin). While this is fun for the bunnies, it does take its toll on the wool, so we have learned a lot about when to let a bunny run and when not to. Overall, the freedom has developed confidence, curiosity, and great muscle tone in our rabbits. We also hope it enriches their lives and encourages happy healthy mega-wool producing bunnies.
Buyer Guarantee
We have been very fortunate in our remote area and cold climate to avoid many of the diseases and maladies plaguing most rabbitries. Unfortunately we are not immune, and take every reasonable precaution to treat common diseases, cull individuals who may be genetically prone to immune deficiencies, and prevent future outbreaks. However, once a rabbit leaves our facility, we no longer have control over what that rabbit may be exposed to or the stresses it experiences and the resulting immune response. Rabbits are extremely responsive to their environment. Warm temperatures, dehydration, poor nutrition, unsanitary conditions, and prolonged stress greatly reduce the animal's resiliency. We do guarantee all animals leave here in optimal health, disease free. It is the buyer's responsibility to take care and great caution to ensure the animal remains so.
Other factors such as gross wool production, litter size, virility, and mothering instincts are out of our control. Environmental factors play an important role in many of these traits and without testing an individual for breeding, we cannot guarantee any young rabbit will reproduce well.
What we can do is provide you with information on the success of other animals in the line, a general idea of the range of wool production you might expect, and an estimation of the individual's ideal weight. We cannot predict the future, only generalize based on the characteristics of the animals we have raised from the line.
While we state that we cannot guarantee the success of your animal, we want to know if you have any issues and help in any way we can, either through advice or referrals to competent veterinary care. We also need to know if you believe you bought an animal from us with a predisposed condition, or genetic flaw, as we will, at our discretion, replace such an animal.
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