Okay -- Here I go on another feasiblity study -- I've been thinking that Angora rabbits raised for their angora might be a lucrative sideline. Anyone out there doing this? Do you sell the unspun wool, or do you spin it? If you spin it, do you knit it/crochet it into anything and then sell the product? Are there restrictions that I should know about? How much angora do you get from each rabbit? What about breeding? Anything special to know? I'd appreciate all advice!!!

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), July 22, 2000

Answers

I have been raising Angoras for less than a year and it has really been a learning experience for us!!!!

There is not a big market for the hair unless you can get connected with some home spinners and home knitters. I am wanting to learn to spin myself.

Also to make a whole lot of money at it you would need to reaise A LOT of animals to have a lot of hair. I believe that most people who make money at this do it as a combined cottage industry, they raise Angoras and spin and knit and sell not only the hair but yarn and finished products like hats and sweaters, those kinds of things.

Angoras are very sweet animals, at least mine are. They don't do well in extreme heat and we've been having to change their ice bottles at least twice a day this summer in north Alabama.

There are some good books on Angoras. If you will just type Angora into any search engine you will be led to all kinds of neat sites about the main four breeds of Angoras.

If you have any more questions feel free to e-mail me direct. We are by no means experts but we're certainly enjoying our rabbits!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), July 23, 2000.

I tried English Angoras but sold them down to one, they are very messy & if you get behind in the grooming it can be a nightmare. I also found that I am too timid with them, my fear of hurting them led to clumps that had to be cut out. I don't want to discourage anyone but I'm just being honest about my experience. I kept one because they have the sweetest personalities, you can pick them up and carry them around & they won't scratch you up like the other rabbits I've had. Just don't get behind on keeping them clean.

-- Lenore (archambo@winco.net), July 23, 2000.

Hi Tracy, I had French Angoras for about 10 years. They are VERY labor intensive. I wanted to spin the wool but discovered that it is very difficult to spin by itself and that any garment made from pure angora is too warm to wear at any time of the year, even in Northern Wisconsin in the winter. It can be combined with sheep's wool to make a really nice blend that is durable but warm and fuzzy. The blend is much easier to spin, too. You can either shear or pluck the rabbits. Shearing is faster but requires good equipment or you will cut or pinch their very delicate skin. Plucking is slower,( the wool has to be "ripe",) but results in nice long, strands with no cut ends. That makes a difference in the finished garment. Once the rabbits get used to the plucking, they don't mind it at all. If the wool is ripe it doesn't hurt them. You might be able to find a fiber arts guild whose members would like to buy angora but they are fussy about the cleanliness and prefer the direction of the fibers to all go the same way. At least that's what they told me. They liked mine because it was so neat. The problem was that it took too long to do and I couldn't justify the time involved. I have no idea what you might get for an ounce of wool now but an ounce is an awful lot of plucking!! They are nice little animals though and if you want them for pets or just for your own fiber they are fun.I had no problems with breeding and they were good mothers. They are susceptible to all rabbit diseases plus woolblock. Keep in touch, always glad to hear from you.

-- Peg (NW WI) (wildwoodfarms@hushmail.com), July 24, 2000.

The best way to get into angoras is to be a spinner,I was going to say that the only way to make money at it was as a cottage industry but then I remembered betty chu, This women raises and shows angoras, she makes a good profit BUT she shows every weekend almost and she has some of the top angoras in the country, took her about 10 years to get were she is today.The easyest way is to spin and sell yarn and items made from angora. You can spin angora on a drop spindle but it takes a lot of practice. Angora is wonderfull plyed with another fiber [lamb works well and keeps the cost down]my fave is angora and alpaca. I started with the rabbits couldnt find a market for wool so learned to spin it my self and went from there.My biggest seller has been and always will be spinning dog hair for people.Angoras are fun but they are not easy[ woolblock, fly strike ect]. And as Ive said before they are not a rabbit you can put in a cage and ignore,in fly season if they are not in a screened porch you can loose one to fly strike in 2 days.I would sugest learning to spin and then decide if its something you might want to try.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), July 25, 2000.

After reading all this today I feel like I should add some more. Angoras do require some work but to me they are well worth it! Mine respond generally with love (although I do have one buck who can be quite a handful!!!)

I make sure I keep their droppings cleaned up. They are in a room on the side of our little barn and the back wall is not completed yet. But I keep their droppins cleaned up every day and keep their hutches clean and we haven't had a fly problem even in all this hot weather this summer!!!

I don't think this is a major money marketing thing unless you are already a weaver or a spinner and have a market for your projects or plan to raise hundreds of them to sell massive amounts of their wool.

But if you want a side line to help on your farmstead don't give up on them until you have as much info as possible!!!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), July 27, 2000.