What a great number of entries into the product competition at the Bradford Championship Show this January held in Doncaster. So many varied items made from natural fibres and Angora wool products.
Rabbit terminology
NAC – National Angora Club
BRC- British rabbit Council
CC – Challenge certificate
BIS – Best in Show
BOB – Best of Breed
AOC – any other colour
AA – Any age
Ad – Adult rabbit over five months old
U/5 – Rabbit under five months
U/4 – rabbit under four months old
Brood Doe/Stud Buck – Clipped rabbits that can be judged to the standard at a stock show
coat to be no more than an inch long
YSS- Young Stock Show
GC – Grand Challenge
Rabbit problem explanations
- Scouring – Diahorrea
- Bloat – when the stomach is very tight like a drum
- Putty mouth or nose fault– When the rabbit has light colour round its dark face
- VM – Vienna marked – when a rabbit has random white patches on it
- VHD – Viral Haemmorrhagic Disease
If you are wanting to take more of an active role in the showing of angora rabbits then here is a brief guide to becoming a 3* judge. 3* judges fall into four categories, Fancy, Lop, Fur and Rex. The ultimate goal is to become a 3* judge in all four categories but this takes time, a lot of study and research and a great deal of patience.
Sally May of Bourne Stud with her award winning Chocolate Doe
Another great show for Angora breeders on the 21st and 22nd January 2018. There were three adults entered. Unfortunately Magickal Rabbits could not make it due to the weather.
The quality of the English Angora wool is second to none. It is silky and soft and has excellent texture and sheen. As the babies grow you should be able to see crinkles (crimp) in the shaft of the wool.
The English Angora has the finest wool of the Angora breeds. It is very clean compared to sheep’s wool, being 98% pure, whilst sheep’s wool consists of 50% grease. It is very warm as it is full of air cells, which increase its insulating properties. The wool grows very fast on the rabbit, at approximately 1 inch per month, and the rabbit is clipped 3 monthly for spinning wool. The best wool for spinning grows on the back and flanks of the rabbit, whilst the coarser chest and tummy wool is excellent for felt. A rabbit’s wool production declines with age.
It is not necessary to wash Angora before spinning. After spinning the yarn can be washed gently in lukewarm water with a suitable wool detergent such as Woolite, or the knitted product can be washed and blocked.
There are several reasons for runny eyes in a rabbit, and it is important to seek the advice of a vet if the problem persists.
Congenital or hereditary
Occasionally a number of babies in a litter may have runny eyes due to inherited eye lid deformities, where the tears spill over the eyelids instead of draining down the eye ducts to the nose (nasolacrimal ducts). As this may be hereditary, these rabbits should not be bred from.
As well as supporting the exhibition of the Angora rabbit, the National Angora Club (NAC) also supports those who produce yarn, felt and garments from wool which has been harvested in an ethical and animal friendly way.
For details of our Product Shows, please see further posts in the wool festivals, wool products or rabbit shows category. For more information on Products Shows, contact our Products secretary (details in Club Officials post).
The Product Competition Rules of the National Angora Club are as follows:
General health
Keeping your angora rabbits healthy is the key. If you can provide them with the essentials of good welfare this makes for a happy healthy angora rabbit. However, in some circumstances even when they appear to have everything they may need they can become poorly for a range of reasons so here are some general hints and tips on the main health requirements for angora rabbits.
The Angora Club Products Competition is open to all members. It is not necessary to keep an Angora rabbit to enter yarn, a felted product, garment or accessory, as Angora wool can be obtained from the Club or from another member. Products hand-made from the wool from English, French, German or Satin Angoras and from Angoras of unstandardised colours can be entered. The competitions take place at the Bradford show at Doncaster in January, and the London show at Peterborough in October. Entries can be sent by post.