Wow have they changed, they are little bundles of fluff now and full of energy and keen to play and run about. They still don’t have names yet and still not 100% on whether they are bucks or does or one of each. The larger potentially is a doe whilst the smaller bunny might be a buck. They have very different characters which develop more each day as does their coat colouring.
They have made it through to week 4 and are both developing really well and are starting to look more like Angora rabbits now, well in some of the photos they look more like Chinchilla’s but as they grow this will change. They have developed fun personalities and have some very distinctive character traits developing like the larger one is more inquisitive and wants to climb and both stand on their back legs to get a better vantage point to look out. While the smaller one tends to like to try to burrow and dig and run in and out of the cardboard box.
Just as an update the Breed standard changed this year for Coloured Angoras with the redefining of the Sooty Fawn colour now being Tortoiseshell (Sooty Fawn)( Black Mask) and Chocolate Tortoiseshell (Chocolate Mask)
The journey of the two baby English Angora rabbits continues as they start to develop further. This is the end of week 3 so 21 days old now and are quite the characters. As they are being hand reared they are very used to being handled and very friendly and social at such a young age in comparison to naturally raised young. Fortunately there were two to hand rear at the same time which has, I believe, helped their development in contrast to when I have only had one to hand rear.
They have both survived the first week of hand rearing and are developing well. One is definitely a better feeder than the other and is noticeably larger but both are putting on weight.
So hopefully hand rearing baby Angora rabbits is rarely needed, but in the eventuality that it is, here is some guidance on how to do it. Recently I had a doe who gave birth to a litter of babies, she started to show signs of failing health prior to the birth and sadly died immediately following the birth of the babies. The two babies were born on the 6th September 2021.
Products Show to be held at the London Champs on Saturday 9th October. Entries to Sandra Orr by post or bring them on the day but ring Sandra the week before so she can organise the paperwork and show. Sandra is our products secretary and her address and phone number are in your yearbooks or on the clubs website.
I was born in South Africa and spent the whole of my childhood in Pretoria and Cape Town. My maternal grandmother lived about a mile away in what could only be described as her own private zoo. As I was her favourite grandchild I was her very willing apprentice and shared her love of nature from a very young age. Apart from a large fish pond she designed and built almost unaided there was an enormous aviary poultry of all sorts, a few donkeys, ponies and horses and two or three small tame monkeys. But the greatest delight for me were the four angora rabbits – a pair of whites and a pair of sables. She also bred a few Sealpoint Siamese cats and Po pomeranian dogs so even with such a huge choice the angoras were both my Gran’s and my undisputed favourites.
If you are interested in starting to learn to spin then you can buy drop spindles from Lesley of the National Angora Club by e-mailing her at skyrackangoras@hotmail.co.uk.
She has two types of wooden bottom whorl spindles for sale, a large and small version.
The large spindle is a 2.5 inch whorl, 9.75 inch long shaft and approximately 34g in weight. It is suitable for spinning wool and alpaca and plying Angora wool and to buy is £5.50 + P&P
The small spindle is a 2 inch whorl, 7.25 inch long shaft, approximately 22g in weight. It is suitable for spinning Angora wool and silk. To buy this one is £4.50 + P&P.
If you want to read more about the Angora rabbit then there are a few books which are available for sale from the National Angora Club and have been written by members of the club including Lesley Hordon, Barbara Pratley and Yvonne Hobbs.
Four great books for you to read on the Angora rabbit and if you are interested in buying any of the books contact Lesley via e-mail at skyrackangoras@hotmail.co.uk. Prices of the books are under each photograph.