Annnd, Here I go Again!!! Angora Rescue.

[Toni]

Hi Everyone!  Haven’t been here in awhile, hope everyone and everybun is doing well.   Our Fred has completely settled down into a total gentlebun since his neuter…. it was touch and go for awhile and he continued to spray me for some time after his neuter – but he has been an angel lately and he’s such a lovable boy.   We were so fortunate to find and be able to rescue him.  

So….my newest project.  I got a call at 9:30 at night from friends of ours.  There had been a domestic rabbit loose in their neighborhood/gardens for quite some time.  I told them if they could catch him, I would make sure he got into a good situation.

When I arrived at their house late last night… I was taken by surprise at what I saw peeking out at me from underneath the laundry basket.   It was an ANGORA !   I have seen many Angoras in photos, but never actually ran into one before.   

I have him set all up in our outside posh bunny house so I can evaluate him and get him all cleaned up.  He needs a LOT of work – he’s dirty….SO matted and messy.  Unfortunatley, he’s an unaltered male and there is no way I can keep him.  I just can’t risk starting territory wars between him and my Fred after finally getting past the spraying issue.  

I am going to get him cleaned and vet checked and altered and will find him a great home.  He has silky, luxurious fur and I hope it will be easy to home him – he seems pretty special.  I believe he was properly cared for at some point in his life.  He enjoys being patted and sits nice and quiet for me so far – so he has been well-socialized.   I can’t determine his age, only that he is an adult.

SO – here’s where I need some help.  I’ve never encountered an Angora before and know they require some special care/considerations.  I’ve read some web sites online dedicated to Angoras and believe I understand how to modify regular care to accommodate him.  Only thing is…. I don’t know if these web sites are up-to-date on good rabbit care…. I’m already concerned that most of these web sites are not suggesting fresh greens like is recommended in the HRS –  which is troubling me because I can’t imagine his nutritional needs should be any different than a regular rabbit other than the special considerations to ward off wool-block.  

Do any of you have extensive experience with Angora Care?  Can anyone suggest what they know is a REALLY GOOD & REPUTABLE care web site or video that they KNOW to be top-notch on Angora care?  For any of you Angora enthusiasts, do you have any personal tips,  suggestions and recommendations from your knowledge base that I might not know only having experience with regular-fur and Rex breeds?   Do they really NOT need fresh greens/veggies every day like these web sites I’ve seen so far are saying?   

Thanks so much for taking the time – you all are a Godsend when I find myself in these unique rescue situations!     Thanks!   

   

[MoxieMeadows]

Hi Toni!! I currently have my French angora rabbit Moxie, who I have had for 2 years, so I am pretty knowledgeable about them, so if you have any specific questions ask away, I’d be happy to try and answer them the best I could! 

He’s such a cutie pie, he looks like he’s either a german or an english angora. Both breeds have long fur on their ears like he does, while french and Satin do not. Germans are about 4-12 pounds (2.0 to 5.5 kg) and English are about 4-7 pounds (2.0 to 3.5 kg). 

He kinda looks like he’s fawn colored, but it’s hard to see clearly in the photo. (here’s a link to a list of color variations, you could check out if interested. http://bumblebeeacres.com/EnglishAn…Colors.htm&nbsp

(I’ll write in bold font for the important stuff in case you want to skim through the post)

Now as for the websites you are reading, angora rabbits are generally considered “livestock” because of their wool. The people who make those websites normally have several angora rabbits living outside in a hutch, and are only wanted for their fur. Why would they spend lots of money feeding greens to their multiple rabbits (the lady I bought Moxie from had 20 and litters constantly) if they can live off hay and pellets? So no you probably wouldn’t see them needing greens on a website about angoras because the writers are either uneducated or don’t want to feed them. But angoras need a healthy balance of hay, pellets and fresh greens/vegetables like any other rabbit breed and should not be treated differently for feeding-wise unless they are a special-needs bunny(which any breed can be). They need a lot of brushing though, more so than other breeds to prevent matting or wool block.  Plenty of hay and water along with lots of brushing should prevent wool-block, while some people suggestion feeding 1 pineapple chunk a day to help prevent it, although it is controversal because pineapple is high in sugar. 

Sadly there aren’t many good angora care websites I have found. I am wary of listening to them after finding several websites that said to mix 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of BIRD SEED into your rabbit’s diet to help make there be more protein in their diet!! (Which I am sure you know that it’s a big no-no to feed ANY rabbit seeds!)  

I hope I was able to help a little bit, if I forgot to answer anything or you have any other questions feel free to either ask here or PM me! =) Good luck, I’m glad he found his way to you! (BTW does he have a name yet? I think he looks like an Owen.) =)

[Toni]

MOXIE!!!  Thank you SOOO much!   You made me feel a lot better and validated exactly what I thought was going on with some of the “Angora Care” web sites I ran into.  It would make sense they regard the bunnies as livestock versus pets and suggest care accordingly (not sayin’ it’s right… just that it would make sense to “them”).  If there is one thing that burns my biscuits is all the terrible advice offered out there.  Some people mean well and are just uneducated… others more focused on the bottom-line than the animal’s health…..it makes me sad that the animals suffer for it.  And don’t even get me started on what goes through my head each time I enter a big-chain feed store and see all the “healthy” and “gourmet” rabbit diet products filled with seeds, corn, colored bits and processed pellets (arrrgh!) because it looks prettier in the bag than a proper/nutritionally balanced pellet.  Drives me crazy!    

I will keep with my gut instincts and common sense and I shouldn’t need any web site to care for him properly.  Just need to learn the ropes of brushing as that will be a new experience for me.  Can’t be any more difficult than brushing my daughter’s hair (7 year old drama queen), lol.

This bunny is absolutely AWESOME!!!   He is sweet, comes over to you and pushes his nose inside your hand to be petted, he is easy and calm when handled… sits like a perfect gentleman while I was grooming him — and –OMG, I had groomed him for about 4 hours over the course of 2 days collectively .. he was SO matted, his legs were bound up to his body together so that he could not extend his legs effectively, and he had large mats on the bottoms of his feet and he was unable to sit on the floor flat-footed.  This poor guy must have been miserable.   His ears were hanging down from the weight of the matted balls of fur on the end of them!  He had dried/dirty pine sap in a lot of places.  

I had no choice but to trim all his hair down to remove mats/pine sap.   He is so HAPPY now.  One of the first things he did when I was done grooming him was go over to the wall and do a massive FLOP, lol.  He’s underweight (5 pounds…I’m thinking he should be at least 6 pounds) and really enjoying his food.  Gosh, I SO wish I could keep him .   Just having his smell on me when I came into the house yesterday, Fred approached me and sniffed my leg and immediately pooped on the carpet next to me!  It’s just not meant to be for us, but I am determined to get him into the perfect home.   

Thanks for the info, and I will definitely take you up on the advice if I run into more questions!   Here he is all trimmed up!  I hate the pine sap on his face, but it will hurt him more to remove it than to just let him shed it out when it’s time, so I just have to be patient.    

[MoxieMeadows]

Awwweee he is sooo adorable!

I’d definitely have him gain a pound or two. My Moxie is 8.5 pounds.

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