tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30233468074612679812024-03-13T17:44:53.833-07:00English Angoras are AwesomeThis blog contains information about the English Angora rabbit, showing English Angoras, as well as English Angora grooming, show and breeding tips, advice, and information written by longtime English Angora breeder, Terri Smith. You can contact Terri at tmsrw1014@yahoo.com if you have any questions about English Angora rabbits - I love to help others enjoy this wonderful breed as much as I do.tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-30923942394633490452017-07-23T17:50:00.000-07:002017-07-23T17:50:09.005-07:00Breeding English Angora Rabbits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyGFA76fn32mPBqBXO9yzBCwr9vPpJmozxdLG3RRg09tNwMm04Pfq1n2-WcMpLx0Nv9AwiFOVmNiSY2_4BtAZPI0Uc2g1zyEY5q-AxgKOEH3nvbxkKId3MaWFvz9CPyNaKIBX8J-pY2E/s1600/Satin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="511" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkyGFA76fn32mPBqBXO9yzBCwr9vPpJmozxdLG3RRg09tNwMm04Pfq1n2-WcMpLx0Nv9AwiFOVmNiSY2_4BtAZPI0Uc2g1zyEY5q-AxgKOEH3nvbxkKId3MaWFvz9CPyNaKIBX8J-pY2E/s320/Satin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hello everyone! I am now writing articles on my new site. I have just published an article on breeding the English Angora Rabbit! I go through information that will help you devise a breeding strategy. So to read my latest, head to.<a href="https://englishangoras.com/breeding-the-english-angora-rabbit" target="_blank">https://englishangoras.com/breeding-the-english-angora-rabbit</a> <br />
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Bookmark my new website, <a href="https://englishangoras.com/">https://englishangoras.com/</a> for more tips, info and revised versions of these posts! Also, you can like us on Facebook at<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/terris.angoras/#" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/terris.angoras/#</a><br />
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<br />tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-17213722965667841402016-03-09T15:17:00.000-08:002016-03-09T15:17:11.930-08:00<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Choosing English Angora Breeding Stock - Holding Show Coats</b></div>
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In the United States, English Angoras need to exhibit a nice full coat when showing. The coats will often need to grow about nine to ten months in order to begin to be competitive on the show table. Therefore, when choosing breeding stock, it is important to choose rabbits that have the ability to hold their coat. <br />
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<b>Terri's Satin - an Awesome Chocolate English Angora. </b> Below is Terri's Satin, a beautiful chocolate English Angora that held a lively coat for about twelve inches, when her wool was clipped (similar to the way that you clip the fur off of poodles) and she welcomed her first litter. She still grows beautiful wool at around four years of age. She won many Best of Breeds and was second at the National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club Show in New York in 2012 (she was showing as a senior at just about six months of age). These wins would not have been possible if I did not breed for rabbits that can hold a nice quality show coat.<br />
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<b>Genetics.</b> An English Angora's ability to hold a coat requires good genetics. If your rabbit cannot hold its coat for the first year of its life, it should not be a part of your breeding program. Once you breed in a rabbit that only holds its coat a shorter time into your line, you will have problems. To me, a rabbit that cannot hold it for a year will not be retained to enter a breeding program or sold to a show home. This is one of the most important items to breed for, because once this inability to hold a coat enters your line, it will be there for many, many generations. <br />
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<b>Quality. </b>Not only should the English Angora hold the coat for its first year, the coat needs to be a good quality coat. It should have beautiful lively texture and retain its density. Many rabbits will start to lose these qualities around ten months, which is okay. But, if the condition of your English Angora's coat is losing quality at seven months, it is not a show quality rabbit and should not be retained for breeding. Terri's Satin always had beautiful, lively texture. She has passed this onto her offspring. In fact, most of my rabbits trace their lineage to her, as she was very much an ideal rabbit with a coat that was always beautiful. (Yes, she was, and still is my favorite in case you are wondering!)<br />
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<b>Transition Coat. </b> Some lines of English Angoras have gorgeous coats, but go through a transition period around five months or so. During this period, they can become difficult to groom, as they are molting off a layer of wool in order to make room for growth. Many outstanding specimens go through a transition period, and it leads to some beautiful texture. <br />
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I personally need easy to groom coats because of my hectic schedule, so I breed for rabbits that do not go through a difficult transition of coat - I want them to be easy to groom throughout their first coat. In fact, I will select rabbits that need minimal grooming during all stages of its life cycle. So, evaluate this need in your herd. If you are like me and need them to stay easy to groom throughout the first year, then select breeding stock that stays easy to groom the entire time that it is in coat. tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-50714239959114172032014-08-08T07:47:00.000-07:002014-08-08T07:47:19.726-07:00Is my English Angora a Pearl?Few colors are as confusing to an English Angora breeder as the pearls. Determining if your rabbit is a pearl can be easy if you know of an English Angora breeder that raises the color. (Note - this post addresses only what I call the "true pearls" and not the smoke pearl, which is a confusing name and is actually the blue form of the sable.) Asking a person breeding the color in normal furred rabbits or asking a judge can be helpful, but the color does appear different on a wooled rabbit, which can result in even these knowledgeable people being confused. A knowledgeable breeder of shaded Jersey Woolies can be very helpful if a knowledgable breeder of English Angora pearls is not available.
Often, a weak colored self is mistaken for a pearl. I see this occuring frequently with weakly colored blues or lilacs. Remember that the ARBA standard of perfection describes the color on a pearl as fading rapidly to a "pearl" or very light color in the wool. Think of your grandmas pearls (the real ones, not the fake plastic white ones) - that creamy color is the wool color on an actual pearl. The wool may have ticking, and if there is ticking as the wool grows out, it tends to be the color of the points, the sepia (black), blue, lilac or choc. For instance, if you look at a young black pearl, you will often see frosting in the sepia color over the off white, pearl colored wool. The ticking on a lilac pearl, will probably be too light to be noticeable, but will most likely be present at the very young ages.
The three best ways for a breeder inexperienced with the color to see if they have a pearl are 1) the nestbox test 2) the breeding test and 3) the comparison test.
<b>1) The Nest Box Test.</b> Typically it is very easy to spot a pearl in the nextbox. A pearl will seem almost white, but when compared with an actual white baby, you will see that the pearl is more "frosty" color. If your rabbit was a solid color when born, for instance, it looked like a normal blue baby, then you do not have a pearl.
<b>2) The Breeding Test.</b> There are some breeding experiments you can perform if you still are unsure if you have a true pearl. Breed it to a ruby eyed white, making sure this ruby eyed white does NOT carry the agouti gene (you should NEVER breed pearls to agoutis, you can get unshowable shaded agoutis.) Now, I want to caution you, that these two rabbits should be a match for breeding in all other respects - do not just breed this way to check color but you should also be hoping for some superior show quality specimens from the match. If you breed to the ruby eyed white and you get any selfs or torts, you do NOT have a pearl. That is because a pearl bred to a Ruby Eyed White can only produce pearls or ruby eyed whites .
<b>3) The Comparison Test</b>. In my opinion, this is the best test for those that are inexperienced with the pearl color. For this test, set the rabbit next to a tort with matching points (i.e. a blue pearl next to a blue tort). Basically, a pearl is a tort that has the "yellow" of beige color removed. So, these two rabbits should look exactly the same colorwise, but one has no beige yellow color. Now, sometimes the points on the pearl will be a little lighter once the temperature goes in the seventies because the enzyme producing color slows down in certain colors, such as pearls (that is another discussion for another day). So, in summer, do make allowances if you compare a tort and a black pearl and the black pearls points are a shade or two lighter than the tort.
Pearls are a very beautiful color and look great on the show table. I hope you have as much fun showing them as I do!tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-53361572392076338842013-09-23T09:50:00.004-07:002013-09-23T11:33:40.309-07:00When to Break the Rules
I have posted many rules on my blog, and they are an excellent guide. I see many of the angora breeds being bred without any regard to color breeding rules, which has lead to the deterioration of many of the wonderful rare colors. Then, you often hear breeders saying that they have never seen a decent (insert color ) English Angora that could compete with the torts and whites. It isn’t the fault of the color, but those that breed the color, so step up to the challenge if you are a fan of the rarer colors, breed top quality bunnies that can compete. When a judge sees a nice specimen of a color that is not tort or white, they LOVE it, and it will go a long way to being noticed on the show table.
While keeping in mind color is just five points, those five points will come in handy on the judging tables with the colors that are not tort and white. But what do you do if you are breeding one of these rarer colors and they are not up to snuff? Then you look across the barn, seeing the perfect cross, although you know it will set back your color breeding. My suggestion – go ahead and do the breeding, just do it smart, have goals, and stick to those goals.
I will use an example that I am currently working on to demonstrate some guidance to use when you are “breaking the rules”. The chestnut agoutis that I have do not have that nice intense fawn/reddish color in their rings like the chestnut agoutis that I used to have. There are two reasons for this. First, they are out of tort lines, and the tort genes can lead to the coats showing a long white ring at the base of their coat. Second, they lack “rufus” genes, which are the genes that, if you get enough, change a fawn to red. Now, I don’t mean that I want to breed actual reds into my lines. The rufus gene appears to have degrees. For example, a pretty intense fawn or tort has more “rufus” then a light washed out fawn or tort.
In my barn, I have a very nice pretty intense, dark black tort doe who almost appears to be pumpkin orange in color. She is not the washed out tort colors that are often seen, she has a brilliant deep color. She is a keeper in all respects of course, not just her color. So, I am going to breed her into my agoutis to get those rufus genes into my agoutis. Here is how I am going to do it:
1. I will select a rabbit that is a match in respects other than color. This doe needs better texture but has super body type. I am going to breed her to a buck with better texture. They are keepers in all other respects. If this tort was pinched or had any mediocre qualities, I would not be doing the breeding. Also, if she did not match up with any of the rabbits that carry my agouti line I would not be doing the breeding. Any breeding, when breeding for color, needs to be a match that you would be making even without considering color – that is one of the best secrets to breeding top quality rabbits in a rare color. Why do rare colors often lack compared to their more popular counterparts? Because many of the breeders who breed them do it just because they are color compatible. You will just generate more mediocre specimens, causing the myth that your favorite color is inferior.
2. I will carefully select the breeding so that it does not have to be done more than needed. The tort does genes could cause my agoutis to not have the rings that I would like them too. Therefore, I want to bring in her blood as little as possible, but be as effective as possible. She will be bred to the best buck that I have so that, hopefully, the breeding only has to occur once. After that, she will go back to breeding with my tort and white line. If for some reason that pairing does not work, then I will not use any babies from that litter, and possibly try her with another buck to see if my results are good. But, I will not be using a bunch of her babies in my agouti line, only the best one, or possibly two if the results are good.
3. When doing the breeding, I have a goal. The goal is an excellent show quality agouti that carries more intensity, or rufus color. So, when I select a keeper or two out of this cross, that is what I will select. If there are none, I will keep none in my breeding line. If you do not accomplish the desired goal from the cross, then chalk it up to experience, and move on to other things.
4. Remove any rabbits from the breeding line that demonstrate the problem that arises with bringing in the new color. For instance, a tort gene often makes agoutis carry a lot of white in their coat. So, with each generation, I will select babies from this new line that do not have this problem, and with each generation attempt to fix the problem. Eventually, you hope that that pesky recessive gene is no longer a problem.
When I have worked on color projects, it sometimes takes awhile for me to find something that “makes the cut.” And, when I do, the logical breedings to take place might be ones that I would not want to breed if I was following the “rules.”. So, when I start a new color, I am often breeding against color rules, even though I do not like to.
Through the generations, I use the above rules to try and improve the color. It is a necessary evil. Currently, my agoutis carry a lot of tort. If those are the pairings that I need to make to make nice rabbits, then that is what I have to do. Sometimes when breeding a rare color that has “rules, these rules will have to be just a goal, as it may take you years until you have enough of a line to really start working to improve that color. The important thing is that you are working toward your goal when you are breaking the rules and there is a reason for each breeding that you are doing. Your ultimate goal is to create the perfect English Angora, which should guide you. One of the goals that is a piece of it when you raise certain colors, is to breed them correctly. But, a goal is the place you want to end up, so if you are not there yet, that is okay – and it is why it is called a “goal” and a piece of that goal cannot override the ultimate goal.
tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-83965855596463820982013-09-12T14:59:00.000-07:002013-09-12T15:00:28.032-07:00Common Grooming Problems in the English AngoraSome common frustrations that people have with English Angoras are often solved when they get the correct knowledge. Below are a few items that sometimes perplex the new and intermediate breeder unnecessarily.<br />
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Matted Feet. Whenever I have an English Angora with wool on the feet that has become unmanageable, I simply trim the wool off. It is best do do this a few weeks before the show, but in any event, once they become difficult, it is time for a trim.<br />
The wool on the feet grows back quickly, so if you do this 3-4 weeks before a show, it will most likley not even make a difference. <br />
In fact, I rarely hesitate to do this unless I am very close to a show. Matted Cheeks. With matted cheeks that do not comb out, I try to trim a layer off if possible. usually, the matt is occuring under the first layer of cheek furnishings. I will trim the underlayer of cheeck wool once it becomes difficcult, making sure that what I am removing is unnoticable.<br />
This can sometimes make the remaining cheek wool easier to groom. However, prevention is the best cure - make sure to groom the cheek wool once a week at least and you will hopefully avoid this problem. <br />
Matted Behind the Ears. If a bunny starts to matt right behind the base of the ears, I simply cut it off. This does not apply to any wool that is located on the rabbits shoulders, that will meed to be groomed so as not to ruin the rabbits show apperance. Once again, it is a far better practice to maintain the wool and keep it on the rabbit.<br />
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Dirty Bottoms. fIf your english angora bottom is dirty, keep the area trimmed. If the wool is dirty, it is in the way.<br />
To prevent this, it is important to keep the area trimmed neatly, especially the wool behind the feet. In addition, taking hydrogen peroxide or white venigar, and quickly spraying the floor f the cage daily, and wiping down with a rag will save you ALOT of headaches. <br />
Also, trimming the genital area is not a bad thing, and is something that I do commonly as routine maintence. If it does not detract from the look of the rabbit, it should not count against you on the show table as it is often necessary for the health of the rabbit. Webbed/Matted Wool on the Shoulders. Unfortunately, difficult shoulders do not have an easy fix, and must be prevented in order to keep your show rabbit looking fabulous. Be very diligent about applying spray or ivermectin to kill fur mites, as explained in a previous blog, and keep up with the maintainence grooming. If you have a problem you will need to get to work using two tactics - pulling the wool apart and blowing with the blower. Remeber, that your goal is to keep the wool on the rabbit! So, pull apart webbing, and then blow. Repeat, repeat, and repeat. Take it as punishment for not keeping up your maintenance which would have prevented the problem! As you can see, most of what I have written is saying that PREVENTING the issue is the best solution. In the long run, taking the small amount of time to PREVENT the probem and doing your normal maintenance grooming is a FAR better solution if you are trying to maintain a nice show English Angora. The tricks above will help you when things have gone wrong, but these areas will never look as good as if they were properly maintaned to beign with. tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-71080639941384521292012-05-17T08:00:00.000-07:002012-05-17T10:14:00.280-07:00Breeding the Pointed White English Angora Part 3– Other Concerns.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Heat Sensitivity</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another concern for pointed white breeders can be heat sensitivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gene is heat sensitive which can cause the points to fade in high temperatures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is another reason why it is crucial to breed for nice dark colored pointeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once with nice dark color may fade, but can still be shown and the heat should not affect a rabbit bred for nice dark color that also does not carry any tort gene and carries a double pointed gene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, pointed that are not bred for nice color may lose all color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, if any lose all color in their feet in the summer, these should ideally be removed from the breeding program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I had a very strong and dark pointed line, I did not have to worry about the heat, the black points would turn a lighter sepia brown, but would retain their color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As they got older, also, they would appear to be more susceptible to the heat, so I take that into consideration when making my choices for retaining breedings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Intensity of Color</i></b>. Even when you are breeding your colors correctly, you will notice that some of your pointeds are darker than others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While you have to balance all factors when choosing your breeding stock, you will then be at a point where you can add dark color to your list of desired characteristics when selecting breeding stock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will be amazed at the variety that can be in a litter of pointeds, and this will give you the opportunity to select the darkest colors (while balancing all other factors of course) to improve your pointed line in the next generation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, just like with any other color, to increase the intensity of the color, choose and breed rabbits that exhibit dark color. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many of you may not have had this knowledge regarding breeding pointed whites previously, so if you are not following these guidelines, all is not lost – start today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you need any further guidance, do not hesitate to speak with a person raising a normal furred breed that has a nice line of pointed whites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I learned these genetic tips from my years of Netherland Dwarfs, and then applied them to my pointed White English Angoras and was able to produce a nice solid line of animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-49571286372393403172012-05-16T08:00:00.000-07:002012-05-16T09:32:48.440-07:00Breeding the Pointed White English Angora Part II– the Three Cardinal Rules<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The three cardinal rules for breeding pointeds are 1) you want to double up on the pointed gene, 2) you want to avoid the non-extension gene carried by torts, pearls and fawns, and 3) the you want to avoid the agouti gene carried by chestnut, choc agouti, opal, lynx, cream and fawns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1) Doubling up the pointed gene</i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When breeding the pointeds, the best breeding choice is to breed two nice dark colored pointeds together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another good option would be to breed a self (black, blue, lilac, or chocolate) that carries the pointed gene or a Siamese sable that carries the pointed gene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is because your darkest pointeds will occur when the rabbit receives the pointed genes from both parents. In fact, it is desirable to have a Siamese sable and pointed line that you breed together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Breeding the pointed to the sable will give you correctly colored sables which are not too dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, the babies will hopefully carry the pointed gene, so any pointeds out of the sable to pointed breeding will carry two pointed genes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a win-win, and it allows you to have two nice colors that you breed together so that each pairing is a sable to a pointed, resulting in a litter of half Siamese sables with nice color and the other half theoretically would be double gene pointeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While you could do the same with a black or other self line, a black that carries the pointed gene may not reach its full potential for color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I currently use blacks because I do not have Siamese sables yet, and I am happy to report that my blacks remain very dark, although I am sure that they would be darker if I did not have to use them in my pointed line.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Single gene pointeds</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can also get pointeds when a rabbit receives a pointed gene from one parent and a white gene from the other parent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These will not be as dark in color as the pointed to pointed, but if you are trying to improve your pointed line, or just do not have any other options, you may have to do these crosses. You do need to get your quality first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, if I needed to work on quality, I would not hesitate to use a black or sable that carries the white gene to breed to my pointeds, or a white that is genetically a black or other self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the quality is there, then you can go back to trying to get your darkest pointeds by doubling up on that gene.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">2) Avoiding Non-extension gene pointeds</i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One should always avoid the tort or non-extension gene when breeding pointeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means, no tort of any color, no pearl of any color (with the exception of smoke pearl, because smoke pearl is not genetically a pearl, but rather a blue sable) fawns or creams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, avoid using pointed whites that are very light, or whose points appear frosted rather than solid, as they are more than likely non-extension pointeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Breeding this gene into your line will produce very undesirable rabbits, and rabbits that can be disqualified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, that pesky gene can stay hidden in a line for awhile, and once in there, it will take awhile to breed out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is understandable that the English angora breed has many outstanding tort rabbits, and it therefore can be tempting to use them to improve your pointed line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, this temptation should be resisted, and, one should find an outstanding black or other self instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are plenty of nice black or other self colored English Angoras, so there should no need to perpetuate the tort gene into your pointeds, causing headaches for many generation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just like giving in to temptation and breeding to a rabbit with a white toenail, breeding to the tort could come back and haunt you later down the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">3)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Avoid the Agouti Gene</i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also important, but not as crucial as avoiding the tort gene, is to avoid the agouti gene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means no chestnuts, choc agoutis, opals, lynxes or fawns should be bred to the pointed white.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The agouti gene will also cause the color to be undesirable as it will cause the points to have rings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When looking at these rabbits, the points will appear to look chinchilla colored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While this will result in a disqualification, it is a dominant gene and therefore is easier to breed out than the tort gene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, if you bred a chestnut to a pointed and got some nice colored babies that do not have ring color, you could rest assured that those babies will not be passing the agouti gene on to future generations and can safely be utilized in your breeding program.</span></div>
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<br /></div>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-20939148185263399572012-05-15T12:21:00.002-07:002012-05-15T12:21:54.289-07:00Breeding the Pointed White English Angora Part I– Introduction<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Certain colors of English Angora need to be bred in a certain manner, one of the most important of these is the Pointed White.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All too often, I see pictures of what people claim to be a “Lilac” Pointed White.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon further inspection it is actually what I call a “tort pointed” or, to those who speak genetics, a non-extension pointed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A true lilac pointed, is not just light in color, it should have nice solid dark lilac color on its points.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These non-extension pointeds are undesirable, and when the color is so affected that it is non-existent, can even result in disqualification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How do the light non-extension pointeds occur?</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pointed white or himalayan gene causes color to be removed from the rabbits entire body, except the tail, feet, ears, and nose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, if you have a rabbit that is genetically a black, but displays the pointed gene, black color remains in these areas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Same for any other self color, such as blue, lilac or choc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if you have a rabbit that is genetically a tort that carries the pointed gene, only that smoky tort color will remain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, you get light colors that appear to be frosted on instead of solid. As you can imagine, a blue tort, choc tort, or lilac tort has even lighter shading which could cause the color to become virtually nonexistent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is why it is important to never breed torts into your pointed line, and to avoid any rabbits that appear to have light, frosted points, or that either do not have feet color or that on occasion lose their feet color.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, to you judges out there, do not give English angora pointeds a pass for color when you would normally disqualify in a normal breed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These light pointeds that do not display color in the feet or tails should be disqualified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I have seen many non-extension gene pointeds shown in the past few years, I have only seen one disqualified, and that one had virtually no point color whatsoever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This does not encourage the breeders to breed the colors correctly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Keep in mind that most of you will not have “ideal” pointed white programs at this time because it appears that a lot of this knowledge of breeding the color has not been widely distributed. Therefore, even if you may not have followed all of this advice in the past, it is my hope that you can take this guidance and use it as a start to help you to create beautiful dark pointeds that will be stunners on the show table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This series will appear in three parts, so stay tuned for Part II – the Three Cardinal rules of Breeding Pointed Whites and Part III – Other Concerns, which will address heat sensitivity and Color Intensity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Also, some of the terms that I use when describing genetics are <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not “textbook”, I often use my own terms to make the subject easier to understand.</span></div>
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<strong></strong>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-68048220699493897912012-01-29T08:30:00.000-08:002012-01-29T08:30:01.128-08:00An Evaluation of English Angora Body Type Summary<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The previous posts on <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>evaluation of English Angora body type are a summary, and there are of course many other elements to consider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if you stick to these simple concepts, you will probably have fabulous type that will help you get ahead of the competition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep in mind with your breeding, however, that no rabbit is perfect,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will in all likelihood be working with English Angoras that may not live up to the standards in the previous posts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is okay, nobody has perfect rabbits, and since if someone has perfect rabbits, they are not going to part with them, your herd will most likely not start out perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, where do you start?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use the following list to help you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Faults that are Unacceptable</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even when you are starting your breeding program, there are some faults that should be avoided at all costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, any of the following weaknesses should be eliminated from your herd right from the start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If all of the rabbits that you have exhibit the following faults, get new stock or you will never get ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are all faults which will guarantee a poor finish on the show table and that are very hard to eliminate once bred into your line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will haunt you for generations and may never be completely eliminated once predominant in your line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are:</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1)</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Weak shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shoulder should fill up your hand when you grab it.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2)</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lacking depth in the hip, or hips that stick up past the spine for a “hippiness” feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should be able to run your hand smooth across the body and they should not catch hips that are pointing out away from the body. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hips should clearly be lower than the spine and be flat against the body. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3)</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Weak in the lower hindquarter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A rabbit must be full in the hindquarter - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>when feeling the type, your hand should not go in when you reach the base of the table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4)</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cowhocks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hind feet should preferably be parallel to the body, or point out only slightly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not breed any rabbit whose toes point out from the body <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in a v shape with the heels close together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Qualities that are “Nice to Have”.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The following are items that are ideal are something to work towards in your breeding program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you start out, you may have to give in on some of these qualities, but they should always be the goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, if you want to improve your line, look for rabbits to purchase that have these items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, as your herd improves, these are qualities that should move from the “nice to have” category to the “must have” category.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once they are considered “must haves” you will be on your way to an impressive herd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These qualities are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Definite feeling of roundness along the topline, like you are running your hands over a basketball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">B)</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">High depth of shoulder (this is a preference, some may accept shoulders with less depth than I do).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shoulder should have a lot of depth, or have nice height, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and should not be much lower than the highest point of the rabbit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">C)</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Straight hind feet that are parallel to the body or only slightly point out as long as they are accompanied by a very full hindquarter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If you can, make sure that one side of the breeding pair has the attributes of the “Nice to Have” category, otherwise you will never reach the point where they can be considered “Must Haves.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance if my rabbit was only slightly round, I would only breed it to a rabbit that was super round.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to always pair up something that is weak with something that is superior, and then keep no babies out of the cross that exhibit the weakness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually, the good genes should overwhelm the bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember, it only takes a generation to ruin type, but several generations to improve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, all breeding pairs must be chosen carefully to ensure that you are improving your line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each generation should be better than the last, and if it is not, then you must reevaluate your program to get it moving in the right direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-39194071390061530302012-01-27T08:30:00.000-08:002012-01-27T23:28:22.999-08:00Hind End – An Evaluation of English Angora Type.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When I evaluate the back section of the English Angora body type, I have a few things that I consider most important:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1) the lower hindquarters must be full and 2) the hind legs should either be parallel to the body or close to parallel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lower hindquarters</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing that judges hate is a rabbit that is weak in the lower hindquarter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not believe that our breed is too weak in this area, although I have seen certain breeders that do tend towards having this in their line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is because it is one of those things that once you breed it in, it is hard to get rid of. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you run your hand along your rabbits body, your hand should not go in as you come to the end. The rabbit’s width must continue all the way to the floor in order for it to be acceptable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If your hand goes in, do not breed the rabbit, it is weak in the lower hindquarter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not breed even if you are breeding it to one that counterbalances this fault, because it can be very difficult to eliminate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Legs.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you turn your rabbit over, the ultimate goal is to have a rabbit whose feet are parallel to its body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">With your English Angora herd, you may need to work<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and selectively breed until you get to that point, which is not a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It just takes work and dedication, and some day, parallel legs can be a standard in your herd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Evaluation.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When evaluating the rabbit you can use this checklist as a guide to evaluating the hind end:</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Feel the lower hindquarter, if it goes in do not use for breeding under any circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if it is full feeling and the width of the rabbit continues from the top to the floor, move to step 2.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Turn the rabbit and look at how the legs are positioned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pick the category below that applies:</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">a.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Cowhocked Feet</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the rabbits feet stick out severely like they are making a"V" , with the hocks close together, than do not keep for breeding under any circumstances.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">b.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>Adequate Feet.</u><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the feet point out only slightly and the hocks are not close <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>together creating a severe v shape, consider using it for breeding if that is what you have to work with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> If your herd has just adequate feet, work</span> on improving– if you start at with rabbits whose feet stick out of the body at a 35 degree angle out from the body, work to make this a smaller angle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, with the next generation, you keep nothing less than a 30 degree angle and so on and so forth until you have feet parallel to the body. And yes, go ahead and get a protractor so that you are using unbiased data.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">c.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Straight feet</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the feet are held by the rabbit straight, or <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>parallel to the body, use this rabbit to improve your entire herd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Straight parallel feet are perfection, do not expect every rabbit to have this in your first few generations unless you start with stock with this quality. If you start with stock with this attribute keep it that way by making parallel feet a requirement to enter your breeding program. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When evaluating, keep in mind that English Angoras can be a bit tricky when evaluating feet structure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are just so relaxed when turned over on their back!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of this, the rabbits legs may look different every time you turn it over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, to determine the actual leg structure, make sure to repose and turn over the rabbit several times on several occasions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can tell you that every time I turn over my English angoras, they are holding their legs different, so I try to find the “Status quo” and use that to evaluate them. Other breeds of rabbit tend to be consistent when turned over, because for them, they do not go into a state of relaxation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Sometimes English Angoras are more relaxed on their back then when sitting normal, a rare quality in rabbits.</span></span></div>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-92184481491898228212012-01-26T09:00:00.000-08:002012-01-26T09:00:00.243-08:00The Loin or Midsection – an Evaluation of English Angora Type<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The mid-section or loin of the rabbit is the second item that must be evaluated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When evaluating this, the things I evaluate are</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Roundness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want a rabbit with a round body, just a little more than a quarter section of a basketball.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Smoothness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rabbit’s type should flow smoothly when I touch it, and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it should feel as if my hand is tracing the smooth lines of a basketball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roundness.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When feeling the topline of the English Angora, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it should be ROUND.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should be feeling the shape of a basketball without flat spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will tell you that most English Angoras are not truly round and seem too flat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you feel one that is truly round, you will know what that means and you will love it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The roundness should go all the way from the shoulders, along the topline to the floor, feeling, once again, like a basketball (maybe a tad bit flatter and stretched out across the top, but the roundness should be similar).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make sure the roundness continues over the hindquarters, many rabbits have a flat, sloping spot over the hindquarters, which is undesirable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you put your hand on that hind end it should feel like you are putting it on… can you guess…. a basketball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are unsure as to what roundness feels like, go to a show and talk to an established breeder and ask to feel one of theirs that has round type (or, I know the basketball imagery is getting lame, the teenagers reading this blog can comment on this in the comment section, but <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>feeling one will put in your mind what roundness is). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Smoothness.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you feel the topline, it should be smooth, with no parts of the rabbit sticking out from the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For many English Angoras, the general problem with smoothness is a lack of depth over the hindquarters, a serious fault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does this mean?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a sense, when you feel its type, the spine over the hindquarters is too low, causing you to catch the hips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want the hips to be well below the topline and flat against the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will tell you though that this is a common problem and you may go to your barn and find this to be a fault that every one of your rabbits exhibits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, even if it has infested your herd, you can take steps to breed it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you breed, only keep those that lack this fault for future breeding, and do not breed those that carry it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a generation or two, you may still get a few in each litter that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have the fault, but eventually through selective breeding you should reduce this down to just a random occurrence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If all of your rabbits have this fault, you will need to get one that does not have this <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fault into your herd and be very strict at not breeding any subsequent generations that have this fault.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This fault is very noticeable to judges, and you will not succeed with English Angoras exhibiting this problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But be fair when evaluating, as some young rabbits go through ugly stages before they have their true type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is quite common for rabbits to exhibit this fault at two months, but have excellent type at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>three or four months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rabbit should not be faulted for going through an ugly stage unless it proves to produce this fault in subsequent generations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In sum, it is very important that any rabbit you keep for breeding has these two qualities 1) roundness 2) smoothness with good depth over the hips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When feeling for these qualities, do keep in mind the basics of posing from my previous post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A rabbit can have great round and smooth type, but if it is sitting even slightly crooked underneath that wool and you don’t notice, you are not giving it an adequate evaluation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is very important, bad posing utterly destroys good type, and could send your future best in show rabbit to the barn of your spinner friend for a life as a fiber bunny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not a bad life for the bunny, but it could cost you a pretty trophy or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Go play some basketball and then go to your barn and evaluate the roundness of your type!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Terri</span></div>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-38902523731699386752012-01-25T08:30:00.000-08:002012-01-25T08:30:03.351-08:00The Shoulders - An Evaluation of English Angora Type<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When evaluating the English Angora, the shoulder is the first thing that a judge will feel, and therefore, good shoulders are a way to make a good first impression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two main things I look for on a shoulder are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shoulder should be nice and wide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A wide shoulder will fill up your hand when you feel it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>High Depth of Shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words I want the shoulder to be very high and to be only slightly lower than the highest point of the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Width of Shoulder</strong>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Width is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>very important but self explanatory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feel the shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is your hand having to stretch out to encompass the shoulder's length?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If so, good, you have wide shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> when, after placing your hand on the shoulder and moving it to feel</span> the outline of the body, do your fingers go out after leaving the shoulder?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If yes, your shoulder is probably weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good wide shoulder will be at minimum four inches in length across in an adult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More important than the actual measurement, the width of the shoulder should match the width of the rest of the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people worry about shoulders being too long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not worry about trying to evaluate length of shoulder, because if your shoulders are wide and your body is short, you will have a shoulder of acceptable length.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Depth of Shoulder</strong>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Height, or depth, of the shoulder to me is very important. When I was really trying to improve this area of my body type, I would actually measure the height of the shoulder behind the neck and select those for breeding that were highest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My ideal rabbit in this respect that allowed me to get great depth (a doe that Deb in Minnesota bred and graciously parted with), was a rabbit whom the judges could not stop raving about in respect to body type,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The height behind the shoulder was seven inches high, even though she was very petite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her shoulder is the high point on her body, and then she curves very round like a quarter of a basketball, through to the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Now, she has passed this wonderful depth on to her children, and grandchildren (and soon great grandchildren)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some lines of English angoras are nice and solid, but have shoulders that start kind of low.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This lower shoulder is not necessarily wrong depending on your interpretation of the standard of perfection and if that body style is preferred by the judges in your area. You produce what you and your local judges desire, not what other people like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The high depth of shoulder feels best to me, and also helps with the judges perception that you have nice full shoulders– as you recall, our type has to be impressive from a sensory standpoint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, the shoulder will not quite be as high as the high point of the body, but it will be close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I go to feel the shoulder, I want it to be right there, I do not want to go down to far in the wool to find it as in my view, the higher shoulder just feels better from a sensory standpoint. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Good luck with evaluating your shoulders!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> When deciding what you want your shoulders to look like, it is important that you choose what you think makes a nice animal and what you think feels best. It is your herd and your breeding is your expression of what the perfect English Angora should look like. This is why when I describe what I want, it isnt exactly using words verbatim from the standard, as the standard is at times ambiguous and open to interpretation. I am describing merely what feels good to me based on my interpretation of the standard and also of my view of what the English Angora should look like.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Terri </span></div>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-80716041057147048972012-01-24T10:08:00.000-08:002012-01-24T10:08:31.648-08:00Choosing Proper Body Type on an English Angora<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although wool is of major concern, my biggest concern is actually body type, and beleive it is very important that a breeder properly evaluate body type in their English Angoras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> This should be your first goal as a new or intermediate breeder, as type flaws can be very difficult to overcome. Once your line has great type, you can focus on wool and can just assume that most rabbits born in your litters will have the type that is needed. I can guarantee you that no matter how nice your wool is, if the judge does not feel a nice body, you will have difficulties with success, no matter how the points under the standard of perfection are alloted. I think this is a good thing, and commend judges that are not overwhelmed by big coats and really try to get a feel for what the rabbits "foundation" looks like, as correct body type is so important and hard to get. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Also, do not assume a rabbit has a good body type if someone is selling it and lists famous, well known lines. Keep in mind that a person can completely destroy the body type in one or two generations if they do not have a good knowledge of type or selected rabbits to breed from the line that carry faults, even if they purchased the best stock around. So be sure to look at the rabbit itself when making a purchase, specifically the body type, and do not worry about who is on the pedigree two or three generations back. Even excellent breeders produce bad rabbits in their litters, which will most likely lead to producing bad rabbits for you, as that is just how rabbit breeding works. So, even if a breeder has a fabulous reputation, you need to make your own evaluation. And, some breeders are excellent breeders that do not have the time or desire to keep big coats to compete with others - I have gotten some of my best rabbits from unknown breeders because I took a look at what they had and was impressed as they obviously had great breeding knowledge even if they did not often show. It is great to see a 50 dollar rabbit or a homebred rabbit beat a rabbit that someone else spent 500 dollars on. Keep in mind that the pedigree does not get judged, and just because it traces its lineage to the best rabbit ever, it will still lose on the table if a subsequent breeder did not have working knowledge of type and allows inferior typed rabbits or unsuitable breeding pairs to breed. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>English Angora Body Type is Sensory not Visual.</strong> Because the body type is hidden under so much wool, I always strive to choose a rabbit whose body type will impress the judge's sense of touch under the wool as big coats can only get proper evaluation of their type through the sense of touch. You can tell that some judges are not used to this, however, and have seen many that will try to furiously smooth the coat down to visually observe the type because they are used to doing this on other breeds that they judge. However, this does not really lead to the correct result with this breed, and so you need to take a more sensory approach to body type in the English angora, rather than visually assessing type. The assessment of roundness is actually best evaluated by fluffing the coat up, and then judging if the rabbit is round - smoothing down wool so that it is as flat as possible just makes the rabbit look bad unless it is very young.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Basics when evaluating Type</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you are evaluating the body type on an English Angora there are a few things to keep in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You <u>must</u> position and pose the rabbit prior to feeling type. If it is not posed correctly, you will more than likely feel faults that do not exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is common to see both judges and experienced breeders alike making this mistake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wool hides the rabbit, and since our breed tends to be calm, they do not necessarily pose readily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I in fact try to work with my rabbits on posing because I know that many judges do not set them up when checking them, so<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like them to pose as automatically as they can when being handled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Work on Posing</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While not all learn to pose automatically, working with the posing has made quite a difference with my English Angoras, and some have learned that when I take them out and feel their type, that they should sit properly right away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To teach this is easy - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whenever I take a show rabbit out to groom or use the blower, the first thing I do is set them up in a pose and feel their type a few times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually they get used to this motion, and know to sit nice when they are first put on the table. With my babies, it only takes me a couple minutes starting when they are about six weeks old or so to take them out and do this a few times a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That also allows me to evaluate their type as they are growing and going through changes as well as get them used to sitting properly when handled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your rabbits do not automatically pose after working on them, do not worry, it isn’t something that all grasp, and I will say that English Angoras have a relaxed personality, and therefore do not necessarily have a sense of urgency to pose like some breeds do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have one that seriously scoots herself up into position the minute she feels your hand on her hindquarters, and I have others who never care, and expect me to do the work for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How to Pose an English Angora</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will start to pose an English Angora by scooting the back end up to the correct position while gently holding the front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The back of the heel should be just under the back of the rabbit, and not pushed too far forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To correctly pose, the most important thing is to feel for their feet, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and make sure that their feet are underneath them in a relaxed manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Typically the front end of the feet will be under the most forward point in the hip, but that can be hard to tell through the wool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, the legs should be equally parallel to the body, and should be sitting just underneath the body, not sticking out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are not parallel underneath the body, position them correctly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, allow the head to sit naturally, do not push the head down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good short cobby animal will often have a full chest and does not naturally carry their head on the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it is forced into an unnatural position, it will not feel correct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some do hold their heads lower, and if that is natural for them, that is fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A rule of thumb to use when posing<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is that the rabbit should be sitting in a natural, balanced, comfortable position.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Be Gentle Top Keep Them Properly Posed</strong>. When actually feeling the body, you need to gently feel the outline of the type, do not let the wool trick you into squeezing down too hard as it will cause the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>rabbit to get out of its pose and you will not be feeling the true type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see many people do this when they are trying to evaluate English Angora type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are squeezing with their hands to feel type, and in that manner push the rabbit to move its legs back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You merely want to feel the outline, so glide your hands over the body type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that the wool often makes people unconsciously think they have to squeeze harder to get through, but that just moves the rabbit out of its natural pose. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be light, and just hard enough that you can feel the outline of the body and assess it for flaws – you will feel them, you just don’t want to create them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Evaluation.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Evaluation of body type can take place any time, but keep in mind that a young rabbits bodies change as they mature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, it really is unfair to a rabbit to make a final assessment until they are 3-6 months old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need to determine when your particular rabbits mature so that you know when the final evaluation can be made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are three major components that I think about when evaluating the body type of my English Angoras :<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1) Shoulder 2) Middle or Loin and 3) Hind end or Hindquarters and Legs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will discuss these in the posts to follow.</span></div>
<strong></strong>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-27772577874555444392011-09-29T10:55:00.000-07:002011-09-29T10:55:21.285-07:00Breeding for Color - Beware of Torts<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Many English Angora breeders breed any color to any color, which can lead to poor results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though only five points are allocated to color, judges truly appreciate intense well colored animals probably more than this point amount would lead you to believe, so being careful with breeding should be a top priority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having a color project can be very rewarding, and since breeders of other breeds follow color rules when breeding, there really isn’t any reason that you can’t. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To get some guidance on the issue, talk to breeders of normal furred breeds with multiple colors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because I raised Netherland Dwarfs for many years, I learned how the colors should be bred together for optimum results, and this is unfortunately knowledge that many of your fellow English angora breeders do not possess and could truly give you an advantage on the show table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An intense study of genetics is not necessary, just find out the “rules” for breeding whatever color you are interested in, follow them, and consider correct color when selecting your breeding stock.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Particularly, an English Angora breeder should avoid breeding tort to everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have a reason for doing so, for instance, if your blacks need better density and the rabbit with the best density in your barn is a tort, than do so, but by breeding that way, understand that you may need to work harder at getting the color back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I have heard people in the breed say that torts are the densest, I know by previous experience that this is just coincidence. Because many of the most serious breeders raise torts, a person’s best rabbits may be torts, but it would be a mere coincidence and is anecdotal evidence at best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many years ago, when torts were rare in my barn, the ones that I had did not have as dense of wool as my main colors – I suspect that since I got few torts then, that it was mere coincidence, as well as the fact that they did not occur often and did not occur from my best lines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Similarly, English Angora breeders now breed mostly tort, so the reverse could lead someone to the conclusion that torts are best because they are either from their best lines or are the most numerous– but it is a fact that the tort gene itself does not do anything to make a coat more or less dense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Do not get me wrong, I do love torts, but not enough to have them dominate my herd.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">The reason to not breed torts indiscriminately with other colors is two-fold – one, that on a tort, you usually do not worry about color intensity as you would on other colors such as blacks or chocolates, so when you bred your tort in you may be selecting a rabbit with weak color intensity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, in many colors, such as the pointed white, the recessive tort gene can lead to lighter colors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see many pointed whites being advertised as “lilac” when I suspect that they are actually pointed whites that have a recessive tort gene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A true lilac pointed white will not be light, it should have points that are dark, but Lilac in color, and should not have feet that fade to white in the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take a look at a Lilac in the Himalayan breed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of rabbit, and you will see that the Lilac pointed whites are not faintly colored as some of the alleged “lilac” pointed white English Angoras are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bottom line is, if you need to breed a tort into a color such as a black or an agouti, be sure that you are using a dark tort so that you do not lose color intensity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, some colors, such as pointed white, should<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>never be bred to a tort unless absolutely necessary, because the tort gene itself, no matter how intensely dark it is, will make the points faint and light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the future, I will talk about breeding specific colors and color groups, but for now, you can research color breeding information from other breeds who do a better job at breeding for color. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Putting a small amount of effort into breeding your colors true can lead to gorgeous blacks, striking agoutis and intensely dark pointed whites, which look amazing on the show table!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-67558480006472611152011-09-28T08:25:00.000-07:002011-09-28T09:28:58.583-07:00Show Grooming the English Angora<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Show grooming is different from your maintenance grooming routine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At a show, you may take license to actually use your brushes on the coat more than you would at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are risking a little more coat breakage by doing so, but that is why you try to avoid unnecessary grooming at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also this method assumes that you are on top of your maintenance grooming, so that you will not be removing any matts or webbing, because that should be prevented or taken care of during maintenance grooming sessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of your focus will be on the underside of the rabbit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put the rabbit on your lap, underside up in whatever manner is most comfortable to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use your soft slicker brush to brush the wool around the butt, the feet and the belly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want the bottom to look “pretty “ when you are done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there are any wet spots or messy areas around the tail, either clip off or use corn starch or baby powder with white vinegar if it is in wool that needs to stay on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have a wet spot and have to use the corn starch or baby power, you will have to continually brush and blow that spot until dry – this may take awhile, so it is best to check those that are prone to doing this when you first get to the show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some rabbits are messy, and others aren’t, I often use this as a consideration when breeding, as messy mothers often produce messy daughters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Typically, I go through and do the bottoms of all of my show rabbits before I do the tops because the bottom is the most time consuming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">The next step is to do the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have done a good job on your maintenance grooming, this should not take long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the rabbit is under four and a half months old, I do not blow it, just use a steel tooth comb behind the ears and through the furnishings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For anyone over that age, the younger they are the shorter of time that I blow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put the rabbit on the grooming stand and use the steel tooth comb behind the ears, and cheeks and furnishings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I feel the wool to make sure that no wool has clumped or webbed – if so, I will blow that spot, then pull apart with my fingers and repeat until finished – if you do your maintenance grooming you should not have a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then take a bottle of pure water and lightly mist the rabbit – this is a trick used by normal fur breeders to make the coat more fresh prior to showing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need to do this very lightly, just one light spray or so, enough that it will be dry after just a second or two of blowing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Next start blowing with your blower,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>just blowing in each spot and if there is no webbing move on. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you are done, a rabbit with a longer coat will often have little pills on the end<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best way to get this off is to use a flea comb to target the small little pill, however, you can use a soft slicker if you are in a hurry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, groom any ends that look stringy in the same fashion, however, use a normal size steel comb for this, and try to avoid using the slicker as it will cause breakage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes on the later coats, only the slicker will do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">When doing this grooming of the ends, only do it on a spot that needs it, hold the base of the wool, and try to get it in as few strokes as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A coat that is about a year old <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will take a long time during this step to make the coat look good, younger, fresher long coats may only need a spot or two, and then you are done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is nice to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>do the blowing step as close to when you show as possible and then to leave the rabbit out of the cage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I often have a few grooming tables, so that I can have my longest coated rabbits sit out prior to going to the show table – you don’t want all of your efforts to be wasted prior to going to the table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that you are done, your English Angora should look like a round ball of fluff when placed on the grooming table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-58336789392734674452011-07-01T05:44:00.000-07:002011-07-01T05:44:00.654-07:00Maintenance Grooming of the Young Senior English Angora - Part II<strong>The next step in the grooming process for English Angoras between the ages of six and eight months old will be to groom the top. I will pull apart any webbing or matting that is spotted on the top when blowing. Once again, I do not use any brushes unless absolutely necessary, and attempt to remove any problems with just my fingers. </strong><br />
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<strong>Behind the ears is another matter, these tangles are fine, and I will spritz it with the diluted leave in conditioner and then use a steel comb to comb the wool. If the tangles are large, however, they will need to be tackled by pulling the pieces apart with your fingers, or you will risk damaging the wool. </strong><br />
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<strong>As with junior english angoras, use grooming tools sparingly, and blow only a minimal amount to keep that coat in good shape. A rabbit at this age should have a fresh lively coat, the wool should be silky and fall free, and it is important to not ruin it with overgrooming. In fact, I believe that rabbits in this stage are the "ideal" English Angora if you truly are going by the standard of perfection, because the wool is fresh, falls free, and does not have a dry texture, but unfortunately judges at the Best In Show table often want to see the large, full coated seniors.</strong><br />
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<strong>If the grooming session is done weekly, it usually only takes me about ten to fifteen minutes on a rabbit at this stage. Of course, sometimes life is busy, and during these times, I can only do this grooming session every other week, at which time it will take me about 25 minutes. While it is not ideal to do the grooming session every other week, with the frequent blowing, the coat can be maintained in good shape until this time. </strong><br />
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<strong>These tips should help you keep those young seniors in good shape, and looking good!</strong>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-6277931505935400592011-06-29T03:30:00.000-07:002011-06-29T03:30:01.791-07:00Maintenance Grooming of the Young Senior English Angora - Part I<strong>What do I mean by a "young senior"? An English Angora from about 6-8 months has a coat that is different from a junior English Angora and a full coated senior. Therefore, they have their own blog posting, and are what I often refer to as a "young senior". </strong><br />
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<strong>When an English Angora is no longer a junior, and is instead a young senior, their coat is developing into a longer coat, and you will need to stay on top of the coat more than you did before. So, It is at this age that I begin to blow the rabbit more frequently, and will try to blow them 5-7 days a week. This will allow the groomer to stay on top of the coat and prevent webbing. As with juniors, these blowing sessions should be short, and only a few minutes of total time. </strong><br />
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<strong>Once a week, the young senior has a grooming session in which I will focus on the problem areas. I will take the time to work on any webbing or matting that has developed during the week. Often, I will spot a problem during the daily blowing sessions, but due to time constraints, I will usually leave the area until the once weekly grooming session (to be an "A" student, you would tackle the problem the moment it is spotted.) </strong><br />
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<strong>In the first part of the grooming session of the young senior, I will lay the rabbit on its back on my lap. I will clip the wool around the rabbits private area to keep it clean. Then, I lightly spritz the feet and legs with a leave in conditoner made for animals that is diluted with water by 50% (Dont use this the week before the show, it should be used for maintenance grooming only.) I will use my steel comb that has very long and wide spaced teeth to groom through the feet and legs. </strong><br />
<strong> If the legs and feet are webbing I will often clip them as long as it is at least 3-4 weeks before a show. They should grow back by then and it will look better than legs and feet with mats. I will then use the blower on the belly, to find any belly trouble spots. If there are any, I will lightly spritz with the diluted leave in conditoner, pull apart, and then blow until it is clean. </strong><br />
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<strong>Stay tuned for the second part of "Maintenance Grooming of the Young Senior English Angora" which will be posting on Friday.</strong>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-52905005056182876152011-06-28T10:23:00.000-07:002011-06-28T17:45:35.407-07:00Maintenance Grooming of the Junior English Angora<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">A good English Angora between 3-6 months old should be easy to groom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it is not, you have either a fur mite problem, or a poor quality coat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, this is my favorite age because they are low maintenance when I take them to a show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I usually just check them over quickly, brush the bottoms, and then spend the time preparing my big coated seniors. </span></span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><strong><span style="font-size: large;">When my English Angoras are three to three and a half months old, I start by grooming once a week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These maintenance sessions should only take up a few minutes of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will start with the babies bottom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For bunnies this age, I like to use a very very wide steel tooth comb with long teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will spritz just a little bit of leave in conditioner, diluted 50%, on to their legs and feet and quickly run the comb through the foot wool and the sides of the leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the comb hits any snags, I will pull the wool apart, and then use the comb once again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also use the comb through the belly and between the legs one time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once again, when you hit a snag, you don’t pull it out with the comb, you stop and break it apart with your fingers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your mission with the comb is to find problems, the comb is not used to fix the problems.</span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><strong>After the belly is completed, I will put the rabbit on the grooming table right side up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will start by checking behind the ears and under the cheeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there are any tangles, I will lightly spritz the diluted leave in conditioner behind the ears and use my extra wide tooth comb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the tangles are big, use your fingers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, I will use my fingers to feel the body wool to see if there is any webbing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I feel nothing, I put the youngster away as I do not groom on this age of rabbit unless it is necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I find some webbing, I will pull it apart with my fingers, and try to avoid using any combs if possible on the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this age, it is important to remember that when it comes to grooming less is more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only use brushes when necessary, as every time you brush the fiber you risk damaging it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A rabbit of this age will be one that you want to hold the coat for some time, so it is important to be strict with limiting brushing on the coat.</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><strong>I avoid blowing rabbits this age for as long as possible because blowing, while helpful, is also very drying to the coat, and one of the benefits of a young coat is that it is fresh and alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I start <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>finding webbing in the coat, I will start to blow them, on as low a setting as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I start blowing them, I will do it 2-3 times per week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blowing sessions should be quick, maybe a minute or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are just checking to find webbing, and if it doesn’t quickly come apart with the blower, you use your fingers to pull the webbing apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of mine start needing a blower at 4 ½ to 5 months of age, but I do delay this as long as possible.</strong></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I also start to spray to kill fur mites, as discussed in an earlier post, at this age every other week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doing so religiously should keep webbing on the coats at a minimum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-81508937748921934832011-06-13T07:13:00.000-07:002011-06-13T07:13:34.443-07:00Grooming Baby English Angoras<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhen0obQ_xG5ELmbmv9C6ihtYIi6dRzHg9nV6Hksmj_U8Zfwv9prARs2PHQcIAnO2clDLwfslaxiATSoOwuNfif0sBcewRknkqSTZkONpKZoDtZJmGY5Vmp5BusPAnqogc3ZctBQ2OvAZY/s1600/Two+Babies+-+Jacquis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhen0obQ_xG5ELmbmv9C6ihtYIi6dRzHg9nV6Hksmj_U8Zfwv9prARs2PHQcIAnO2clDLwfslaxiATSoOwuNfif0sBcewRknkqSTZkONpKZoDtZJmGY5Vmp5BusPAnqogc3ZctBQ2OvAZY/s320/Two+Babies+-+Jacquis.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>I am going to start a series about grooming English Angoras at various ages and stages of coat development and give you some tips that I have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will start with babies!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baby English Angoras, about three and months and younger, are very easy to groom, I generally do not do much at this stage of their life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For any babies with their mother, you should be handling them and cleaning them up if they get dirty, but you generally will not have to do much until they are weaned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At weaning, I treat with Ivomec to prevent fur mites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After weaning, I try to handle the babies at least twice a week so that I can check on their health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will at that time make sure that they do not have any tangles behind the ears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only other area that my babies may need attention would be between the back legs of the rabbit, which may get dirty on occasion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they are matting or webbing at this age, you have either a fur mite problem or a poor coat quality problem.</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>To remove the tangles behind the ears, I will spray the area very lightly with a leave in spray conditioner for dogs that is available at pet stores, either at full strength or diluted with water to half strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, I will use a wide steel tooth comb to comb the tangles out, but using my fingers if necessary to pull apart larger “clumps”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will check the babies bottoms as well, but typically, the biggest concern at this age will be the wool behind the ears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Resist the urge to use your brushes on the coat unless absolutely necessary, as the more you brush the more damage you will cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In English Angoras, overgrooming is typically the cause of most new people’s frustration, because the coat breakage that it causes leads to excess webbing and matting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just take that cute baby out, make sure it is healthy, and use the steel comb behind the ears if necessary, and that is all the grooming you should do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Some would be against using any sort of coat spray on English Angoras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, if you are using it as outlined above, you are not spraying it indiscriminately in order to alter the appearance of the coat, and you are not doing it at a show, which would both be violations of show rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, there is no reason to not use this spray lightly in a discriminate manner as needed at home so that you cause minimal damage to areas that need more intense grooming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If these tangles are combed out without the spray, you will definitely cause more breakage of the coat, which will lead to more problems later on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some words of caution - be careful to not put the leave in spray conditioner on the rest of the coat, as it may cause the baby to lick and chew if they do not appreciate the smell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, sprays <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with strong odors should be avoided, as well as any grooming spray that causes the coat to feel any different after spraying. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may need to experiment until you find the right ones that have little smell, work good, and do not cause any build up that would alter the coat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing that you can do is speak to a local dog groomer who may have some ideas for you. Also, even though your juniors are too young to show, make sure to not use this at shows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></strong></div>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-66422863080988579092011-06-08T06:51:00.000-07:002011-06-08T06:51:54.906-07:00Preventing "Fur Mites" in Your English Angora – Part II<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>As we discussed in the previous post, a fur mite infestation can quickly take an English Angora’s beautiful show coat and destroy it if proper measures are not taken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to treating with ivomec, I find that I have better luck combating the fur mites if I also treat with a spray or powder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always assume that a show English Angora has been exposed when they come home from a show and treat before they are returned to their cages. Before I had that attitude, I lost many coats. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Some people use powders, but I like to use a spray made for cats that kills lice, although most of these sprays kill fleas and ticks as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spray show rabbits every other week, and try to time this bi-weekly application so that it occurs after they return from a show. Also, if I notice during my grooming routine that they are starting to get tangles in the wool, I will lightly spray that spot, as it might be an indication that I missed a mite or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never spray or powder a baby under three months, and I never do my breeding stock unless they are actually exhibiting symptoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I prefer not to use chemicals such as this unless necessary, so if it is not needed, I prefer not to apply it.</strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>To administer, spray lightly as a little goes along way. I spray the belly, the feet and legs, between the front legs. Then, on their tops, I lift the wool on the side and do the shoulders, and side and then let some wool down and do a second layer. Also, do it above the tail, let some wool down and do another layer. Smooth the wool down and spray behind the ears, making sure to get the actual ears, and down the back. Shoulders are the worst, make sure to get that area of the body good. </strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Does anyone else have good tips in regards to fighting the infamous fur mite?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If so, please post in the comment section or email me so that I can include it in a future posting.</strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-53433037650388903942011-06-07T06:59:00.000-07:002011-06-07T06:59:13.733-07:00Preventing "Fur Mites" In Your English Angora - Part I<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>You will often hear English Angora breeders make comments about “fur mites”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although I do not know what type of creature our fur mites actually are, I do know there is some sort of parasitic creature that cannot be seen with the naked eye that loves to wreak havoc on the English Angora’s coat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good English Angora will rarely matt or web badly while the coat is in its prime or building to its prime if consistently blown, but fur mites can take your beautiful best in show rabbit and turn it into one that is webbed and matted, especially behind the ears and on the shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>In fact, if your rabbit is matting or webbing in those areas even though you are doing a good job at upkeep otherwise, your problem most likely is that these creatures are inhabiting your bunny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I believe all rabbit breeds are susceptible, and their presence can lead to poor coat condition on a normal furred bunny, they are far more noticeable on our breed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, one of the most important “grooming” routines you can have in your barn is the routine where you prevent fur mites.</strong></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Show rabbits are exposed to fur mites frequently, and I therefore am far more aggressive on treating show rabbits then I am in treating my stock that sits at home in the barn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first thing that should be done with show rabbits is to treat internally, using ivermectin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can use the ivomec wormer that is for pigs or cows, like I do, or the paste that is made for horses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should review the label or speak to your vet to find the correct dosage for the brand that you use, but typically, the dosage would be .018 cc per pound of body weight of the liquid wormer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do use more than that for the adult show rabbits – personally I administer .25 cc and have had success with that dose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some people that use the paste state that the dosage is the size of a pea. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></strong></span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Calibri;">To administer, remove the liquid ivomec with a syringe, remove the needle and then give orally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the English Angora actually has symptoms of fur mites, then do a second dose 10-14 days later to kill eggs, however, for maintenance on a show rabbit, I give once per month during show season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I administer it to my babies upon weaning, and to my breeding stock and anyone else that does not go to shows every three months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stay tuned for Part II, which will address using sprays and powders in addition to the ivermectin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></strong></span></div><strong></strong>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3023346807461267981.post-47565359219125907622011-06-06T08:34:00.000-07:002011-06-06T13:39:39.566-07:00Welcome - How to Keep Your REW English Angoras White<strong>Welcome to English Angoras are Awesome, my new blog about my English Angoras. I hope to have information on shows around Wisconsin, and the surrounding states, important tips on raising this wonderful breed of rabbit, and information on what I am up to concerning my rabbits. If you have any questions on this breed you would like to see answered on this blog, please email me at </strong><a href="mailto:tmsrw1014@yahoo.com"><strong>tmsrw1014@yahoo.com</strong></a><strong>, and I will do my best to post an answer. Just so you know, my style often differs from that of others, probably because I began raising them in the nineteen eighties, so I have alot of "old school" knowledge. So, if what I say is different from what others say, it is important for you to just see what works for you.</strong><br />
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<strong>Today, I would like to talk about keeping whites white. A ruby eyed white english angora is a beautiful animal on the show table. But, some people shy away from them, because they are worried about keeping them clean. Here is what I do. First of all, my whites that are in show coat are in cages without urine guards. While I love them, urine guards can make a beatiful long coated English Angora very messy. Then, when I take the rabbit out for its blowing session, I will spray the bottom of the cage really good with white vinegar that I put in a spray bottle. This will clean up any stains on the wire to make sure that the cage floor stays clean. When I turn the rabbit over, I will trim the area around its private area. As long as what you clip cannot be seen on the top when the rabbit is standing, I think it is fair game (make sure to leave the wool on the skirt intact as well as the tail, but around the private area and behind the feet, and a small ways between the legs can certainly be removed.) My theory is that if it is messy it is in the way and has to go. If the area that is yellow is on a part that is needed to make sure it has a good appearance on the top, then I spray with the white vinegar (do not get this on the private area) and put baby powder or corn starch on to try and lighten. I leave the corn starch in (except for if I am at a show, of course) because it will work on lightening and because it may soak up any more urine that gets on the coat in that area. If the next time you take the rabbit out for its blowing session it is still wet or stained, I repeat these steps. The white vinegar will remove a fresh yellow spot right away, but for one that has already stained, this process will need to be repeated.</strong><br />
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<strong>Does anyone else have tips or ideas on keeping whites clean and white that they would like to share? If so please post in comments or send me an email at </strong><a href="mailto:tmsrw1014@yahoo.com"><strong>tmsrw1014@yahoo.com</strong></a><br />
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<strong>Terri</strong>tmsrw1014http://www.blogger.com/profile/02646192413848574922noreply@blogger.com0