THE ANGORA RABBIT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3882, 7 August 1928, Page 10

THE ANGORA RABBIT.

A NEW INDUSTRY. The decision of the Government to allow the importation of Angora and Chinchilla rabbits and the wide and increasing interest in the growing of rabbit fur gives this article an immediate value. It is from the pen of Dr J. B. M'Dougall, the medical director of Preston Hall, who .is one of the recognised authorities on the Angora rabbit in England. In our issu e of July 24 we published a picture of an ideal English Angora rabbit:— THE IDEAL ANGORA.

For those who are in search of a hobby, a pastime, or an industry the Angora has potentialities that are denied to most other varieties. The perfect Angora is something rather different from the point of view of the outside critic from the perfect Dutch or the perfect Chinchilla In fact, the new-comer to the Angora, when inspecting the firstclass show specimen for the first time, might well be excused if he were to exclaim, “Where is the rabbit?” for so well covered is the animal in wool that it is only with some difficulty that it is possible for the - beginner to determine, without close examination, the different anatomical parts of the animal.

By far the most outstanding feature of the rabbit is its coat. In the perfect show animal the coat may be lOin long. Usually the coat is longest on the back and sides, but on the front, under the thin, it is possible to get as much as 6in in length in the best specimens. On the under surface of the rabbit there is also wool, not so long as on the back or sides, but still of quite appreciable length. Even on the legs, head, and ears there is wool—important sites from the standpoint of the fancier, but not of paramount importance from the mere commercial aspect.

Broadly speaking, the ideal Angora for show purposes should have a very long coat, as long as possible; there should be as much wool—i.e., density—as possible all over the animal; it should have the ears, feet, and head well woolled, and its general condition should be firm and robust. The eyes should be bright, and altogether the rabbit should have the appearance of alertness, which always betrays careful attention, proper feeding, ind, as a rule, good breading. HISTORY OF .THE RABBIT.

. Before discussing the more commercial side of the Angora’s function, let us very briefly trace the history of the rabbit from the time of its birth. At birth the tiny rabbit is devoid of wool, but it is one of Natures many triumphs that in the course of a fortnight this mite has grown to'something like eight to ten times its size at birth, and has a distinct covering of wool, sometimes quite half an inch long. The eyes are now open for the first time, and the little rabbits make their exodus from the privacy of the nesting compartment into the other part of the hutch and lead a life of comparative freedom. From this time until the rabbits are six weeks old they continue to grow in size, and keep on growing wool at a great pace. When they reach their sixth week of life it is customary for a separation from the mother to be effected.

This is a simple process, but it is of profound significance, for it means that henceforth the young ones are to be deprived of the one and only food which we know to be the best, viz., the mother’s milk. The breeder who uses that fraction of common sense which counts for so much in all that appertains to breed-

ing of live stock will soon discover that it is a good thing to take advantage of the elixir of life which is to be found in the milk of the doe rabbit; he will not be in any hurry to wean a backward litter, and he will take the fullest advantage of the fact that a specially good baby will become even better if left in the mother’s care for that extra week or so. Some breeders go as far as to leave the youngsters'with the mother for eight weeks as a matter of course, and there is a good deal to be said in favour of this arrangement. The great drawback to it is the loss of time when one comes to discuss the purely commercial side of things. But it cannot be too strongly emphasised that it is better to have a relatively few big and strong rabbits. than to have an army of weeds, which in the course of time will propagate their like, as weeds do. When the young rabbits are weaned they may be kept in twos or threes, according to the size of the hutch, and left in this way until they are some three and a-half months old, when they should be separated and given the privilege of a single “ room.” SHOW OR UTILITY ?

Now the new-comer to the Angora world must be in some doubt as to the destiny of the wool in the ease of these babies. He. himself must decide the point. If he is going to go in for the show animals then he must not on any account interfere with the growth of the coat. In fact, he must do everything possible to encourage its growth and development. This is done by judicious feeding and grooming every day. In the Year Book of the Universal Angora Rabbit Club there are some excellent photographs showing the various manoeuvres in the somewhat delicate operation of grooming, and the reader is referred to that book for further details on this point. If, however, the breeder is "out” for wool for the market, then he must do as the spinners demand, and get the wool off the animals whenever it has reached the requisite length. Now, the spinners have said quite definitely that it is not necessary for the fibres to be more than to 3m in length. From the description, however brief, which has already been given of the perfect show Angora it will be obvious to the merest novice. that it would not be a practical proposition for any breeder to aim at having all his Angoras with coats fiin to lOin long. The ’detailed and sometimes tedious grooming for each specimen would soon eat into all his - overhead charges and wipe all profit from the .balance sheet,

I have, said so before, and I repeat, that it is a physical impossibility for any one person to do every operation satisfactorily on a “farm” for show Angoras only. But that the show Angora is absolutely necessary must be apparent. It is the ideal, and the best show animai must always be the best wool- grower. But the point which the potential wool" farmer must realise is that, in order to get the. best wool for commercial purposes, it is not necessary to keep the coat on the animal after it has attained the length regarded by the spinners as sufficient for their requirements. CLIPPING OR PLUCKING ?

The wool may be clipped or plucked. The latter method is that most frequently adopted in France, but I am led to believe that the French have some method of inducing an artificial moult, which renders the process easy. In England we have no knowledge, so far as I am aware, of any method of inducing an artificial moult, and plucking has therefore to be done whenever the coat is "ripe. This does not always coine on at the same time all oyer the animal, and unless the coat is, in fact, in a state

of moult the operation may be difficult, and most certainly painful to the animab It is not to be wondered, therefore, that the most common practice in England is that of clipping. The great advantage of clipping over plucking is that the wool can be harvested at one “ sitting,” so to speak. It is not, or need not be, a difficult operation, and it is simple. There are many ways of clipping, and there is no orthodox way. Our practice is to place the rabbit on a stool, sufficiently high to reach just above the waist of the operator. The wool is then “ parted ” with the hand down the centre of the back, and layer after layer of wool is then cut off until both sides are uncovered. Some breeders cut the wool off close to the skin, other leave about half an inch or so on the rabbit. But whichever plan is adopted, the wool which is cut off should not be less in length than 2Jin. In the colder weather in the winter time it is best to leave an appreciable covering of wool on the rabbit, for the loss of so dense and warm a coat must be felt acutely. The wool is collected and placed in a tin or box until such time as a sufficient quantity has been amassed. It should then be despatched to the spinners direct or through the official wool receiver of the club. CLUBS.

There are two Angora clubs in this country—the Universal Angora Rabbit Club and the Southern Angora Rabbit club. Both serve the same purpose and have the same ideals, and, so far as one can see, have everything in common except a common standard for the show specimen. In my opinion, every Angora breeder should belong to one club or the other, for (in Angora breeding) as in all things, unity is strength.

MARKETS FOR THE ANGORA AND ITS WOOL.

Markets for the Angora and its wool may be divided into: — 1. Carcass value. 2. Pelts. 3. Live stock. 4. Wool. —Carcass Value. — The carcass value of the Angora rabbit is equivalent to that of any other variety, but owing to the fact that the Angora is constantly producing wool it is not common to kill the animal at all. — Pelts.— For a like reason the pelt of the Angora has never been exploited. When the wool is just about 2in long, however, and . provided the coat is of sufficient density, the pelt of the Angora can be made up into a very beautiful garment. And in every stud, especially if it be a large one, there will always be a few animals which will fall behind in the matter of wool production. These are better eliminated and pelted off. —Live Stock.— The fancier is the man who deals most in the sale of live stock. Good animals are always in request, and, provided there is time for showing, it is always a good thing for the novice to try ah open combat with experienced breeders on the show bench. He stands to lose nothing more than a few shillings, and there is not the slightest doubt that the information he will gather, especially if he is able to attend the show personally, will be well worth the expenditure. The animals which are in greatest demand are those which have won prizes in open competition, dr those which are descended from a well-known prize-winning strain. And in this connection let me say that to begin Angora wool farming with inferior stock is to court disaster at the outset. • ■ • - ; ...'

In Angora. Wool Production” I have emphasised the great importance of the best bucks. The right buck is essential.

Any buck will not do. Remember that he will stamp his mark on every youngster in your rabbitry, and that the same cannot be said of the doe. Her powers of reproduction are limited to some 12 or 14 youngsters per annum; not so with the buck. And on the question of sales, the new breeder will do well to keep hold of the buck which has proved himself to be in the first rank and not be tempted to sell him off, unless he is certain that a capable substitute is at hand. The markets for the sale of live stock are, however, distinctly limited. —Wool.—

So long as the people of this country wear garments made of Angora wool or trimmed with Angora wool, then so long will there be a market for the raw material. At the present time the price paid for wool by the spinners is 34s per lb. At this price Angora wool farming is a profitable proposition. In the course of this necessarily brief article it is impossible for me* to go into the details of the financial considerations, but in my book (already referred to) 1 have stated that with a stud of about 500 Angoras there ought to be a profit of approximately £220 with the price of wool at present-day values. This is after allowing for labour charges, food supplies, and other items such as rent, rates’ depreciation, and interest on capital. I should like, however, to take this opportunity of mentioning that there are two vital fundamentals in connection with wool farming on a relatively large scale. The first is that it is essential to have mass-production, and the second is that there must be a quick turnover. The first is attained by having a good number of adult breeding does always in use, and the second is attained by getting the wool off the animal whenever it has reached the necessary length. Some rabbits will produce 34s worth of wool in the year, but there are far more which will be doing quite well if they produce lOoz. BREEDING. Adult does will not produce wool at the same rate as first-year rabbits, but the reader who knows the most elementary facts about the breeding of live stock will realise at once that the value of the female is really in her capacity to produce the “ raw material ” by virtue of her breeding powers. I would infinitely prefer to have in my rabbitry a brood doe which kept on breeding time after time and produced healthy, robust youngsters with dense coats of good quality, than to have a doe which produced first-rate wool herself, but which had a limited capacity for breeding. And it is just here that the does which have been shown a great deal fail one so very often. Not always, but very frequently, they are not the best of mothers. I believe it is well to emphasise here the need for having, ultimately, at any rate, a good substantial breeding stock so as to attain a quick turnover in wool.

n °t’> however, be trite to conclude this scrappy survey of the situation if reference were not made to the fact that there is one firm alone in England which spins Angora wool. There are several in France, but even the French are prepared to admit that the English wool is superior in quality to their own. It is this superior quality which gives the English Angora wool farmer the pull he has at present over hie French colleague, and no sounder advice could possibly be given to the new-comer to the ranks of th e Angora than to instil into him the necessity for maintaining that high standard of quality by careful selection of his breeding stock from the best rabbitnes in this country, and, once having made the selection of his stock, to breed with discrimination and judgment. °