Angora rabbit
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The Angora rabbit is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft hair. They are believed to have originated in Turkey, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 1700s, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States in the early 1900s.
There are 4 different types of ARBA recognized angora rabbits:
English: This is the smallest Angora rabbit breed. In addition to the hair on its body, it has long hair on the face and ears as well. This breed is the most common as a pet mainly because the facial hair gives it a puppy-dog or teddy bear look. However, it requires a great deal of maintenance. There are many ARBA recognized colors in this breed.
French: This breed only has thick, long hair on his body, because of this it requires low maintenance. However, ear tufts are allowed. This is an excellent Angora to buy, if you are a spinner or rabbit breeder who doesn't have a lot of time on your hands. There are many ARBA recognized colors in this breed.
Satin: Spinners love this rabbit's wool for its beautiful sheen. What gives the wool its sheen is that it doesn't have as much guard hair, what gives the wool its thickness, as the other breeds. The wool tangles easily, making this breed the highest maintenance.
Giant: This is the largest Angora rabbit breed, therefore, producing the most wool. While this breed doesn't have any facial hair it does have large ear tufts. Its wool has the same consistency of the French Angora, just lots more of it.
There is one more Angora breed, although it is not recognized by ARBA:
German: This breed is looks a great deal like the Giant Angora, except it only comes in REW, ruby-eyed white or albino. Many spinners breed the German Angora with another Angora breed so they will still have the bountiful German Angora wool, but with many beautiful colors. These Angora crosses are called hybrids and most German Angora sellers will tell you what the percentage of the hybrid is German Angora. Many German lovers are trying to get ARBA to recognize this breed.