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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2014 0:03:48 GMT -5
Abby, I keep just reading the Satin Angora pages in the American Rabbit Breeders Association "Standard Of Perfection" book, over and over again. LOL Out of 270 pages, TWO are about my breed. But there's also a lot of info on posing, grooming, health, and the like.
Aaand, everybody keep your fingers crossed for me! My opal doe, Kiva, was with my buck, Odin, the day he died. (He got hyper and broke his back) I don't know for absolute certain but if I'm right about Kiva's behavior right now, I may have new little babies for Christmas!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 25, 2015 17:03:19 GMT -5
I just read all 5 pages of this. I am in love with your rabbits! They're so fluffy. I just want to snuggle up with them. And their personalities sound so grand!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2015 23:28:36 GMT -5
I took my babies to their first show on January 17th. I was pretty happy overall, as the judges pointed out strengths and weaknesses in them all. Mostly strengths, for the girls. My little male doesn't have as much sheen to his coat as he should, but part of that is that he's still in his baby fur. He is also a little narrow through the hips. We'll see how he does in a few months after having a chance to grow up a bit. Loren, who I traded back to her mother's breeder in exchange for a new, unrelated male, got first place at the morning show. Judge said she has a great body type and nice sheen to her coat, VERY important in a Satin Angora. Monroe was the only white entered, and since white and colored are shown separately, she had no competition for Best of Variety. The morning judge, on picking her up, said "Wow," and then went on to say that she has some of the best sheen and density he's seen in this breed. Also, she has a great body type. Afternoon judge said the same things, plus, "She has a really great head." So, she's going to keep going to shows until she can get her champion title and/or get registered. (to register a rabbit they have to be proven on the show tables first) Taylor wasn't entered in the morning show. She was, however, in the afternoon show, and while that judge was looking over the other junior females, she walked up and started nose-bumping his elbow looking for attention. She ended up beating both her sister Loren and another VERY nice little doe for first place. Judge comments included "excellent sheen, great type, and I love her color." My mentor in the rabbit show world nearly fell off her chair laughing when Taylor basically just told the judge that she would be winning that show, thank you very much. (I have mentioned that this rabbit is really, really friendly, right?) Tierney, well, he got beaten at both shows by a big burly hunk of a junior angora. This same rabbit is the one I traded Loren for. His name is Thor, and he's a black tortoiseshell with a lot of muscle, a very masculine head, and gorgeous coppery fur. Here are Taylor and Monroe in their carrier at the show. I had more rabbits than carrier space, so they shared. As they've never been apart they still love each other and they charmed the daylights out of the nearby children with their kissing and snuggling.  Here's Thor!   Monroe fell asleep on my lap during combing the other day.  Aaaand here's the dirty look I got for waking her up with the flash.  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2015 2:04:10 GMT -5
you are making me want a fluffy bunny
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2015 4:07:57 GMT -5
I groomed out Tierney's baby wool today. I think I may have to find him a non-show home. He doesn't have much sheen at all, just normal healthy rabbit gloss. Not something to keep in my breeding stock, especially since three of my four does are direct relatives of his anyway. He was SO GOOD while I combed and plucked his loose fur! Sat quietly, then when I let him down he hopped and danced and kept bumping my legs for more attention. Couple pictures of just Tierney, since he's not allowed to play with his sisters any more. The flash makes his eyes red.    I told him playtime was over...  Closeup of Tierney's wool. Satin angoras have richer colored wool than most even with low sheen.  |
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2015 18:29:08 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2015 19:27:57 GMT -5
BEAUTIFUL!
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Post by Deleted on May 9, 2015 23:20:03 GMT -5
Thanks! I'm very pleased with how this litter turned out. Of course NOW I have a new litter of babies, different parents, and they are, if possible, even cuter at 6 weeks than my first one. Taylor is retiring from showing after our next one, and will be going into training to be a therapy rabbit. Mainly, this involves teaching her to sit quietly and not scratch people while being held. She LOVES people, and happily kisses any new acquaintances, so I think she'll take to the work of snuggling the elderly and the ill quite easily. She's just a bit too fine boned and her coat isn't quite thick enough to make it as a show rabbit. Probably won't be breeding her, as I'm looking for a more substantial rabbit under the coat...Angoras SHOULD have the body of a commercial meat rabbit and she just doesn't. Monroe will be continuing her show career until, hopefully, she can get her Grand Champion title. Only reason she hasn't already is that there are never enough white rabbits at the shows and she couldn't compete with a fully coated adult for Best of Breed. Last time around, though, she was up against some incredible white angoras and beat them, and I really think she has the potential to win now that she's matured. Once she's granded, she can retire to be a brood doe and Queen of the Bunny Barn. (she's pretty sure she's that already) Tierney, obviously, will be continuing to show for a while. He's matured nicely and his coat rivals any I've seen. Eventually I think I'd like to cross him with my opal doe, Kiva, as she has a lot of really good traits that I think will compliment his genes. Loren is living with another breeder now, and has convinced her new owner that she wants more rabbits from me because apparently, I produce exceptional temperaments. Not SUPER important on the show bench, but it makes prepping for a show a lot easier! Last time I saw Loren I was really happy with her development. She's a good solid rabbit with the sheen and volume we are all working toward, and should be a nice complement to my friend's work with solid colored rabbits. (she's trying to get away from so many patterns) I've also gotten into American Chinchillas. Not actual chinchillas. These are a meat rabbit breed originally created for use as a less expensive substitute for chinchilla fur in the early 1900's and a larger version of the "Standard Chinchilla" rabbit breed for meat. They fell out of favor shortly after, when the furriers decided they only wanted white pelts so they could dye them any color. (but no dye will EVER duplicate the chinchilla pattern on the fur!) They're considered one of the rarest heritage breeds of rabbits now, with breeders working to increase the number being registered and shown every year. (Satin Angoras are ALSO a "rare" breed, simply because they only came along in the 80s and didn't gain much popularity until recent breeders began really focusing on improving the coat to be lower maintenance) And to balance out my giant wordy post...cute babies. This is my "Candy" litter (where before I had "Diva" themed names) Truffles - Hefty little guy, think he's a chocolate self chinchilla due to the shockingly bright blue eyes. He melts when petted.  Toffee - only girl in the litter, when this little chocolate agouti is in the sunshine, you need shades! She is super shiny and I have a gut feeling that she is going to be a knockout on the show bench as well as a cuddler of laps. Her eyes are darkening to brown, a little more every day.  Licorice - This little guy is blue-black and super shiny. The camera does not love him, which is a shame, as he is a complete doll who asks to be picked up and petted all the time. He's a little smaller than the rest, but he's just lovely and whoever ends up with him will have a great little buddy that will give them some gorgeous spinning fiber as well.  Red Hot - This guy is my keeper from this litter. In small part, due to his gorgeous red color and conformation being really nice, and in larger part, due to the potential issues he could have that I do not want to pass off to an unsuspecting buyer. When he was born, he had a pinched spine or something. His hind legs were limp, unresponsive, and purple. He was screaming like a tiny banshee, and I thought that I would have to put him down that night to keep him from suffering. But, I wanted to wait until Kiva was done with her labor so as not to stress her more than needed. When I went back out later, to do the sad deed, the little one had stopped screaming, and when picked up, kicked and flailed with all four legs, just as strong as if nothing had been wrong. So, he lives. Knowing, though, that he had this issue at birth, I can't let someone else take him and risk him having related problems down the road. If *I* encounter them, well, I know in advance and I'm not losing anything. If a *buyer* encounters them, they lose a rabbit, as well as the cost of the rabbit, and I lose my reputation as a trustworthy rabbit breeder. But seriously, I'd probably keep him anyway, just look at that face!  |
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Post by RedSky on May 10, 2015 8:24:20 GMT -5
They are all gorgeous but I especially like Truffles and Red Hot. Truffles eyes are gorgeous, will they stay that colour?
I'm sorry to hear about Red Hot's difficult birth, glad he recovered though and I too wouldn't be able to part with him after that. Oh and that face, so so so cute!
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2015 15:17:29 GMT -5
They are all gorgeous but I especially like Truffles and Red Hot. Truffles eyes are gorgeous, will they stay that colour? I'm sorry to hear about Red Hot's difficult birth, glad he recovered though and I too wouldn't be able to part with him after that. Oh and that face, so so so cute! I'm not sure about Truffles' eyes. My last blue eyed chocolate darkened up to brown at 12 weeks. So, his might too. I've heard of a few that stayed blue though. It's pretty striking, the contrast between the dark fur and the bright eyes. |
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Post by RedSky on May 11, 2015 5:03:41 GMT -5
It would be a shame is if eyes went brown, but he would still be a very handsome rabbit.
Everytime I look at Red Hot I fall in love a little more. He really is a beautiful colour.
Sorry complete novice with this breed, does their coat molt and fall out or do they have to be clipped?
My parents got me a rabbit for my 8th birthday, he was lovely with me and my mum but didn't like my dad and would chase my brother and bite his ankles really hard making him bleed. He enjoyed a tickle behind the ear and would occasionally climb over my lap but never liked any forced attention. It's amazing to read how these guys soak up all the love and care.
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2015 7:05:03 GMT -5
so u said u spin ? Have you made anything?
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 1:04:37 GMT -5
It would be a shame is if eyes went brown, but he would still be a very handsome rabbit. Everytime I look at Red Hot I fall in love a little more. He really is a beautiful colour. Sorry complete novice with this breed, does their coat molt and fall out or do they have to be clipped? My parents got me a rabbit for my 8th birthday, he was lovely with me and my mum but didn't like my dad and would chase my brother and bite his ankles really hard making him bleed. He enjoyed a tickle behind the ear and would occasionally climb over my lap but never liked any forced attention. It's amazing to read how these guys soak up all the love and care. Most Satin Angoras molt, but many owners clip them anyway to make it easier to manage. I prefer to comb them out during a molt and pluck the loose hairs. Angoras in general are a very people-oriented breed, due to them being bred for wool and as lap pets. They have to be easy-going to put up with all the grooming! They can be a little persnickety if they decide they don't like a certain person, but usually they like everyone. Which is why my Sophie is a therapy rabbit now, and I'm training Taylor to be. I've had SO many offers from people wanting to buy Red Hot already...but he isn't available! LOL Reds are popular but hard to breed for, most of the time they come out a bit less vivid and/or with smudgy color where there shouldn't be. Red Hot is a nice clean red with great color depth, hoping to get more like him from these same parents down the road. (also, he's got a great personality and gives me so many bunny kisses!) |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2015 1:15:50 GMT -5
so u said u spin ? Have you made anything? I do spin. It's a very relaxing past time, and I have to make sure there are no ferrets nearby when I do it as they like to get their heads and paws between all the moving parts on my wheel! LOL I've finished several skeins of angora yarns, but haven't worked them up into anything yet. This is a blend, the beige strand is alpaca and Thor's fur, which is a light copper, and the cream is merino wool and Nougat's fur, which is a very shimmery cream. It's a very fine lace weight, probably about 400 yards. I'm going to accent it with teal beads when I knit it up, I think it will be really gorgeous that way.  This is a smaller skein, made with one strand of merino wool (the blue) and Kiva's fur, which spins up like silver! I gave it to my sister in law, hopefully she can find a pattern she likes for it.  This is what chocolate satin angora looks like, spun and knitted. It's much lighter as the color fades out a bit along the length, but SO SOFT! This is a little scarflette that I'm still working on. The fiber is from Odin, the only fur I got before he broke his back. He's the father of my older homegrowns and where Tierney gets his good looks.  |
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Post by RedSky on May 12, 2015 2:10:30 GMT -5
Wow, I keep wanting to get in to knitting. I have absolutely no idea how do to it. Never mind spinning to make my own wool too!
Does that last one actually look blueish grey or is it just the camera/my laptop doing that? If it's that colour I think it's lovely.
Sorry to hear about Odin, that must have been horrible.
I want to steal Red Hot too, he's too cute! But no new additions for us for a while, our house is a bit full.
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