English Angora Wool Texture

In the ARBA Standard of Perfection, there are three parts when it comes to wool. For English Angora, density carries 25 points, texture 20 points and length 12 points. It's not that hard to feel the density or to measure the length; texture is a different matter. The concept of texture is more elusive and harder to grasp.

This is a picture of a 5-month-old tort English Angora. It has a very good mix of wool and guard hairs. English Angora guard hairs are very soft, almost as soft as the underwool except they are shiny. The guard hairs are necessary to form a bouncy and protective shield to the underwool.

This is a closer look at the English Angora guard hairs in a junior coat, tort in color. If the junior English Angora does not have or has very limited guard hairs, the senior coat usually does not have a "finished" look. Angora coat goes through three stages: (a) when the coat is building, the guard hairs are longer than the underwool, it is in a pre-prime stage. (b) when the guard hairs and the underwool are similar length, the coat is at the peak of the prime. (c) when the guard hairs start to fall off, the underwool lose the support of the guard hairs, the coat becomes past prime. In stage (a) and (b), the coat is free flowing while in stage (c) the coat becomes stiff and lumpy.

This is a senior English Angora wool with visible crimp, the rabbit is a chocolate tort.

This is a white English Angora senior coat. The guard hairs are still very visible but about the same length as the underwool, the guard hairs form a finished outer shield to the underwool.

Lilianna And Lucianna: Who Has A Bigger Coat?

Hi, sis, long time no see.

Sis, I have a bigger coat now.

Nope, I got a bigger coat.

We both have big coats.

I love you, Lucianna, you are a good sister and very beautiful.

I love you too, Lilianna, you are very sweet and pretty.

Youth French Angora Wins Reserve In Show In PA

Ashley thought her youth showing days were over when her French Angora colored senior doe took Reserve In Show in April. She found another show before her 19th birthday on May 14 in Leesport, PA and again her French Angora fawn doe Soliel took all breed Reserve In Show. Judge Stacy S. picked the top winners.

Soliel is a gorgeous doe, she should be competitive in the open shows.

Pam Is Rolling In Wool

On an Internet Angora list, we read that Pam got a full pick up load of sheep wool free. Now we can see her "loot" in pictures. The captions are in her words. We thank Pam for sharing.

Why, yes, that IS a full size pickup.

And it is, indeed, full to the brim (and some!) of nothing but sheep's wool.



No, I didn't tell my rope to grab on and join the fun....Let go, you wriggly little...! ....what?



How many sheep, did I hear you ask? Oh....forty five, is what the guy said...



Of course, some were hair sheep, and a lot will be worthless, but....LOOK at all the purty wool!! Whee!!!!
Definitely enough to keep me busy for a while....

Or...maybe not so busy, after all... It's awful comfy just as it is! :) :)

Love to you all....

Kitty Loves The Bunny

Betty says, "Sweetie Pie the French Lop was my first pedigreed rabbit. Though she was never a good show rabbit, she brought me into the wonderful world of rabbit breeding and showing. She came to our home in 1981 and passed away in 1987.

After Sweetie Pie passed away, I bought a stone Lop bunny that reminded me of her. This stone bunny has been sitting in our yard for the last 24 years.

Kitty Mary Jane likes to cuddle up with this stone Lop bunny; she does not get to play with the real bunnies, the stone bunny is a substitute for her affection.

Daddy And Mommy Of The Four Bunnies

Thanks for all the responses about "Who's Their Daddy" post yesterday. All the answers are correct: Daddy is a black buck and it's Jamey!

Big Times Jamey's mother Chu's I'm Too Sexy is a chocolate tort and daddy Big Times Armando is a REW. Jamey's color genetics are aaBbCcD-Ee. He is a black, thus aa and B, his mom is a choc tort, thus he gets the choc gene b. He gets his C gene from mom and c gene from dad. He is black, thus D but no information of whether he carries dilute or not. He gets the E gene from dad and e gene from mom. The E gene from dad is not obvious as REW only expresses cc, but since the mom carries ee, the E gene must have come from the dad.

The bunnies' mom is Chu's Valencia, a chocolate tort with a fawn daddy and a chocolate tort mommy. Her color genetics are aabbC-D-ee. Since there is no REW bunny in the litter, probably Valencia does not carry c. There is no information of whether she carries dilute.

Here are the four bunnies from the combination of the above. From left to right, the color genetics of each bunny are:

Tort bunny: aaBbC-D-ee
Chocolate bunny: aabbC-D-Ee
Black bunny: aaBbC-D-Ee
Chocolate bunny: aabbC-D-Ee

To produce the chocolate and the black, it is necessary to have the "E" gene to have the black or chocolate color extended to the rest of the body; and Jamey is the contributor for this important gene.

Who's Their Daddy?

Most of Betty's rabbits are tort and REW. For years, these are the colors that she produces. Recently she has a litter with one tort, one black and two chocolates. The mommy is Valencia, a chocolate tort doe with multiple Best In Show wins, what color would be the daddy to make these bunnies?