Fawnna Celebrates Her 8th Birthday

 

 

 

A broccoli bunch is prepared for a birthday celebration.
 

Fawnna was born on May 26, 2008, that makes her 8 years old today.
She cannot compare to the full coated youngster that are in shows today, she is still a beauty inside and out

 

Betty celebrates Fawnna's 8th birthday.
 

We are two old ladies!

For previous posts about Fawnna, go to:

http://ncag.blogspot.com/search?q=fawnna

You'll see her photos from 2009 to 2015.



 

Fawnna Wins Specialty Best In Show on Sunday

Fawnna relaxes on the grooming stand.

Judge Chris Z. holds Fawnna after awarding her the specialty BIS.

NCAG held another specialty show on Sunday at Cow Palace. Judge Chris Z. chose English fawn senior doe Chu's Fawnna as the specialty BIS. Judge Chris commented that Fawnna had such a wonderful texture that she called the Lionhead breeders to the table to learn more about wool and the kind of texture that they should breed for.

Slow Show Time = More Spin Time

There are less shows during the summer, that leaves more time for spinning.  Angora rabbits are multiple purpose animals, they are the kings and queens in the shows when in show coats, when they retire, their wool is useful in making beautiful yarn and products until the end.   Here are two skeins of pastel colored yarn made by Betty in the past few days.

Betty is known for making lumpy bumpy art yarns but once a while she also makes the regular two ply smooth yarn.  Here are two skeins of fawn two-ply made from her two fawn does: Fawnella and Fawnna.    Both are grand champions in retirement, Fawnella is 5-1/2 years old, mother of Multi Best In Show winners Zeeva, Zoey, Franchesca, Fawntasy and Donnica; Fawnna is 7 years old.    They make contribution in showing, in making future champions or providing beautiful wool for spinning.    Where else can one find better breeds than the Angoras.



Three Month Cut

Betty says,

"Others seem to think that all my rabbits look like the ones that I bring to the shows. Realistically it is impossible to keep all my rabbits in show coats. After they completed their grand championship and finished showing, I usually harvest my rabbits' wool every three months thus their coats usually stay short to medium in length.

My rabbits don’t matt nor molt; there is virtually no grooming needed in between the wool harvesting during the three-month period of time. When it’s time to harvest, I can cut down a rabbit in less than an hour and the wool is stored in Ziploc bags for future use or sale."

Fawnna in her show coat in the spring.

Fawnna in her 3-month coat that is 3 to 4 inches long, perfect for a harvest.

Fiskars soft-touch scissors are my favorite tool for wool harvesting. They stay sharp for several years. My oldest pair are 15 years old and still work very well.

The blades of the scissors are parallel to the skin when doing the cut.

I cut the wool next to the skin using the body as the guide; no chance of having second cuts.

The wool with the length of 3 to 4 inches long is perfect for spinning fine yarn and for blending.

It's All in the Family

 

 

 

 

Checker the French Angora is sharing the exercise pen with English Angora Fawnna and Chloeanna.
 

French Angora Meara and  four English Angora girls are resting together.
 

"Do you speak French?" Meara asks the English Angora girl.
 

French or English, they are all in a big happy family.