Harvesting Angora Rabbit Fur

[innerchild777]

I got my first pair of angora rabbits last night! They are quite a bit bigger than I expected, but absolutely beautiful! I wasn't anticipating harvesting the wool until spring, but the breeder said she hadn't harvested them in awhile and these girls are ready! I have done some research and was planning on using a dread lock comb to harvest, but I haven't found one locally yet. I do, however, have a Furminator! Has anyone ever used that for grooming angoras? I also have a fine tooth cat comb I bought for general grooming that seems to get quite a bit off of them, but I imagine that would take awhile...

Any suggestions?

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I don't have any personal experience, but I would say that would work just fine. I used to use a clipper blade (taken off the clippers) to brush my Jersey wooly and it worked wonders. It was pretty much the same as a furminator and it generally didn't damage the wool. (Didn't get much wool from him, but the birds in the spring time loved it to make nests with!)

 

[innerchild777]

Thanks! I was hoping it wouldn't damage the fibers but am fairly new at this end of the fiber business so I wanted to make sure.
A dread lock comb has really tight, close teeth, as does the Furminator, but I'm not sure about the pointiness of the teeth.

 

[innerchild777]

UPDATE
I tried with the Furminator and it worked just fine. However, the teeth are so short that after one pass, it's full and I have to pull the fur off the comb. I've just been finger plucking which works better. AND I get the added bonus of running my fingers through the soft fur

 

[CaraBY]

You can gently pluck by hand when they release their coat periodically, no tools needed. If you are impatient like me, you can also use scissors. Just go very slow and careful. Skin and wool feel the exact same when you are holding scissors!