Rabbit hair question. Really, I am this dumb...

[chickensducks&agoose]

How do you get the hair off of rabbits? Do you pull it? cut it with scissors? Shave them like a sheep?

 

[SarahBeth9394]

why would you want to take the hair off the rabbit?

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

okay... i'm glad it's not just me! People have rabbits, and they make sweaters out of their hair... like angora? i just don't understand how it gets from rabbit to sweater... i understand how sheep do it though...

 

[SarahBeth9394]

Interesting question. I shall now go google it.

 

[Akane]

Well first you need a fiber breed that grows a wool coat. Usually that's the Angora.

Most of them naturally shed their coats so you just brush it out. Otherwise you shear them like you do any other fiber producing animal.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

Holy Crap! Is that a rabbit? It looks like a giant cat or something. wow. can it see?

 

[ScissorChick]

Quote:
Your not dumb!

How ya gonna find out, if you never ask the question?

 

[HoldensLandingChickGirl]

You would need angoras if you are wanting to raise rabbits for fiber. Some breeds blow their coats every 3 months or so and you can just brush/pluck/pick them to collect the fibers. Other breeds, like Germans and some giants, do not slow their coats at all. Those you have to shear, which can be done by hand with small scissors or with clippers (there are clippers made specifically for shearing angoras)

 

[Bunnylady]

The best quality Angora fiber is that which has been shed naturally. It tapers at both ends, and makes the smoothest yarn. Wool that has been sheared is blunt on the cut end, and is a bit less desirable for that reason. In rabbits that are bred for fiber, blowing the whole coat at the same time is a desirable trait, though many still do it in stages. When the coat is loose, you can pluck it off easily. I know a woman that does spinning demonstrations with a rabbit sitting in her lap; she spins the wool directly off the rabbit.

 

[RockGardenRabbits]

I have Angoras. To spin or felt wool, you need a wool breed rabbit. Angoras and Jersy Woolies are good. I pluck my Angoras instead of clipping. About four times a year the Angoras go through a natural shed, I place them in my lap and pull the dead wool out from the growing wool, it doesn't bother them a bit and the product is superior for spinning and felting when plucked rather than clipped.