Mature coats and black color
Topic: black
All of you as entranced as I about depth of color in mature angora coats will love this post.

I am discovering some wild stuff in my aging does.
The line that I personally love for their gorgeous heads/ears/body/personality type are uniformly graying out as they age. (see the coat on the right in the photo above). The line that I am having a hard time with in the health, personality and conformation area is staying darker (see the coat on the left).

So here is the single angora I have been able to feel good about in that line:

Grindle has a phenomenal coat. Her health was shaky in the beginning and I did not breed her for a season to keep an eye on her. Of her two litters, half of the bunnies born have issues of some sort. I have two of her offspring from the last litter, and only her son DeVoss looks good enough to breed, while the coats on all of them were excellent at 4 months. One from her first litter has moved back after using his teeth too often (!) on his owner. He is settling down fine here, but I will always wonder about him.

But her coat, her coat. Such a rabbit! I hold out hope that finding the right buck will correct some of the issues I am wondering about. Here are her true brown eyes, but I see a SLIGHT lighter color:

If you look closely on her coat you can see the white tipped black hairs, which has me wondering what is going on underneath it all. Her face does not exhibit "steel" coloration, but her coat sure does. I would LOVE some feed back from angora breeders who have mature black coat pictures they can share!

Groot...5 years in the breeding
Topic: black

I am watching this wonderful fellow grow, and I am continually delighted with him.

His lines are the best. From CW Neo (son of Kim Kaslow's Nordic Glinda) and CW Gretel, his mom CW Gretchen has been a super wool producer and excellent mother. His dad was the much loved Honeybuns Zwart, from Charlene Schultz, with parents Greenberry Punxatawny and Honeybuns Honeydoo. He looks just like his Grandma Gretel.

He is a sweet, sweet boy and his coat is stunning already at 11 weeks. His brother Bart is just as grand, and he is living with Trish. His sister, Annemie, a delightful tortoiseshell color, will make an appearance here soon.

This whole litter has been super. This does not always happen, and I feel very fortunate, while I am knocking on wood while I type!

New arrivals :)
Topic: black
Two new bunnies have arrived this past week from other angora rabbit breeders. I find it healthy to keep improving my breeding program with new genetics.

Grijsje (Dutch! a color name for grey/charcoal I am told) who's pronunciation is "greet-cha" as far as I can tell, arrived from Charlene Schultz. Two years ago, Charlene sent the beloved and now lost Zwart, and Grijsje is related to him. His job description includes becoming a stud muffin for 6 does, should his stay here prove fruitful. He is a character and I can tell Charlene has loved him alot. His fiber is incredible for his age (13 weeks!)

And from The Spinning Bunny came this feisty little thing:

Lucinda traveled with Alice from Wonderland Dyeworks and spent a few days with Shelia and Jen from Spirit Trail Fiberworks on her route to me. When she arrived I was totally amazed at her luscious black color and her deep, dense fur. From traditional German Angora lines, this sweet thing is simply perfect. She spends her days tossing her food bowl, which Shelia and Jen informed me is what she did with them.

Both bunnies will be in quarantine for 6 weeks as they settle down from the move and become accustomed to the new germs here. This is a precaution for them as much as for my herd, and allows everyone to live a calm lifestyle for a while before joining ranks. And it's fun for me to spend time with them alone after I have fed and watered the rest of the herd.

Liebchen
Topic: black

One of my best, best does, Liebchen was born here four years ago. She is daughter to Matilda, who was the first German Crossed rabbit I used for breeding stock. Liebchen's dad was the wild man Rocky...part English and part French. Matilda and Rocky made fabulous kids, and Liebchen's sister Gretel is also still here. At 4 years of age, they are slowing down in the breeding department, but their coats continue to remain glorious. Her last clipping was 10 ounces, and this one looks even fuller. I had to leave it on this past week as the local newspaper came to take pictures of her. Now that she has the modeling session behind her, her coat will come off Saturday morning.

When this doe was 5 months old, she pulled her entire coat off, in anticipation of being bred. I thought she was too young, and passed her by. At 6 months of age, she did it again, and I decided that at 7 months we would give it a try. She had a wonderful litter and was the BEST mom. Each spring she is the first one to get that gleam in her eye...this is a rabbit who loves having bunnies.

Vanessa
Topic: black















Born in Pennsylvania in late August 2004, this doe is now 5 months old. She is very feisty! I got her at the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival last fall as a possible addition to my herd. I very much like her color, but her fiber is not as prolific as I generally expect from German crossed rabbits (she is a Giant/English cross). I may let her have a litter or two to improve the black genetics here in the barn, and then cross them back into my German lines. Her health has been EXCELLENT and that is always a wild card with a young rabbit. We'll see what the spring brings when she is 8 months old.

I am gearing up for a shearing class this weekend. The weather has been almost spring-like around here for a month, and is expected to get brutally cold right after the class (wouldn't you know it!). I have my stack of sweatshirt sleeves ready to lend assistance as temporary sweaters for the rabbits, and I will also leave a full inch of coat on.

I am looking/planning for spring breeding season and will treat the rabbits one more time late this month for fur mites and then lose the bottle (!) until summer. I am planning on 4 litters in mid-April, and if all the does cooperate (!) many bunnies should be in the making after the first of March.

Gunther
Topic: black

In mid October, little Gunther was born. In the 7th litter that Gretel has had, he was a single bunny. Gretel is over 5 and I don't think she will kindle many more bunnies, so I plan to hang on to Gunther, as his Mom's lines are the best I have ever produced.

This little guy grew REAL fast. He spent the last two weeks with his mom sitting on her head, and she was starting to get annoyed with his antics. At 7 weeks I moved him into his own cage, but right next to his mom and across from his Dad Zwart and his Uncle Neo.

He is thriving.

I really love black angora rabbits. If I had my way, that would be the only color I ever produced. Black angora is a stunning silver/charcoal grey when spun, and over dyes beautifully. Black will be the color I blend with a charcoal Romney/Corriedale/Rambouillet fleece to spin yarn for a sweater I am planning this year. This will all take place in the WOOL TO WEAR sweater project that starts in May here at COUNTRYWOOL.

The Wee Bunny At Two Days
Topic: black
This little cutie is delightful. One little nose that sniffs to discover, with eyes still tightly shut. She/he sat still for my daughter so I could snap this picture.

Single bunnies do not often do well. I do not count on them too much until day 5, but Gretel is an old hand at small litters and the weather is not too cold, so I am hopeful about the outcome. So far so good.

Liebchen has still not kindled. She went 37 days last time, and so we are still waiting. She is digging furiously!

Vanessa
Topic: black
So here is the little sweetie that traveled home to Countrywool from Twin Ponds Fiber Farm at Rhinebeck.

She is a feisty little thing! Part Giant and part English, curiosity is her middle name. I adore a smart rabbit, and she is that. A lovely black color right now, she will lighten for sure, but Angela had great luck with Charmella not getting too light, and so I am hopeful that some of the black genetics that Terry Kunst has in her angoras is an improvement over what I have here in the Bunnybarn.

She is being kept in quarantine until late November. I always keep new rabbits away from the rest of the herd for 6 weeks, as this allows them a chance to acclimate to the place, the food and a few germs, without being overloaded. And likewise...my herd is protected on the off chance that the new bunny brought something contagious home with her. Most bunnies purchased at fairs have been on sensory and germ overload, and experience stress as a result of that. Many times a poor immune system will show a weakness right after the transition, with the rabbit's eyes watering, or sneezing being noted. It takes 4-6 weeks sometimes to crop up. These are rabbits I do not then use in my breeding program. There is no way to tell which rabbits will react this way, and so I rarely spend more than $50 on a fair rabbit. During these six weeks, she gets fed and handled AFTER the rest of the herd is fed and handled.

I really like her.

COLORS AT 4 DAYS
Topic: black
Grindle's litter is doing great right now, although one wee one did not look so good on day 2. We are down to 8, but all are being fed beautifully by this first time mom. Eight is a lot to handle for any doe, so I keep my fingers crossed.

Here are the three colors I am seeing, starting at top; black, white and tortoiseshell:

The white may not end up being white, but a pale version of tortoiseshell, either blue or lilac, or even a pale pointed white color. The last litter fooled me, as I had not seen a blue torte in some time, so as the color grows out on this bunny I'll know more. The genetics for these two parents are somewhat known to me, as both have been born here, but the colors on the pedigree of the damn's sire seem out of whack, so I harbor a healthy skepticism at this point.

ZWART AT 5 MONTHS
Topic: black

Charlene Schultz and I are watching this boy of hers' grow. We have high hopes for him...his clear, dark brown eyes and deep charcoal coat have the color depth I am looking for, and as long as his picture perfect health continues, so do my breeding plans for him.
Angoras have all sorts of temperaments, and Zwart is a laid back kind fellow who very much likes to schmooze with the shoulder he is on. A complete contrast to Neo. His fur is on the fine side, and wanted to matt a little when he was younger, but this next coat is growing in matt free, thick and lush.