---

ABSTRACT

Angora rabbits are primarily reared for their wool. The fiber of the Angora rabbit is the fur type fiber that has been longest utilized in the textile industry. This article summarizes basic husbandry techniques for rearing Angora rabbits including their housing, feeding, breeding, and general care and management. Different types of Angora hair are also discussed to give an elementary idea of wool quality analysis to readers.

Keywords: Rabbit, Wool, Soft wool, entrepreneurship

Rabbit farming is an important tool in providing a subsidiary source of financial gain and employment to marginal & small farmers and agricultural labourers which represent more than 80% of the rural population. Rabbits are usually reared for their wool along with meat and pelts. Some small-scale producers also keep rabbits as fanciful pets. The introduction of Angora rabbits to the farming community has evoked the massive potential of rabbit rearing along with developing tremendous interest among the farmers. Angora rabbit is well documented for its Angora wool, which is the finest and lightest among all other animal fibers. Angora wool is soft, silky, fine with a diameter of 11 mm (approx.). It is eight times warmer than sheep wool and has a higher pure wool percentage. Angora wool is an important component of famous Kullu Shawls which provides these shawls a typical ‘halo’ making them warmer.

Rabbit farming in different agro-climatic zones

Angora rabbit farming is incredibly climate specific. Therefore, very few areas of the country are appropriate for Angora rabbit farming. Angora rabbits can be reared between -2 to 30 °C. 15 to 25 °C is ideal whereas 15 to 18 °C is a comfort zone for Angora rabbits. Ambient humidity for Angora farming is 60 to 65%. Due to these requirements, Angora rabbits can be reared in only 2 agro-climatic zones of India i.e., the Western and Eastern Himalayan region.

Housing of angora rabbit               

The rabbit farm should be located in an ambient climate away from densely populated areas. It should be constructed in an elevated place to avoid rain and floodwater accumulation (Fig. 1). The location of the farm should be near the marketable area so that materials could easily be purchased and finished products could be sold.

Angora rabbits can be reared in two different housing systems: -

1. Cage System

This system is generally followed in semi-commercial and commercial rabbit production. The cages can either be arranged as tier systems or hanging cages (Fig. 2). The overall size of the cages is 1.5 ft × 1.5 ft × 1 ft made of welded wire net (12 gauzes) with a hole size of ¾ × ¾ inch. There are separate larger cages for kindling (4ft×3ft). Under each row of cages, a proper drainage system should be there to drain off dung, urine, and other waste.

2. Hutch System

It is an assembly of a self-contained cage, which can be moved from one place to another as and when required. The hutches can be fabricated locally with wooden structures or bamboo or iron frame. The roof may be of thatch grass, CGI sheet/poly poplin. The size of each compartment may be 3.5 ft × 3 ft × 3.5 ft with welded wire mesh. In each hutch, there can be 2-8 compartments. This system is very suitable for backyard rearing.

 Feeding of angora rabbit  

Rabbits reared in the backyard with few rabbits may be managed with kitchen waste and other vegetables and forages available. But for semi-commercial and commercial farms, where a large number of animals are kept, balanced concentrate feed is a must. However, 40-50% feed can be reduced by giving them good quality fodder, root crops, green legumes, rice bean, groundnut, etc. Half of the concentrate feed mixture is to be given in the morning and a half in the evening. Water may be provided ad-lib throughout day and night (Risam et al., 2005).

S. No.	Age group	Feed requirement
1	Weaner (45-75 days)	50g/day
2	Grower (71-90 days)	75g/day
3	Grower (91-120 days)	100g/day
4	Adult (>121 days)	120g/day

An adult rabbit has to produce 2 kg of dry protein annually, which is equivalent to 7 kg of muscle, out of which, >1 kg in the form of keratin and the same amount in the form of internal sheath of hair follicle. This justifies the requirement of higher protein (17%) in the diet. The hair is made up of keratin, which is rich in sulphur-containing amino acids, thus exporting 35 g of sulphur anually. Therefore, an adequate amount of these amino acids (0.6%) must be present in the diet. Some breeders give 200 g of alfalfa grass and 100 g of oats per rabbit per day while some prefer balanced pelleted feeds.

The feed requirements of Angora rabbits changes with the cycle of collection and hair regrowth. There is an increase in requirements after shearing or depilation which is due to more energy losses by radiation. By the second month after collection, the animal is again covered with an insulating mantle of hairs with hairs growing fastest at this time. So, the ration being given to rabbits must be adequate. The hair growth slows down in the third month leading to a decrease in requirements and further decrease as collection time approaches. Daily ration adjustments must be made according to the changing requirements.

It is recommended to not feed rabbits once a week to empty the stomach which helps in preventing the risk of hairballs acquired from self-grooming. The hairs if ingested form hard balls which might obstruct the pylorus leading to the death of animals.

Breeding of angora rabbit  

Angora rabbits attain maturity at 6-7 months of age. Breeding stocks are selected based on production traits i.e., wool yield (preferably second and third clip), fiber characteristics, and reproduction performance (litter size at birth and weaning). Since rabbits are very sensitive to temperature it is invariably advisable to breed them in cool periods of the day i.e., early morning or evening. For mating, the female rabbit is to be taken to the male rabbit’s cage. It is always better to let two matings happen on the same day, one in the morning and another in the evening for higher conception rate and litter size at birth. Once successful mating happens, the male rabbit generally falls either on the right or left side of the female with a typical squeaking sound. The male and female ratio should be maintained as 1:10 (Risam et al., 2005).

Pregnancy and Kindling of angora rabbit  

The gestation period in rabbits is thirty days. The length of gestation might vary with season or breed. For the process of delivering kits, also known as kindling, a nest box with dry and clean bedding materials like hay/paddy straw are to be provided around the twenty fifth day of pregnancy to help the female rabbit in preparing the nest for the newborn kits (Fig. 3). The process typically takes less than 30 minutes. A doe (female rabbit) usually gives birth to 6-12 kits with an average of six. Through careful planning, 4-5 litters can be obtained from each female anually. A kindling interval of two months should be maintained i.e., after every three months the doe should give birth to young ones (Risam et al., 2005).

Care of Newborn and weaning

The newborn kits do not have any hair on their body and are blind for up to 9-10 days. Hair development starts from the 4th day ahead. Feeding of newborns is not of much concern as doe herself feeds her kits from time to time. Except for periodical checking for dead ones and cleaning the soiled/dirty bedding, the young ones do not require a lot of care. After around twenty days the young ones start nibbling the feed. Depending on their growth and capability to take feed, the young ones can be separated from their mother (called “weaning”) between thirty to forty-two days. It is advisable to keep all the young ones together for a few days once weaning is done (Fig. 4) and then gradually separate them to individual cages. Sexing and numbering of the young ones are generally done at the time of weaning.

Health Care of angora rabbit  

Good management and hygienic conditions prevent the prevalence of diseases. Regular cleaning of sheds, cages, feeding and watering trough as well as surroundings is incredibly important to keep the farm and the animals free from diseases. Additionally, unauthorized handling of animals should not be allowed in order to prevent contamination. Some of the important diseases of rabbits are coccidiosis, ear canker, mucoid enteritis, snuffles, hairball, and aflatoxicosis. Most of these diseases can be prevented through proper management.

The rabbits frequently suffer from issue of heat regulation after shearing or depilation. This is because before shearing they have an insulating mantle that is 6-10cm thick. Thus, the rabbits must be kept at 10-25°C temperature. If the temperature is not maintained, it may lead to major losses of adult angora as they cannot thermoregulate their body temperature. They also become sensitive to certain respiratory pathogens such as Pasteurella, Bordetella bronchiseptica, etc. Therefore, the breeder should take extra care in terms of maintaining hygiene inside the cages and shelter during summer season.

Shearing of angora rabbit  

Shearing is repeated after every 90-100 days as it is most appropriate time for hair collection. Delay in the process may result in felting (consolidation of certain fibrous material inflicting matting or interlocking of fibers) and subsequently yielding low value of wool. Shearing is done with either scissors, manual/electric shears, or by depilation (the process of hair removal by chemical or mechanical means). After the hair is collected, it is sorted into respective grades. It takes about half an hour per rabbit by a skilled operator to collect the wool. Shearing is a quicker process than depilation, however, the hairs collected by shearing are of poorer quality. Hair regrowth is uneven after shearing which is regular after depilation (Lebas et al., 1997).

Top-quality angora hair is produced from the third collection at nine months of age and hair production is more in females which is approx. 1 kg as compared to 700-800g collected from males. So, adult females provide a major share in hair production. Hair-producing stock consists of adult females maintained for as long as possible with minimal reproduction. This is because gestation and lactation lead to a reduction in hair production by one-third. The proportion of breeding males is kept at 5 percent (Ryder et al., 1968).

 Angora fiber

Angora hairs are very long due to the prolongation of the active phase of the hair follicle cycle. The textile value of angora hairs is directly proportional to the length of fiber due to cohesive property in the thread. The coat of rabbits consists of two main types mainly, the guard hairs and the finer fur fibers (Bergen and Mauersberger, 1948).

 

1. Guard hairs:

The guard hairs vary considerably in length and thickness. They broaden out towards their tip ends into shield-like, somewhat flattened portions, ending up into a very sharp, fine tip. They are usually 1-2% of total hair and should not be more than 4% of the total hair. The microscopic structure of guard hair reveals a multiserial ladder-like medulla (Fig. 5).

 

2. Fur fibers:

These are comparatively short hairs. They are barely visible with a very fine body (13.5µm). They are responsible for thermic isolation undercoats. The microscopic structure consists of a single or uniserial ladder-like medulla formed by cavities filled with air and separated by cortical bridges (Fig. 6).

Rabbit hairs are distinguished by a low friction coefficient which makes the fiber soft to touch but increases chances of slipping. Length of hair is characteristic of angora rabbit due to which hairs gets twisted and sticks in the thread. The softness of fiber makes it useful in the manufacturing of insulating underclothes. An extremely soft fabric could be made by mixing 10% angora with cotton, wool, and synthetic fibers.

Angora rabbits usually exist in all colors, but the Albino strain is mostly reared. Albino strain is completely white giving an added advantage for dyeing. Angora wool has a higher degree of medullation making it lighter than wool. It has properties similar to keratin such as insulation, water absorption, and dyeing. Its coat is 98.5% pure in comparison to sheep wool which is only 50% pure. This may be due to reduced cutaneous secretions plus frequent grooming by the animal itself (Lebas et al., 1997).

 Conclusion

Angora rabbit farming has immense potential to generate income for unemployed youths and women. As the angora rabbit production is labour intensive and needs greater experience, any slightest mistake might lead to the loss of productive adults. Also, angora hairs can be replaced by ordinary rabbit hairs which makes it vulnerable to frauds in the textile industry. Any carelessness may result in dirty hairs, improper cutting, felting, and poor sorting which in turn downgrades the product. There is a need to give serious thought to the importance of rabbit farming and to provide the species its due place in our agriculture system.

 

References

Bergen, W. V., & Mauersberger, H. R. (1948). American wool handbook. American wool handbook., (Edn 2).

Risam, K. S., Das, G. K., Oberoi, P. S., Bhatt, R. S., Chaudhuri, D. and Singh, V. K. (2005). Rabbit farming for income and employment. Bulletin 2005, NTRS, Garsa (H.P.)

Ryder, M. L., & Stephenson, S. K. (1968). Wool growth. Wool growth.Lebas, F., Coudert, P., Rouvier, R., & De Rochambeau, H. (1997). The Rabbit: husbandry, health, and production. Rome: Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations. 

 

 

Get the full article with pictures mailed to you, click the link 

---

Angora Rabbit Farming A promising occupation.pdf