The English Angora Bunny
To Help You With Confidence, We are here to teach you the Basics That You Need To Know About English Angora Rabbits.
If you are looking for a cute and fluffy breed of bunnies to love and welcome as your new family member, therapy pet, show bunny, or just a new friend, the English Angora Rabbit might be the right choice for you. Just remember though, they come with great responsibility. At Country Bumpkin Bunnies, we raise beautiful, pedigreed English Angora rabbits that make great pets for responsible owners and are such a pleasure to spend time with. Most everyone that purchases one tells us how therapeutic it is to groom them! Explore our range of colorful English Angora rabbits and see which becomes your favorite.
Please take time to go through our entire website. It is fairly large, but full of information! It is very educational and you can find just about anything you need to know about English Angoras here. We have documented our experiences over the years throughout our website so we can help pass on all of this helpful information and educate others about the English Angora rabbit breed.
The English Angora Rabbit—History and Breed Origin
Istanbul the capital of Turkey
To begin with, Angora Rabbits come in four different breeds recognized by the ARBA. These are English, Satin, Giant, and French. However, what makes the English Angora rabbit different from other breeds is their appearance and size. English Angora rabbits look like a round ball of fluff covering their face and ears. Besides this, English Angora rabbits are the smallest of the angora breeds.
The English Angora rabbit has its origins in Ankara, Turkey, which is southeast of Istanbul the capital of Turkey. Ankara was previously known as Angora, hence the name—the English Angora rabbit. This is a domestic rabbit that is mostly bred for its soft and long wool, but they also make amazing companions that you can snuggle with at home and often make amazing therapy pets!
In addition to all of these wonderful attributes, English Angoras are so much fun to show in country fairs, 4H, and ARBA.
Once you take home an English Angora Rabbit from Country Bumpkin Bunnies, you’ll be amazed at the joy they bring to your life.
Characteristics of the English Angora Rabbit
As mentioned earlier, these bunnies are known for their wooly appearance. They are often called the puppy dog bunny and known for their sweet temperaments. They are usually born in litters of an average size of six. Our smallest litter was one and our largest was thirteen!
We have owned many breeds of rabbits over the decades. The English Angora breed is by far, hands down, the friendliest breed of rabbit in the world. They are truly more like owning a dog that requires so little attention! English Angora rabbits are easily litter box trained as well!
Appearance
Weighing nearly six to seven and a half pounds, the English Angora rabbit that we sell at Country Bumpkin Bunnies has a small-sized, round, and compact body with a flat but broad head, shoulders, and small ears that tassel over with beautiful furnishings. We work to make our bunnies meet the ARBA standard of perfection (SOP).
They have fur on their faces, ears and also have woolly feet. The English Angora rabbit breed has dense, yet silky fibers mixed with guard hairs. Their wool grows at an average of one inch a month.
Owning an English Angora rabbit is like owning a non shedding dog that needs a hair cut every few months.
Color
If you want your bunny in a specific color, you will love the English Angora rabbit even more. That’s because English Angora rabbits come in so many different colors and patterns! The color of the English Angora rabbit depends on the color group and variety, such as agouti group or self group. In simple terms, you can get these bunnies in solid colors like black, blue, chocolate, lilac, and white, as well as cream, fawn, and red. They also come in different patterns like broken, tort, harlequin, otter, and more! Add chinchilla, pearl, pointed, and steel ticking to the color mix and the options can be endless.
Please note that at Country Bumpkin Bunnies, we have English Angora rabbits in most colors, but they are not available all of the time. We have color programs that allow us to breed specific colors. We have fun fiber colors and elegant show lines. So, if you can’t find the color of rabbit you want, let us know! We always have babies on the way. Visit our Waiting List page if you don’t see a bunny for sale that you like.
Coat
The coat of the English Angora bunny is silky, woolly, and softer than cashmere. It is dense and grows fast and thick. When you keep them as a companion rabbit, you need to groom them regularly to keep them comfortable.
These bunnies should be taken to the groomers a few times a year to get their coats groomed and clipped so that they look neat and tidy. If you own an English Angora rabbit for the fiber, you will want to harvest their wool every three to five months.
A blower/forced air dryer is your best friend when keeping up with an angora coat. Blowing out the coat often helps keep the dander to a minimum and tangles under control. Avoid getting their coat wet as friction and moisture will turn the fiber into felt! To learn more about the things they need, please visit Prepare for your New Bunny.
Temperament
English Angoras have amazing temperaments, which is yet another significant factor that makes them great pets. In general, the English Angora rabbit is good-tempered, intelligent, and loves to be around people. Just like other domestic pets like cats and dogs, the English Angora rabbit can be tamed. If not handled for a period of time, it only takes approximately three days of attention to get them back on track and very friendly.
They flourish when they play and interact with others. However, if caught off guard by loud sounds or unexpected surprises, they can become easily frightened. So, pet owners must give them some space to adjust without stressing. Lots of love shown to them will assure them that they are not threatened.
It is best to avoid loud noises with these bunnies because of how easily they can frighten. Fireworks can literally scare them to death. Remember, rabbits are animals of prey and their instinct is to hide so they are naturally going to be scared until you teach them that you love them.
English Angora Bunny Lifespan
The English Angora rabbit can live as long as seven to twelve years if they are looked after and cared for properly.
Read on to find out how to take care of them so that you continue to make beautiful memories with your new pets for years to come!
Daily Life
Food and Diet
You can treat your little ball of fur to various treats like black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS), old fashioned raw oats, papaya pills, and calf manna. Nutritious foods, such as rabbit friendly fresh fruits, and vegetables can be introduced typically no earlier than six months of age, one new veggie at a time.
The amount of food you feed to your rabbit daily should be based on its age, activity level, and size. Also, make sure to include timothy hay in your English Angora rabbit’s daily diet to keep its digestive system functioning well. Besides this, hay will also make it less prone to dental problems.
Other types of grass hay are suitable. However, avoid alfalfa hay completely on all rabbits over the age of six months old.
Exercise
As animals like rabbits run as much as three miles daily when they are in the wild, your pet bunny doesn’t necessarily need this much exercise. However, you do need to make sure to give your rabbit enough space to exercise daily. Keep them active and entertained with at least three to four hours of free range time in or out of their hutch when possible.
Additionally, exercise is essential for the English Angora rabbit’s well-being as it keeps their joints moving and helps with weight management. Believe it or not, even rabbits can get lazy and over eat.
Grooming
The English Angora rabbit is a high maintenance pet. You will need to invest time in their grooming to make sure your rabbit is clean and tidy. It is advisable to blow their coat out at least two or three times a week using a high velocity pet dryer, shop vac on reverse, or hair dryer with no heat and NEVER bathe them with water. Dry grooming only.
A greyhound or poodle style metal prong comb and wire slicker brush are extremely helpful in the grooming process as well. All grooming supplies are listed in on our Grooming page. Prepare for your New Bunny has a link to our favorite clippers (bottom of page)! They are hands down the best and believe it or not, cheapest we have ever found!
You can take your rabbit to a pet groomer at least three to four times annually and get their coat trimmed and clipped if you are unable to clip or cut the hair yourself. If you prefer a short hair cut style on your English Angora bunny, it’s advisable to clip the wool every two months.
