Satin Angora Rabbit

Quick facts

• Weight - 3.0 to 4.5 kg (6.6 to 9.9 lb. with ideal weight being 8 pounds) making them slightly smaller than the French Angora
• Size – Medium
• Angora rabbit lifespan – 7 to 12 years
• Similar breeds – French and English Angora rabbits
• Purpose – Wool, pet, and meat
• Suitable owners – Family with or without children, homes that have a backyard, as indoors or outdoors rabbits.
• Body shape – commercial

History and origin

They were first created in the 1930s by John C. Fehr, a famous breeder who gave up on the project since he felt that their wool was weaker and would have little commercial value.

Later, in the 1980s, a Dutch lady, Mrs. Leopoldina Meyer, who was staying in Ontario, Canada crossbred a French Angora with a Satin rabbit that had longer satinized fur to get a Satin Angora. After a few years of selective breeding, it was accepted by the ARBA in 1987.

Nowadays, these bunnies are shown in not only in America but also in Europe in countries like Switzerland

Description and appearance

They are medium-sized bunnies with a commercial body type. Their heads are oval with broad foreheads, and their muzzle is slightly narrower.

As with the French Angora, they do not have furnishings on their face, ears or feet (these areas do not have wool, just the ordinary fur). They are often disqualified if they have wool below their ankle, on their face or ears.

Coat

Their coat is satinized with a uniform sheen, and as Wikipedia notes, the “hair shaft has a semi-transparent outer shell that reflects light, resulting in deep color, high luster, and an extremely soft and silky texture to the hairs.” The high luster is what we are calling ‘sheen,’ and it is because the shafts reflect some light.

This coat is because of a recessive gene that makes its outer covering to be translucent and not opaque as in the case of ordinary fur as well as make its diameter smaller.

Color

Their coat color is determined by the color on their head, tail, and feet. It comes in 8 groups of colors, i.e. the white, broken, colored, self, shaded, tortoiseshell, ticked and wideband color group.

Angora Satin wool

The satinized wool, which is softer, silkier and finer is the most unique feature of this bunny. Its guard hairs extend beyond an abundant crimped underwool.  The hair shafts are translucent, have a smaller diameter, but their colors are vibrant and come in even bright colors, making its wool quite popular.

Since their hair shaft is the smallest among the Angora bunnies, you expect their wool to have a lesser density and be the finest when compared to other breeds. Many breeders believe selective breeding can improve the wool density to match up with other Angora breeds.

While some people view the satinized wool to be weak, experienced breeders claim otherwise. They argue as raising-rabbits.com states “while the satin hair shaft is narrow and translucent, the collagen cells are more densely constructed, lending more strength despite the more fragile appearance.”

The wool is hard to spin since it is slippery, it is often 2-5 inches in length, and some experience Satin Angora rabbit breeders claim its fibers are stronger or comparable to fibers from the other Angoras.

We can describe this satin wool as luxurious, not easy to find, feels and looks like silk.

The wool can be harvested about three to four times a year, and the harvesting should not be painful or stress your bunny if it is well-groomed. Cut it with a sharp pair of scissors.

Care and grooming

The Satin Angoras are more challenging to groom when compared to Angora rabbit breeds like the French Angora but easier than English and Giant Angoras.

Their soft textured wool and lower number of guard hairs make then vulnerable to matting. It is recommended you groom them daily, i.e. brush their wool using a slicker brush to avoid matting.

Their diets consist of hay, high-quality rabbit pellets like Oxbow Animal Health Bunny Basics Essentials Adult, fresh greens, and small treats of fruits and vegetables as well as an unlimited amount of fresh, clean water.

Finally, let them sunbathe. A fenced garden will be ideal for stretching, hopping, and basking in the sun.

Enclosures

Since they have a lot of wool, they thrive well in colder temperatures. Outdoor enclosures will do just fine but ensure they are well ventilated, i.e., you can have wood or plastic on three sides to avoid cold bursts of wind.  

The cages must be spacious, depending on the size of your rabbit. You can determine a suitable cage size by considering the weight or size of your bunny. 

Some people recommend a cage with a wire bottom. However, they often lead to sore hocks. We do not recommend them.

Also, these cages should be large enough for it to move freely. Placing a tray beneath the cage is advised to help in trapping urine and droppings.

Remove any droppings and spot clean the hutches daily and change their bedding after a week or so depending on the type you are using.

Finally, ensure you spend some time with your bunnies, give them rabbit toys to help break their boredom. 

Health issues

One of the main problems you expect from any rabbit that has long fur is wool blocks or hairballs which happen when the rabbit swallows some fur as it is grooming itself.

Unlike cats and dogs that can regurgitate ingested fur, rabbits cannot. In case of a wool block in their digestive system, your bunny will have fewer dropping or those that clumped together with fur, lose their appetite and sometimes not eat at all. This can cause death.  Call your vet in case of wool blocks.

Besides wool blocks, other health issues might be ear mites, fleas, flystrike, myxomatosis, enteritis, coccidiosis, overgrown teeth, snuffles, and rabbit hemorrhagic disease.

Overgrown teeth can be due to a wrong diet, i.e. not giving them enough hay. Ensure they have enough amount of hay, some gnaw toys and rabbit friendly wood to help wear their teeth.

Temperament and behavior

All the Angoras are docile creatures making them easy to handle. Also, they are gentle, friendly, active, social and affectionate bunnies with a lot of personalities.

They enjoy the companionship of owners and human attention as well as other rabbits and docile mannered pets like cats.

Since they are reared for fiber, they are tolerant of grooming, stroking and being petted.

They love playing with rabbit toys including soft pieces of wood, old glove, stuffed socks, pine cone, and plastic balls.  

Satin Angora rabbit for sale

There are many places where you can get these adorable rabbits. Try online, rabbitries, animal rescue centers and breeders who are available all over the world.