Sunday, May 16, 2010

the new 'do'

(before)

Ms. Bianca the angora rabbit has a new 'do'. Today was the day. I first brushed and then plucked her fur (she starts to shed easily when she has a full coat) until it was brushing out pretty clean, and then using embroidery scissors I trimmed the rest of her fur as short as I could, keeping all of the fibers as long as possible. I save the plucking 'wool' in one bag, and the long trim 'wool' all facing the same direction in another bag.

plucked

trimmed

Angora rabbits can be plucked/trimmed about 4 times a year...she was getting pretty full for warmer days, and I'm sure she feels much cooler now. I managed to finish about 85% of her, and she has a little skirt for the day. Tomorrow I will trim the belly, which is more of a challenge, as rabbits don't really like being flipped over ... so all that is left can be done quickly after a little break so it doesn't stress her out.

(after)

She looks about half her size now - the cat isn't quite so intimidated! ;)

5 comments:

Joy said...

She looks so cute with her skirt. :) How do you like having an angora rabbit? I've been thinking of getting one, but my husband thinks the kids might scare her to death, like literally. Hmmm... Either way, yours is quite adorable!

denise said...

Joy - She is a very sweet rabbit but she can hold her own with kids. If the boys get too crazy she goes on her hind legs and pushes them away with her front paws. ;) She doesn't seem to mind our noise, loves our cat, and is great wandering the tiled parts of the house when we are home. She is OK outside in her hutch, even when people are mowing. I will say what I would worry about is dogs. The few times she has seen a dog she has started thumping and jumping and I was so scared she was going to have a heart attack or break a neck...so we keep her far from dogs and try to protect her area outside so that dogs cannot get onto the deck! The boys love her though - she is a lot of fun, we get to spin yarn from her fur, and she is quite spunky and opinionated. Love it!

Cassi said...

I can't wait to see how this goes - do you know how to spin? How much fur do you need before having enough to spin and use? We love our bunny but he's not an angora, just a big sweetie that gets along well with everyone and our other animals too :)

Tara said...

Oh Ms. Bianca you are a vison in your new do! :0)

My husband SO wants a rabbit for a pet but for some reason it has to be gigantic- a Flemish Giant variety. And here I was hoping the chooks would be enough! LOL!

sarah said...

would love to see pics of your spun yarn and what you do with it! what a sweet pet -- and useful too! with dog hair all over this house, which i sweep up by the pan-ful, i dream of making new coats for us all...there's THAT much! :)