Having trouble with Angoras

[suburbanfarmer]

Hello Everyone. THis is my forst post here.

I used to raise mini lops as a child and never had any problems. I used to love showing and had so much fun learning genetics. Now as an adult I have gotten into spinning and have discovered the German Angora. I figured I would keep an excellent Buck and Doe and breed them occasionally. This great idea has turned into a lot of frustration and saddness.

I have had 4 does in the last two years and lost two of them.

The first was a 2 year old that had never been bred previously.She died after she could not sucessfully deliver. X-Rays revealed she had concieved one kit that was very large and died before birth. She was at the vet hospital days where they tried everything, but she didn't make it after all.

The seccond doe delivered a healthy litter of two and I kept the Buck who is now mylovely man Jack. I had to sell her in a sudden move.

A year later I purchased a 1 year old doe that was driven from Oregon to California and was thin, but I did not think much of it. She died in less than a week. The top theory is Myxomitosis.

I just purchased an amazing bred doe for $125 and now I cannot do anything but stare at her and wait for something to go wrong.

The long and the short of it is that I was wondering if anyone had any expirience with German Angoras and could offer advice. I could use it. Are they a tough breed to breed? I sure am having a heck of a time

 

[rtvarnell]

So sorry to hear about your luck with Angora's Best wishes.

 

[amalie]

You've had one success so try to think about that.

Unfortunately it wasn't a good decision to try and breed a maiden doe at 2yrs, does really need to be mated by 1yr if they are going to be bred at all. Unfortunately when a maiden doe who is older than 1yr gets pregnant (by your choice or by accident) owners need to be aware that there is a very very high chance she could require a c-section or die while kindling due to the fact that her hip bones will have fused or begun to fuse. It's a real pity you weren't told this before but at least now you know how to prevent it.

The second rabbit sounds as though she was ill when you got her, in my opinion either her breeder should have picked up on it before she left - or the company who carried her should have.

So, providing this doe is under/around a year old (she should be at least 8mths oldfor a GA)and fit and healthy then there probably isn't any reason for you to worry anymore than anyone else

 

[suburbanfarmer]

Thank you so much. I really needed to hear something reassuring. Do you have any tips for luck?

 

[maladrick]

I've heard conflicting reports in regards to "fusing" hip bones in rabbits.
I know it applies to guinea pigs and if planning on breeding they need to have their litter before a year old, otherwise there can be birthing complications.
From my understanding, its not advised to breed from a flemish giant doe till they are over a year old (or a certain weight), so the fusing hips are therefore not a prob.

 

[Anntann]

Hello there I'm fairly new to this board, but not to Angoras. So I'll jump in a bit.

I'm sure you know that it's necessary for the Angoras in particular to have fiber in the diet. I happen to free feed hay. With a gestating doe, I usually feed pellets (because it's easy to balance the nutrients) and timothy hay. I also give them dandelion leaves, raspberry leaves, and plantain.

If you've not previously fed greens, you have to go VERY slowly so they get used to them. (dandelions have a mild laxative effect, btw.) Like...the first day ONE leaf of each.

But I digress. You may want to pluck or cut her fiber before she kindles. The really long fiber can get in the way and actually tangle around the kits. Some breeders shave the hind end of a doe about to kindle. I don't, but I DO try to schedule kindling for a month after the shed.

Other than that, just provide a nest box that's big enough for her (Long is GOOD..they can build a nest in the far end, and not squish kits when they hop in), and enough hay or straw to build her nest. Then just watch her. She'll likely start to lay around and "listen" to her body. They seem to go into a kind of trance for a few minutes at a time. She may well stop eating the day or two before kindling. (Mine usually do that and it freaks me out every time)

Good luck! make sure to post an update!

 

[Bazykbunnybarn]

Hi there,
I have bred english angoras and have also had problems. The wool in the nest strangled one of the babies. A day later the wool on the belly of the mom strangled one of the babies and the baby was dangling there hanging off of her when I woke up in the morning. I have also had trouble with one doe not feeding. I have only had one successful litter of 2. If you can get the doe to kindle, I would suggest replacing most of the nest with straw and pluck the doe well on the belly to keep the babies safe. I am looking for an unrelated buck now to breed my new doe in the spring.
good luck! my email is [email protected]
thanks,
Laura

 

[maladrick]

I think its advisible to clip breeding angora does, that way you avoid accidental strangulations.
I had similar probs when I was breeding Jersey Woollys, hair wrapped around limbs "strangling" the limb, cutting off the circulation.

 

[amalie]

Definitely clip her before she kindles, German Angoras aren't like English/French/Giants they have wool and don't moult so you won't be able to pluck her.

Maladrick - you are right, the larger the rabbit the longer you should wait (hence the 8mth suggestion instead of 6mth) to mate them so you are quite right at a little over a year a German Angora is probably just fine but I'm not sure when the cut off would be so personally I'd be mating between 8 and 12mths. The fusion of their hop bones is certainly not as pronounced as a guinea pigs (I have them too) but like any mamal - including humans - they do fuze which makes birthing riskier, also at over 1yr you can have trouble getting does to conceive (again the bigger breeds will be a few months behind smaller breeds because they develop slower).

It's kind of like humans, if we procreated at the peak time for our bodies - instead of waiting for the husband/money/home etc. we'd all be having babies in our early twenties and we'd be well and truly done by the time we were 35.

But I'm rambling (sorry! I worked in the pregnancy/birth/0-3 sector for years - with humans - I find it fascinating!)

Suburbanfarmer - the best advice I can give is just to care for your girl as best you can and to stay calm about the whole process, there is no point doing it if you're going to loose sleep! I think you're bad run is probably over

 

[suburbanfarmer]

Holy moly thank you guys! I really apreciate the advice you have given me.

Just to put it out there, My new doe is 10mos old. I am feeding a mixture of King feed and Purina (only becaues they do not have King where I live and I have to transition to Purina ) and free feeding Timothy. I am starting to work in treats also. I cllipped her when I first fot her because she was in full wool. This was no simple feat because, though she is beautiful, she is less than tame. In fact, I havn't finnished yet because I am trying to keep the stress level down. We are working on it though. Now I know why you clip before the kindle, Yikes!

I was sooo excited yesterday when I went out to visit her and I swear I can feel some babies in that belly! I know it is kinda early, but I am pretty sure. She is due in two weeks hopefully.

-sidenote I am having trouble clipping around her dew because the wool is so thick. I have gotten 9oz off her already and am not done yet! I don't want to clip her. Any suggestions?





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