Dying Angora Fiber

Today I brought out my stash of white angora and decided to dye it. After it's dyed, dried and separated by hand, I will then card it on my drum carder into one ounce batts. These batts will be offered for sale either here or in an Etsy store. I started an Etsy store months ago, but never did anything with it, but figure that with all this fiber I've been hording, now would be a GOOD time to add it to my shop;) Anyway, I thought I'd take pictures of my dyeing as it progresses so everyone can see the transformation from white fluffy fiber to a wet gunky mess and then into a nice fluffy, beautifully dyed fiber:)

First picture is of the white angora as it came off the rabbit. I clip with scissors and store the fiber in totes with a sachet of lavender until I either sell it for decide to use it for my own purposes:)

I forgot to take pictures of the wetted fiber in the dyepot (off to a GREAT start, aren't I? lol), but the following two pictures are of the fiber after it just came out of the dyepot. There are 4 ounces of each color....looks like a horrid mess at this point;)

The above fiber is layed out on screens over my spare bathtub to dry. After a day or so, I will start gently separating the fiber, thus, starting the "fluffing" process;) I'll post more pictures after it's dried a bit and I start hand separating it.

Aren't these colors fantastic?? I'm always thrilled with the way the angora takes on the dye. Right now I have another 8 ounces (in two batches) soaking that I will dye tomorrow. I think I'm going to do one batch of it brown and one batch turquoise. lol, I hate to be boring, but I'll probibly post pictures of those as they develope as well;)

More later:)

Lauren

French Buck pictures

I finally got pictures of the two French bucks that I have listed for sale in my previous post.

The first picture is of the opal buck. At 4 months old, he is showing great potential. His wool density is fantastic, texture is as well, keeping in mind that he is only 4 months old and is still in baby coat:) He has good crimp to his coat, and a very promising type. He's very gentle and enjoys attention/being groomed.



The next picture is of the chestnut buck. He also shows great promise (in case you can't tell, I really wish I could hang on to both of these boys lol...but I can't:( ) has the fantastic density of his brother above, as well as a bit more guard hair at this time.



For more information on these two, read my previous post...there is detailed information there:) Or you can email me at mgangoras@aol.com.

Have a great Sunday!

Lauren

For Sale

I have a few really nice Angoras for sale; a few NICE Giants and two fantastic French bucks. I had originally intended to keep all but one of these bunnies, but I am going to be relocating sooner than expected and now need to minimize my herd. I will keep the parents of these bunnies, so once I am moved and situated, I can rebreed and hope for this same quality of offspring again:)

First are two show quality Giant Angora does, MG88 and MG86. They are 4 months old and showing GREAT potential. Both are SO similar that I have a very difficult time finding a reason to chose one over the other (that's why I was going to keep them both!). These girls have excellent density and wool texture at this point, both are showing crimp in their coats, are well furnished and have very nice type. Both have are very friendly and inquisitive, come to the cage door for loving and are very laid back during grooming. They are still in full baby coat at this time. Price is $125.00 each with pedigree. Following is a picture of one of these girls...they are identical lol.

Next is another Giant Angora doe, MG84, who is also show quality with the same great wool qualities as her littermates above. This doe is priced a bit lower as she does not have the abundance of ear tassling that her sisters do and is two ounces smaller than her sisters. She does, however, have a personality that just won't quit lol. She's the type that hangs out of her cage to be pet (would just fall out if you don't watch her lol), rubs on your hand like a cat, etc. She is showable, but would make someone a wonderful housebunny or wooler/pet;) Her price is $100.00 with pedigree.

Next is Saro. She's a Giant Angora doe out of Walsh's bloodlines. Her wool density/type is absolutely awesome!!! The only reason I'm offering her for sale is that I also have her sister and I do need to reduce my numbers some:( Saro is 12 months old this month, I clipped her down yesterday and she's ready to be bred:) She's a very sweet girl, grooms easily and gives an abundance of luxurious fiber. Price is $125.00 with 1 leg and pedigree.

French Bucks: I am offering for sale two french bucks who are showing great potential. They are out of Spang's Tasha (tort) by Somerhill's John-Luke (chestnut). Tasha can be seen on my website, and I MAY have a picture of John-Luke there as well. At 4 months old, both of these boys weigh either 7lbs or 7lbs 2 oz, and are SOLID:):):) They've got it all...density, crimp, bodies, personality:) (I'm so excited about this litter lol) One buck is Opal, the other is Chestnut, both are pedigreed and will be eligible for R/W/B registration:) Price each is $80.00 with pedigree.

If you would like more information, pictures, etc. on these rabbits, please email me at mgangoras@aol.com. I will offer discounts for multiple purchases and am located in GA near Savannah. I can deliver to western NC if arrangements are made soon enough:)

Have a great day!!

Lauren

Giant Litter and Upcoming Columbia, SC show

A couple weeks ago, I made the first cut from my current GA litter. I already have two nice bucks, and will be breeding two other Giant does in about a month and a half. The one little buck in this litter didn't show promise of being better than either of the two I have, so I let him go. He now resides in Florida with a very nice gal, as a pampered pet;) I'm VERY happy for him and for his new Mom!

Yesterday, I made a second cut. There are three does remaining, and one of them is a couple ounces smaller than her sisters, so I've decided to sell her. She has great density and wool quality (so far...she is only 12 weeks old:) ) and her personality is something else;) She is unbelievably sweet and demanding of attention:):) Her price is $100.00, and of course she will come with a pedigree:)

I am going to a show in Columbia, SC on May 31st, and will most likely clip and breed my other two Giant does right after that show. That will officially end my show season, and the rabbits will be off...making babies or just chillin'....for the summer:) In the fall we'll start the shows all over, including some new babies:)

About the Columbia show... The show is being hosted by Southern Pride RBCC, and it is a Double Open, Double Youth, Double Cavy, Dutch Specialty, Mini Rex Specialty and Angora Specialty....!!!....all in one day; Saturday, May 31st at Caughman Road Park, 2800 Trotter Road in Columbia, SC. Trammel Trail Treasures will be there! Judges include Stacy Easton, BIll Patrick, Michael Franke, George Long, Don Peterson and others! Breakfast and Lunch available, big raffle. Show Secy is Christy Posey, cposey@wildblue.net . To request a Show Catalog, contact Sandy Bennett at sbennett@gwm.sc.edu, 803-755-3122 or go to www.geocities.com/southerpriderabcavy
For more information on the Angora Specialty, contact myself at mgangoras@aol.com or Show Secy, Angie Kolifrath at akolifrath@gmail.com

Guess that's it for now:) Watch for posts coming about my French litter and French litter due in THREE days:):):)

Hope everyone had a great day!!

Lauren

Babies and stuff:)

I spent today, with a huge amount of help from Rik, hanging cages and rearranging the rabbits to make room for babies who are now ready for their own cages.

The French litter out of Tasha x John-Luke is coming along so nicely. Big beautiful babies with heavy, meaty bodies and showing nice density in their coats:) They were weaned two weeks ago, and have been sharing cages two and two. I don't want to take a chance on them doing damage to each others coats, so today was the day they all became "big bunnies" and got their own cages;) They are a very outgoing, hearty crew, and actually seem to like having so much room all to themselves and not miss their siblings in the least. All have been nosing about their new cages, standing up on back legs to explore the tops of their cages, nose to nose with their new neighbors, etc. At dinner time, all were ready for loving and food, just like always. I'm very pleased with how quickly they took to independant living;)

The Giant litter is a little younger than the French litter, but equally as hearty and beautiful:) Today I separated the buck and doe who were sharing a cage. I still have two does together simply because Rik and I ran out of steam this evening to hang that one last cage!! Tomorrow;)

At this point I know that I will sell at least one doe and the buck from the Giant litter. I believe the doe is spoken for, but I will let those on my waiting list know that the little buck is available.

In the French litter....gosh..HARD decissions!! I'm going to have to hold off for a while in deciding on them;) In the meantime, I have a nice REW doe who is going to be bred to my Chocolate Tort buck in a day or two...soon as I can get her clipped down. So, I will have more French babies available as well.

The front pasture is finally getting green...finally is in need of mowing. I intended to mow this weekend, but this dang flu is giving me fits:( One minute I think it's fading out, the next I feel worse than ever:( Bad news lol. Yesterday, durring a "feeling good" hour, I got some weed-wacking done around the barn. Was going to do around the garden fence as well, but ran out of string. Tomorrow;)...just like that last cage lol.

UARC news...we are currently giving the website a MUCH needed update, and stirring ourselves out of our winter hibernation to get things going and active again. All of the BOD memebers are working on plans for upcoming Specialty Shows....we are working on plans for Specialty shows in GA, SC, WVA and PA. Keep an eye on the UARC website or this blog for additional information. As things get firmed up, we'll post all the details:)

Guess that's about it for now. I hope everyone is experiencing the beginnings of Spring as we are here in GA:)

Lauren

Babies

It's been quite a while since I've posted here. When I first started this blog, I did so not being quite sure if it was something I wanted to do or not. In the mean time, I've decided that it makes sense to update my blog on a regular basis, as opposed to updating my website all the time, so I will be updating her regularly;) Please bear with me while I figure out how to properly place photos and such:)

At the moment, I have two litters of Angora babies. The first born was born on January 24th, 2008, and is a French Angora litter out of a tort doe, Spang's Tasha by a Chestnut buck, Somerhill's John-Luke. Both are really nice rabbits and I have high hopes for this litter. Here are a few pictures of them:

Second litter is a Giant Angora litter, born January 27th 2008, out of JG's Hoffnung by MG's Jericho. Hoffnung (Huffy) is a beautiful GA doe who came from Jan's Giants. Jericho is one of my babies, out of Hoffnung by AA's Martin.

Hope you enjoy the baby pictures! Some of these babies may be available for sale in the future. If you are interested in any out of either litter or would like to be kept in the loop as to which do become available, please feel free to email me at mgangoras@aol.com.

Lauren