Toronto English Angoras

How big do they get? That is one of the most common questions I am asked by people new to the breed. An English Angora in a full show coat can be a very impressive sight and from that sight, one can easily conclude that these must be large sized rabbits. However they are not. Underneath that massive coat, a properly bred English Angora should have a short, tight, and compact body. Their heads are supposed to be broad with a wide and flat face which can add to the illusion, suggesting that there should be a large body behind that broad face.  English Angoras are considered a medium size breed. The ARBA standard for the English Angora calls for adult males to be 5 - 7 lbs and adult females 5.5 - 7.5 lbs. Keep in mind that this includes the weight of that impressive show coat which can weight around half a pound. Once you shave off all that wool, they can look surprisingly small, even shockingly small to some people who are used to imagining these animals as giant balls of fluff.  The wor

  Finally! After waiting for over a year, the rabbit shows in Ontario are resuming! Over 400 entries came out to this much awaited event. Exhibitors travelled from Quebec, Michigan, and even the East coast. There were 3 main all breed shows plus multiple breed specialty shows. Judges for the shows were as follows: Show A: Bryan Shirk, MI Show B: Jeremy Watmuff, MI Show C: Kyle Jacobucci, NY Specialty: Joe Colucci, OH Montecristo saying hello This was a super fun event and a wonderful learning experience. I only brought two 10wk old babies, Electric Melody and Electric Montecristo. They were not at all competitive at this age but it was very helpful to hear what the various judges saw in them as their strengths and weaknesses. I can't wait for the next show in the spring by which time I will be able to bring some older and more competitive rabbits.  Angora staging section English Angora specialty show judging While I didn't bring home any prizes, it was still a victorious day fo

ENGLISH ANGORA BREED STANDARD Weights: Sr Bucks 5-7lbs Sr Does 5-7.5lbs Jr Bucks 2.75-5.5lbs Jr Does 2.75-6lbs Summary of points in order of importance: 25 - wool density 20 - wool texture 15 - body 12 - length of wool 5 - general condition 5 - head 5 - ears 5 - feet and legs 5 - color 2 - eyes 1 - tail GENERAL TYPE (Total of 33 points out of 100) BODY - 15 POINTS The body is to be short-coupled and compact, with a full chest and full round shoulders, to balance with the hips. Hips should be of good width, with only a very slight taper to the shoulders. Shoulders are to be of good depth. Top line should rise from behind the ears to a high point over the hips, then round down to the base of the tail. Flesh is to be firm. The animal should resemble a round ball of fluff when properly posed.  Faults: Long, rangy, or narrow body. HEAD - 5 POINTS The head is to be short, broad, and balanced with the body. It is to be close set to the body, with dense bangs and side trimmings. The head is to

Only specific colours and patterns are officially recognized in the ARBA English Angora breed standard. Only these colours, also referred to as varieties, can be shown at an ARBA show. Here is a list of all the recognized English Angora varieties and their corresponding genotypes. English Angoras compete in two classes, either the White Class or the Coloured Class.  WHITE CLASS POINTED WHITE (Himalayan) The body is to be pure, clean white. Marking color is to be Black, Blue, Chocolate, or Lilac. Color is to be on the nose, ears, feet, and tail. Toenails must be colored.  Eyes: pink iris, red pupil Faults: Markings extremely faded; stained or creamy coat.  DQ: Absence of any marking. White spot in any marking. Smut on the usable portion of the pelt. Any Tan Pattern marking appearing in the marking pattern.  Genotypes: Black Pointed White                 aa B_ c(ch)_ D_ E_ Blue Pointed White                 aa B_ c(ch)_ dd E_ Chocolate Pointed White       aa bb c(ch)_ D_ E_ Lilac Pointed

This post is Lesson 6 in our   Rabbit Genetics Illustrated   series.  Extend your hands up into the air like you just don't care!  We're almost done.  The genes on this Locus affect how far along each hair, pigment will be extended.  The E Locus is home to 5 genes. In order of dominance from most to least they are:  • Dominant Black noted as Ed • Steel noted as Es • Full Extension noted as E • Japanese noted as ej • Non-Extension noted as e The simplest of them all and one which you are most likely to routinely see is the Full Extension gene. It essentially does nothing to change or influence any of the other colour genes that are already at play. It allows all the other genes to do their thing just as they want to. All of our previous example rabbits have been Full Extension. All of the other genes on the E Locus have some sort of an effect and override what ever it is that the genes on the previous Loci would like to be doing.   The Dominant Black gene is fairly rare and is n

This post is Lesson 5 in our   Rabbit Genetics Illustrated   series.  The C Locus is home of the Pigment Taxation Department. The letters you see in this portion of our recipe will tell you if your rabbit gets to keep all of their pigments, if your rabbit has to give up some of their pigments and which ones, or if your rabbit does not get to show off any pigment at all and will be a red eyed albino. There are 5 genes that you can encounter here. Let's start with the two extreme opposites as those are the easiest. First up is the big letter "C". This is the most dominant gene on this Locus and the kindest member of this department. The big "C" stands for full colour. Nothing is taxed, no pigments are reduced or taken away, the rabbit gets to keep all of their colour. All of our example rabbits from previous lessons were "C" or full colour rabbits. Because "C" is the most dominant gene here, a single copy is all it takes for the rabbit to be ab