Are you thinking of raising fiber rabbits? We have French Angoras on our homestead.  They are cute and fluffy, but serve as purpose as a fiber rabbit.  Raising them isn’t difficult, but they do require a few additional steps in their care.

First of all, fiber rabbits are very hairy.  Their hair gets long and matted.  Daily or biweekly brushing is important to keep matted fur to a minimum.  It’s important that when you brush them, you do it as thoroughly as you can to get all the loose hair.

Loose hair not only gets matted on the rabbit, it can clump in their cages, making it hard to clean out.  Their poop and pee will get stuck in the matted hair on the cage and create a horrific smell.

Bathing the rabbit isn’t necessary.  In some cases, it can be harmful because the rabbit can get too cold when it’s wet.  If you need to wash the hair, do it after you have clipped it from the rabbit.

Weekly clipping of their nails is another must.  Their nails can get so long and then they get stuck on a wire in the cage and even rip off.  Keeping them trimmed up will help avoid that.  To clip, simply take an animal nail clipper and just cut the tip off.  You don’t want to cut past the quick, or the rabbit can bleed furiously.  If you DO happen to cut the quick and hit a blood vessel, hold a dry cloth on the nail for about 2 minutes, applying gentle pressure to stop the bleeding.  Applying an herb like plantain or yarrow can also help….

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