French Angora Rabbit 101: Part 1
Channel: Pets Life
Date: 03/03/2021

The French Angora Rabbit has a commercial-type body and a strong, sturdy frame.

Unlike their English counterparts, French Angoras do not have facial furnishings. They can have minor tufting on the rear legs with the rest of their bodies being covered in coarse guard hair and crimped underwool.


French Angora Rabbit Breed History.

Out of all five Angora rabbit breeds, of which four are recognized by the ARBA, the French Angora rabbit is arguably the closest in resembling the original Angora that was brought from Ankara, Angora, Turkey in 1723 to France by sailors. The first Angora to set foot in America was called the Angora Wooler and there was no differentiation between French, English, Giant, or Satin Angora. It was only in 1944 that the ARBA split these four different kinds of breeds. Today, the French Angora is the second most popular Angora breed, just behind the English.


Size and Appearance.

A fully-grown rabbit can weigh anywhere around 7.5 to 10.5 pounds, making it a large breed. The ideal weight of a French Angora is 8.5 lb. Because the French Angora was originally bred for just its wool and meat, it has a strong, oval-shaped, and firm body type. The head is required to be oval-shaped and proportionate to the body. Unlike English Angoras, French Angoras do not have thick wool coverings on their face, ears, and feet. However, the rest of their bodies are covered in crimped underwool and coarse guard hair.


Coat.

While the French Angora rabbit is low maintenance in terms of diet bedding, they do require the most attention in the coat department. The French Angora’s coat is called wool, as it can be spun to make articles of clothing. In order to have clean, mat-free wool, you need to clean and tend to their coat. Their coat can grow as much as six inches every season, although the ideal length is about two to three inches. This means rabbit owners need to take the time to shear or trim their French Angora’s wool 3-4 times a year.

This means regular brushings on an as-needed basis, this may be as often as every day to as little as once a week, as well as regular blow-dryings to keep their coat separate and clean, since rabbits cannot and should not take baths this makes them anxious and can cause cardiac problems, sometimes resulting in death.


Colors.

The French Angora rabbit has a long list of coat colors and markings. The Pointed White Angoras are pure white in color with markings on the nose, ears, feet, and nails. The Self Group includes blue- and ruby-eyed white rabbits, Black, dark slate wool and brown eyes, Blue, slightly lighter than black coat with blue-grey eyes, Chocolate, light brown wool with brown eyes, and Lilac, pinky, dove-grey wool with blue-gray eyes.

The Agouti Group:  consists of Chestnut, wool color is a blend of pearl and blue with brown eyes, Chocolate Agouti, rich brown wool with bands of tan and brown eyes, Copper, roughish red wool with jet black tips, bands of red-orange and brown eyes, Lynx light tan-colored wool with bands of tan or light lilac and blue-gray eyes, and Opal, primarily blue wool with bands of tan and blue-gray eyes.

The Chinchilla varieties of Angoras include Chinchilla, wool is a blend of slate and pearl with alternating bands of pearl and blue-gray with eyes of any shade, Chocolate Chinchilla, brown and pearl-colored wool with bands of pearl or chocolate with eyes any shade of blue-gray, brown or marbled, Lilac Chinchilla, wool is a blend of lilac and pearl, with one or more bands of pearl or lilac with blue-gray eyes, and Squirrel, blue-gray wool with one or more band of similar colors and blue-gray eyes.

There are three more kinds of Angora color listings including the Shaded Group, which is Pearl, Sable, Seal, Smoke Pearl, Blue Tortoiseshell, Lilac Tortoiseshell, Chocolate Tortoiseshell, and Tortoiseshell. The Ticked Group features Blue Steel, Chocolate Steel, Lilac Steel, and Steel colors, while the Wide Band Group has Cream, Fawn, and Red colors with their own distinctive markings.


Handling.

The more they are handled, the more even-tempered and friendlier they become. Rabbits need to be socialized early in their life. Rabbits that aren’t handled regularly from a young age may get stressed from human contact. The same goes for rabbits that are handled roughly at any age. Like most rabbits, French Angoras enjoy getting attention from their owners and love being petted. 


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