Rabbits at The Iron Horse Farm

Our rabbits have moved into a shed where they are housed with screens, windows and nice big cages to roam in. We usually breed our does once a year and have a litter of 5 to 8 babies (kits) per doe. The kits are ready to go to their new by 6 weeks of age. We do usually have a waiting list for new kits but we will gladly discuss your needs and help you find the right one for you. We make sure we have good homes for them before we breed, or that we are planning to keep them to increase our fiber production. We handle the babies every day right from birth to make sure they are getting proper nourishment from Mom, and to desensitize them to human touch.

Many times we never see the doe nursing her kits. They usually feed them once or twice a day, but when you pick them up and see a full belly and they are nice and warm, you know they are healthy. We do not remove the kindling box (the box where the litter is born and lives) from the doe's cage, though some breeders find this helpful. We have never had a problem with accidental deaths or having to supplement our kits. We only sell our rabbits to fiber minded people that understand the maintenance and care involved in owning English Angoras. They are not a rabbit for children unless an adult is willing to take responsibility for overseeing the grooming process.

If careful grooming is not kept up, matting will occur. Rabbits constantly groom themselves, but their digestive systems do not allow them to vomit up any material ingested, so "wool block" can occur. Below we have explained our practices for our rabbitry, but we are not veterinarians. Someone else might do things differently and that is fine. We have tried many things to prevent wool block, so we are merely passing our experience on. Please discuss your concerns with your personal veterinarian.

The wool collects in the digestive system and can not freely move to be expelled, then the rabbit will stop eating and drinking and eventually die. Breeders continue to look for solutions when they see a rabbit go off feed and wool block might be a possibility. We remove all pellets and feed a seed mixture that we make (similar to a bird seed mix). We also administer pineapple juice (10cc three times a day) for the enzyme effects of breaking up the wool. They won't readily drink this, so we give it orally by syringe. We also feed a product called Petromalt for rabbits twice a day for five days. It is a molasses based product that rabbits will readily take from a syringe once they have tasted it. Plenty of free choice hay is always available. If dandelion leaves are available, they are given a handful of them once a day. If the rabbit can be put in a run, exercise is very helpful. If you see the rabbit has not been producing any droppings, some of these solutions will lead them out of danger. If you look carefully you'll see a tarry substance in the drop pan. It is usually full of wool!

We groom adult rabbits every one to two weeks. Younger rabbits might require more grooming. When you pick up your rabbit, grooming techniques will be discussed. Each rabbit is given a treat of Papaya tablets after grooming as an enzyme digestive aid. We feed pellets, free choice hay (mostly grass), and they always have fresh, clean water. They are also given about 4 tablespoons of our seed mix once a week, and occasional fresh dandelion leaves (when in season).

We have been members of the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) and National Angora Rabbit Breeders Club (NARBC). We always seem to have a little stock of fiber on hand. If you are interested in knowing more about the angoras, stock or fiber available, or more information on how to spin angora wool, please feel free to email us.