White, White, White Angoras

Aphroditi as a junior.

Here's lookin' at you mom.

I don't want to pose! stomp!

You caught me again.

Last fall I was showing 11 red-eyed white English Angoras and one black one. It looked like positive and negative. Everyone was asking me why I had so many red-eyed white rabbits or REWs as we call them when showing. It took me a very long time to warm up to the REW rabbit. I didn't really like that pink eye staring at me but in the end the magnificent white coat won me over. I am a sucker for anything fuzzy, fluffy and soft.

Someone once said "Hey, you don't even see the eyes once the furnishing grow." and that was true. The answer to showing 11 REWs is that most of my best bunnies are REWs and even when bred to a colored rabbit, I always get some white babies. Sometimes more that others and last fall that certainly was the case. I very rarely bred REW to REW as all you get is REW. No choice there!

I usually bred a color to a white so I get a rainbow of babies. There is nothing more fun than getting all kinds of colors in a litter. Anyone that knows me will tell you I have a thing about colors and have been working on my blacks for the last few years. Yesterday, my beautiful Grand Champion REW doe Aphroditi (shown above)bred to handsome black buck Grand Champion Tulamores Ashley gave birth to 9 white babies! No rainbow there but boy are they going to be cute. Guess what you all will see me showing this fall?

P.S. If I can ever get my photos to download I will be sure to share a picture.

Angora Friendly, Not Computer Friendly

Amber Pearl won first colored junior doe at Nationals and Berks County.

Sweetpea won a second at the Berks County show.

Sandstorm won BOS at the Berks County show.

Lydia won second white senior doe at Nationals and BOV at the Berks County show.

As I am tired of waiting for my photo program to work in the "repaired" computer, I thought that I would post some photos of the show string when they were younger. Later, when it is working and I am able to get the new photos posted, we can see how they might have developed.

The bunnies are doing well at shows considering they are very young seniors or chubby juniors shown in the senior class. Many comments from judges lately have included: "Keep going with this body type.", "Now that's the body we are all looking for." and "Hey, they do have a body under all that wool." It may be easy to get wool on an angora but not always so easy to get a good body under there. Angoras can win with a shorter coat if they have a solid body underneath. As they grow up, they will use so much of their energy to produce wool that they can loose body condition when the winning coat grows in. These attributes seem to balance out the points at shows. Good body and a shorter coat, rougher body but a bigger coat, each can win.

Much fun was had by all at the Nationals, although it has taken most of us awhile to recover from what I hear . There were some truly stunning animals with the coats to die for. I missed seeing the black satin that everyone was talking about as the open show was in progress when the satins were showing. The giant angoras were something to behold and the youth BIS was won by Alex Steponski with a junior giant angora. BOB english youth was won by Collin Burns with the same white senior doe that had won at ARBA Nationals. That has to be a first, I don't think I have ever heard that happening. Amazing that a coat could stay on for 16 months.

Linda Cassella won BOB english open with a beautiful tort doe and she had a lovely REW english still in a Convention coat. Jack and Karen Bailey won BOB giant open and Charlotte Sweikert won BIS with a beautiful French Angora. I think the black satin won but I am not sure about the owner. It was very hectic. More about Nationals next time.

Ahh, Technology

One woolie creature that still has a little bit of coat.

What me sleeping in the warm laundry?

Still cold pups even on warm days.

Doug is happy on the down filled pillow.

Well, I have been away from posting for awhile (with a broken computer) and although I have a bunch of new photos to post, my "fixed" computer won't let me. You see, the computer repair man says the computer was full of some kind of hair. Can you imagine? I don't know where that could have come from. With a few days of over 90 degrees, everyone at our house has started to molt, shed and slip. Here is hoping that my entries to Nationals keep some of their coat on otherwise they will be staying home and I will be going fancy free. I do have some photos to post from the Rhinebeck show where Bramble won BOS in both shows and is now a Grand Champion. That is two G.C.s from that litter so far. I am really happy with how the litter has turned out. One of the boys is living in Mass. with Hannah Pyne and one is living in MD. with Donna McGraw. Both owners seem really happy with the coat texture and easy care. I have to take some photos of them at Nationals when I get them groomed up. Safe traveling everyone and I will see you there.