Lee's Summit, Mo. — It's all about the soft and warm fur, but since it comes from cute, affectionate little bunnies, that doesn't hurt either.
Juli Sackman, of Lee's Summit, raises Angora rabbits in her back yard. She has turned her pets into an enjoyable hobby.
Angora rabbits were originally bred in the Himalayan Mountains. The fur of the rabbit is unique. It is lightweight and considered about eight times warmer than sheep's wool. That is what originally got Sackman interested in raising the rabbits.
Sackman volunteers at Missouri Town, and was always fascinated when watching the women there use spinning wheels.
"After three years there, I found a lady kind enough to teach me. So I started spinning, but I couldn't keep sheep in my back yard. So I finally came across someone who had Angora rabbits, and she offered me three of hers," Sackman said.
Those three rabbits have now become about 25, with a couple of litters on the way within the next few days. Sackman sells most of the baby bunnies as pets.
"When I breed them, I'm basically going for a specific color. Because they are so fragile, I don't like to have less than three of each color, otherwise I wouldn't have so many. It would actually be better to have less, because I could spend more time grooming and get more wool per rabbit for the food dollar. But if something happens to one, I would be out that color," Sackman said.
She said the rabbits were delicate and required careful attention. One of the main things they can die from is a condition called wool block. The rabbits groom themselves, like a cat, but their stomachs don't allow them to cough up a fur ball. If left unattended, the hair ball will build up in their stomach, and they'd starve.
The rabbits also have to be kept dry and protected from the rain, especially in winter. The rabbits are well-equipped to handle the cold weather, because they are wearing their own Angora sweaters, but they could freeze if they get wet.
The main weather to worry about is heat in the summer. Sackman has a tarp over their cages for shade and gives them frozen water bottles in the summer.
"They like to lay their face up against it and dig at it. Then they'll sprawl all over it to cool off," Sackman said.
The rabbits' hair grows about an inch a month. Depending on the size of the rabbit, that is about an ounce a month. Sackman harvests bunny wool about every three or four months, which coincides with their natural molting periods.
There is a process called blowing, which helps clean the rabbit's coat and keep it from molting as quickly. It also helps identify clumps of hair called mats, which are undesirable for the spinning process. Sackman uses a shop vacuum, set in reverse, to literally blow the coats clean.
The hair is harvested with small sewing scissors and then stored in sealed bags. The wool is brushed in a process called carding, which gets it all lined up in the right direction. Then Sackman uses an old-fashioned spinning wheel in her wool room, to turn the bunny wool into yarn. She sells the yarn, sometimes dyed different colors, at craft fairs and other events. She also makes baby booties and other items out of the Angora yarn.
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