Building Cheap Rabbit Toys

It's been raining for days, and my rabbits can't go in their outdoor pens when it rains. So, I decided to make them a play area on my porch. I got some cardboard boxes that I plan on painting and cutting holes in for them to run in and out of. Here is what I'm starting with, and I'll post some after pictures when I'm done.

Bathing an Angora.....Not Fun!

     So today, I had to give my English Angora a bath. I have never had to give him one because he keeps himself clean, and I had read horror stories on the internet about rabbits being scared to literal death. I knew my big, bad male would not be scared to death, because he is tough. The reason I had to give him a bath is because my other male rabbit threw pee in his face and it was sticky! Yes, you heard me right, male rabbits sling pee at each other. I didn't have them together, because I know better than that, but I had the pee slinger's cage slightly above, and to the right, of my other one's cage. Needless to say, his face was a sticky, uriny mess!
     I figured if I could bath a cat, then surely bathing a bunny wouldn't be so bad. Wrong. I took the advice from http://animals.mom.me/how-to-bathe-an-angora-rabbit-12554384.html and just put about 2-3 inches of water in the tub. It is hard to get the fur wet, and when I did, it felt like one big hair cluster. I was praying, please don't turn into one huge mat! The fur seemed to clump together, and I was thinking I was going to have to cut it all off. Luckily, after I start blow drying it, I realize it's not a mat...Shewww....praise GOD! But it looks crimped. Yeah, remember the crimp look from the 80s-90s. Yep. But the more I brushed, the more the crimp look came out. It took forever to dry the fur. I had to do a little, then take a break, do a little, take a break....
     My advice for bathing an English Angora rabbit is don't do it unless you absolutely have to....like if they got urine on their face....LoL

My Babies Looking So Stinking Cute!

Angora Wool

My English Angora

Today, I'm going to talk about raising rabbits for fur/wool that you can use to crotchet or you can sell the fur for extra cash on Etsy. You could also use the wool for a stuffing or filling for a pillow or doll. The Angora rabbit (English, French, German, and Satin) is the rabbit that I currently raise. I have an English Angora and a French Angora. Every 3 months or whenever their fur is 3+ inches long, I harvest the wool. Then I card the wool and spin it using a drop spindle. There are a ton of YouTube videos showing how you do this. I plan on making my own videos soon, but until then, I'll post a few on here for you at the bottom of this post. 

I cut the wool with scissors, because it's easier to me, and I can do with the rabbits sitting in my lap or on a table. This causes no harm to the rabbits and my rabbits enjoy the haircut especially in the summertime. You can usually tell when the wool is ready to harvest because it will start coming out. If you start seeing loose hairs that you can easily pull out, then it's generally time to harvest. After cutting the wool, you card it. Buy Ashford Classic Wool Hand Carders


After carding, it's time to spin the wool. There are different tools for spinning, but I use a drop spindle. It's cheaper! Buy the Happy Classy Drop Spindle Maple Top Whorl Spinning Clear Smooth Finish

And, that's it! You have yarn to start crocheting with! Check out my other website at Backyard Farming on Less Than an Acre!

The Babies are Growing

The sun finally came out, so I took the babies outside to play today. They are growing up so fast! They are 1 month old today.

Loving the Tunnel Toy

I bought my bunnies a few rabbit tunnel toys. I thought they were going to be bigger; however, they ended being the perfect size for the babies. They love these tunnels!

I'm going to buy some bigger tunnels for my bigger bunnies. These are the ones I plan on trying out:
(2 Pack) Ware Plastic Small Pet Fun Tunnel, Large, Purple/Green

New Playpen

I bought a new playpen for the babies. It can be used inside and outside. I think they love it! I'll post more pictures and an update soon.