[1] In the United States, garments made of Angora-rabbit wool have been popular ever since they first arrived in the early 20th century.
However, only during World War II did domestic production expand to meet the demand for more than 54,000 kg (120,000 lb) a year.
This valuable, soft, silky, fiber aroused much interest, and quickly people became enamored with the production process.
Regular grooming is necessary to prevent the fibre from matting and felting on the rabbit, which causes discomfort and can lead to pain and even infection.
[8] The coat needs to be monitored after 6 months of regrowth since it may tend to "die" and easily mat.
Angora wool may be gathered periodically by hand-plucking the hair within the coat that are being naturally shed.
Full harvesting is done by shearing the coat with clippers or small scissors, often while the rabbit sits atop a groomer's turntable.
[9] Because of the length and abundance of their hair, Angora rabbits are particularly susceptible to wool block, a potentially lethal blockage of the digestive tract.
All rabbits ingest some of their wool when they groom themselves, but their digestive system is sometimes not able to pass that foreign matter.
The length of Angora hair compounds the risk of impaction, which can lead to death.
[citation needed] Cheyletiella parasitovorax is a skin parasite commonly found in Angora rabbits.
[10] The iconic long coat of the Angora is the result of a rabbit gene referred to as l (i.e., lowercase "L").
The English Angora can be bred to have broken colors—i.e., white with black spots—but this is not accepted by ARBA standards and would lead to a disqualification when showing the rabbit.
When an English Angora rabbit is shown, the toenails should also be only one color, the ears could be folded over at the tips and the furnishings on the face may cover their eyes.
It differs from the English, Giant and German Angora in that it possesses a clean (hairless) face and front feet with only minor tufting on the rear legs.
Desirable characteristics of the fibre include its texture, warmth, light weight and pure white color.
It was originally developed to be an efficient commercial producer that could be sustained on 16–18% protein pellets plus hay, and live in the standard sized, all-wire cages.
She used German Angoras, French Lops and Flemish Giants to develop a completely different 'commercial' body type.
Many people confuse the German with the Giant Angora, but it is their body type that differs.
When Giant Angoras are judged the majority of the points are based on the wool, which includes density, texture and length.
In addition to the sheen (for which the Satin is known), true red and copper pigments emerged in the new rabbits.
Because of the soft texture of the wool and the lower guard-hair count in the coat, matting occurs more readily.
For example, a specific mutation (T19234C) changes the amino acid threonine (T) to cysteine (C) in the Fgf5 protein, causing the phenotype.