Love Bunnies

My love of Angora rabbits began at an agricultural show to which my daughter had persuaded me to go. There were at least 60 rabbits in cages, and I ended up ordering a blue Angora baby rabbit as well as two dwarf lop-eared babies for the children.

The breeder from whom I bought my rabbit was excellent and showed me exactly how to groom her. Angoras have long fur on their feet, on the top of their heads and on the tips of their ears. They look like a big, fluffy cloud when groomed properly.

In grooming, the rabbit is placed on a stool and the fur is brushed or blown with a hair dryer on cool setting, taking care not to damage the tips. On a coloured rabbit, the tips are the darker ends of its coat. Most knots can be teased out with the fingers.

The next stage is to "flip" the rabbit upside down on your lap, tucking its ears between your knees so you can groom its underside. This can be really hard to do until a rabbit is used to it.

I experience a lot of pain in my arms, so I tuck my rabbits upside down in the crook of my arm. They will lie quite happily while I groom them, clip their claws and check the rings on their ankles. (In order to show a rabbit in the United Kingdom, you must be a member of the British Rabbit Council and use rings bought from them. The year of purchase and breeder identification are stamped on the ring.)

I took my blue Angora to the next agricultural show and was delighted when she won several categories. Although she was a "poor type," she was very affectionate, and we are sure this was why she won many rosettes. At the show, I also ordered a breeding pair of smoke Angoras.

It was about this time that I started to feel really ill. I had had injections for numerous frozen muscles and had just had a series of blood tests and X-rays. We were also trying to sell our house at this time, as my husband was working in Scotland, and we suddenly did manage to sell it -- with the proviso that we had to vacate it in less than one month! I was too ill to pack and we ended up having to pay a firm to do this for us.

On the day that we moved up to Scotland from the Midlands, the empty hutches went on the moving van and the rabbits were put in boxes in my car. The van, husband and children set off -- but, to my horror, the engine of my car blew up as I started it! The new owner kindly let me leave all the boxes in the shed, and I stayed the night at a hotel.

The next morning I discovered that, because the male rabbit had been thumping, the new homeowners� decorators had opened up all the boxes to let in more air. The male rabbit had had a wonderful time, and a month later we had a lot of unexpected, cross-bred, furry pet rabbits.

Once settled in Scotland, I was seen by a specialist and diagnosed as having osteoarthritis in most joints as well as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). At the time, CFS was not accepted here as a physical condition. I began taking steroids, my weight ballooned and the pain continued. I was 37 years old.

Now classed as "unfit" to work, I had to give up nursing and soon became bored and depressed stuck in the house. I had hoped to make a new life in Scotland, and it seemed that this was going to be very difficult.

Realizing my depression was getting worse, I looked for things to do at home. I became interested in spinning the Angora fibre from my bunnies.

There was a local spinning group, but the leader of the group told me that it would be impossible for me to learn to spin Angora until I had been spinning ordinary yarn for years. Being the determined person that I am, I went out, bought an Ashford spinning wheel and, using a library book, got going.

My first skein was lumpy but it looked vaguely like a ball of wool. I progressed well, with my daughter carding it for me, and produced my first item. This was a blue, pure Angora beret. I was so proud of it. It helped lift my depression.

I joined the village group of the Scottish Women�s Rural Institutes and was persuaded to enter the Royal Highland Show, the biggest agricultural show in Scotland. I entered one skein of wool. Imagine my delight when I got third prize!

The next year, I won the Mabel Ross prize for fancy-spun, dyed yarn, and I had beaten the leader of the spinning group. I understand she was not as pleased as I was!

I fought against the CFS, as at that time no one knew how to treat it, but I ended up aggravating my condition, unable to do almost anything but groom the rabbits. I had 56 rabbits of various types -- most of these had been "rescued." My husband had to start helping me clean the hutches out and occasionally groom the rabbits. My children were still quite young, but also loved to help with the bunnies.

I became unable to treadle the spinning wheel, and couldn�t manage the electric wheel that was available then. I had decided to sell my equipment and give up spinning when a friend told me about a gentleman who had made a special wheel for his daughter, who had a disability. I phoned him and, after a long conversation, ordered an electric Barton Wheel from him. (Unfortunately, he has since retired.) I sold my treadle wheel to help pay for the new wheel. The Barton Wheel arrived, and in less than an hour I had produced a skein of wool without straining my joints.

This wheel has an extra-speed controller fitted to it, which means that once the speed is set, if my muscles jerk the wheel does not run away with itself. To use the wheel, I can sit either at a table, in an armchair or in a wheelchair. I usually place the foot control under my thigh or behind my back. It requires very little effort and since the speed can be turned down so much, it is ideal for me.

I have had a lot of favourite rabbits, but Thomas, a rescued cashmere lop, was my favourite. He had a lovely nature -- but attempted to mate everything. Once, when mating his bedding, the circulation to his back leg was cut off and he had to have it amputated. But I got a phone call from the veterinarian, asking me to come and collect Thomas right away, as he was misbehaving! Apparently he had attempted to mate the heat lamp in his cage, singeing his fur in the process. He then attempted to mate the vet�s ankle when he was put on the floor to see if he could still hop! He lived happily for another three years, fathering many lovely babies.

My disability has now progressed significantly and I only have a few bunnies, and no longer show them. I keep one white Angora in full coat, and the others short-coated, as I need so much help with them. They are very affectionate. They seem to realize that I have problems handling them, and will climb up into my arms now.

Rabbit-keeping can be very rewarding, as rabbits respond to being handled and talked to, and this in itself can be almost as good as taking antidepressants! There are many different breeds of rabbits that do not require grooming and will give as much pleasure to their owners as my Angoras do for me. Rabbits can be also house-trained. Their antics provide for much pleasure.

(Jacqui Adams is a freelance writer living in Berwickshire, Scotland.)