14. Answers to ‘Stupid’ Questions

ARE ANGORAS KILLED FOR THEIR WOOL?
I got asked this really stupid question so often by email that I decided I’d better answer it right here on the page. Well duh!!!! A dead rabbit can’t very well grow MORE wool, can it?

HOW MANY ANGORAS DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE A SWEATER?
Okay, that’s really not a stupid question at all. Here is the answer: One.

Now, that one bunny may be a poor wool producer and maybe you’ll have to collect wool from the bunny for a year before you have enough for a sweater. Or maybe that bunny is a super-producer (I have an English Angora doe that produced a pound from a single plucking.) and you have all you need after only 4 months of wool growth. Remember, a 100 percent Angora sweater isn’t really all that desirable, because it would be way, way too warm for comfort. 10-20% Angora may be all you need, mixed with other fibers such as silk. Angora is knitted very loosely and a little goes a long, long way.

CAN I MAKE MONEY FROM SELLING ANGORA RABBIT WOOL? WHAT ABOUT MASS PRODUCTION OF ANGORA WOOL?
The foreign markets — mostly Asian, have that covered. They can do it much more cheaply than we can here in the US. In some countries, such as Nepal, there are communities that are developing mass production of Angora wool and Angora wool products as a way to improve the status of women there. By the way — those folks are just as enchanted by the cuteness of the bunnies as we are.


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