Angora rabbits can be both a fun and rewarding pet, or the gateway animal towards a small homestead and self-sufficiency. There’s nothing like the novelty of raising a “fiber animal” from the comfort of your own apartment. If you’re already thinking about raising rabbits, here’s 5 reasons to consider raising an Angora.
1 – Fluffiness
Ok, let’s start with the obvious reason. Fluffy things are undeniably cute. Angoras are by purpose remarkably soft because they were bred for that simple purpose.
As a fiber breed, the quality and softness of their coat are paramount. While your cat or dog may also be fluffy, angora fluff is both valuable and useful. There’s also something to be said for an animal whose sole purpose in life is to produce fluff.
2 – Docile Nature
Don’t get me wrong, Angora rabbits are a lot of work. They do need daily grooming and affection to keep them in top condition and feeling appreciated. It took many generations of breeding to make a rabbit docile enough to both appreciate and tolerate this much handling.
If you’re looking for a lap rabbit, look no further. While many other rabbit breeds were developed for meat rather than temperament, angoras were bred specifically to enjoy petting and grooming.

One of our angora’s lounging in the yard. This is about 6 weeks after a plucking as his coat is growing back in.
3 – Low Food Consumption
Though they may not seem like it, angoras are relatively small rabbits. Under all that fur there’s an animal that’s barely larger than a guinea pig.
Most are only a few pounds, and once you harvest their fir you’ll be amazed at how tiny your little guy is under all that fiber. They have very slow metabolisms, and they’re mostly going to sit around growing floof and begging for love.
Our little guys eat only a few tablespoons of food each day, supplemented by treats such as apples, carrots, bananas and clover.
4 – Speed
Or lack thereof…our little guys are free-range in the yard on nice days. While many traditional pet and meat rabbit breeds are lighting fast, angoras just plod along.
Even with all that free-range and exercise time to build up muscle, I can still walk faster than they can run. After about 20 feet of angora “running” they tend to stop for a breather, huffing and puffing.
This animal was not made to survive in the wild, but luckily they don’t have to.
5 – Profit
If you’re going to keep a pet, it’s always a nice benefit if they can earn their keep. Most angora rabbit breeds produce between 16 and 20 ounces of angora wool per year.
If you know how to market angora fiber, you can sell that fiber for $10 to $12 an ounce. With a little value-add, like making your own felted wool hats, you can increase that considerably.
Because they can be income-producing, angora rabbit kits generally sell for around $50 each, meaning that even a small breeding operation could be quite profitable between harvested fiber and kits sold.
What do you think? Are you ready to add angora rabbits to your homestead?
Marcin
Those Informations are not True. You should t groom Angoras, this leads to felting. Angora rabbits are average sized rabbits with about 5lb not 2lb like guinea pigs. They eat a lot. A German Angora gives you about 25 and 50 oz wool per year and the wool is Mostly Sold for 4$ per ounce.
Mackenzie Jamieson
I’m trying to find angora rabbit breeders in the PNW and most charge around $200 per rabbit not $40 or $50.
Administrator
The pricing will definitely vary by region and availability as well as what the rabbits are bred for. For example, a rabbit that is bred for its fiber is going to be in a completely different price category than one that is bred for showing or competition just like any other animal. I hope you are able to find something more affordable in your area.
Jessica
I cannot believe how wrong this article is.
Hopefully you have educated yourself in the years following this. Because this needs some serious editing. They are not small rabbits. They have a super fast metabolism. They eat ALL DAY LONG!! Constantly eating. That is how their bodies literally work. Breeding is unethical. And the lives of animals shouldn’t be for profit. Especially when most of them end up in shelters/rescues/dumped on the streets.
Not a single good thing about this article
Administrator
This article was written based on actual personal experience with owning Angora rabbits not simply reading about them in a book. If you have specific information on the metabolism rates of angora rabbits please feel free to share. We are always willing to learn something new. There are multiple types of angora breeds of different sizes. The difference in size will of course impact the amount of feed that is required for proper care. The main point is that when the rabbits are offered clover along with other fruits and vegetables that the amount of feed required is minimal in comparison to other larger animals. This blog is about self-reliance which in many cases involves breeding and raising animals for fiber, food, profit or any other human need. As homesteaders, we don’t see anything unethical about that, but you’re certainly welcome to have your own opinion.
Tammy
I am new to angora rabbits. I enjoyed your article..Thank you for sharing your information.
Administrator
You’re very welcome. We’re so glad you enjoyed it.