When I first looked into angoras I did all kinds of research on which breed would be suitable for me. I concluded that the Satin Angora was the right rabbit. I couldn't find one breeder in Texas or even in the adjoining states. I ended up having a breed trio shipped to me. Lacey was part of that trio from Lisa Somerville, in Ohio.Lacey was a successful show rabbit for Lisa and a fine breeder for me. She lived to be over 5 years old. Un-spayed females tend to succumb to reproductive cancers. I suspect she was experiencing this as her last 4 litters produced kits in many different sizes of gestation. None of which survived. I retired her from breeding for the current cycle. She was also bloating in the abdominal area. And she had an abscess over her right eye which probably originated with a tooth problem.
This all sounds bad, but she never exhibited pain. Was eating normally, bowl movements were good, and had a full shiny coat. Four week ago the abscess was very large and ready to be worked on. I lanced it, cleaned it out, and packed the wound with antibiotic cream. She allowed me to do it with very little struggle. I decided then that if it re-occurred that I would put her down.Even thought she didn't show pain from the abscess, I know it had to have been putting extreme pressure in her facial area. And if it ruptured internally she would die slowly of septicemia. The abscess did come back so it was time.
She is the rabbit I compare all my prospective keepers to. She produced a fine prime coat with the right amount of guard hair to wool. Good shoulders and rump. Never had wool block even though she was not a big hay eater. The perfect angora temperament.
She was buried in an area of the yard reserved as the pet/rabbit area. Only a select few get that treatment.
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