What do angoras eat?

Answer 1

Angora rabbits eat a slightly different diet from regular rabbits. Like all pet rabbits, Angoras eat hay, pellets, and fresh veggies and fruit, but since they produce fiber (their fur coat), quantities of food and dietary needs are different. Angoras need at least 18% protein in their feed (pellets) to grow healthy fiber, and if they have a condition called "wool - block" (fur ball) you feed them papaya (fruit) to clear the blockage.

Hay is the most important part of a pet rabbit's diet - especially angoras, because their long fur makes fur balls more likely. Fur balls can be deadly in rabbits (GI stasis). Hay helps keep a bunny's digestive system moving, and it usually leads to more water drinking, which is also good for digestion.

To help prevent fur balls, you should brush your angora regularly, and once or twice a day when the bunny is molting.

Papaya has a digestive enzyme (papain) that may help your bunny, but it's not enough to get rid of a fur ball or any blockage. A bunny in GI stasis needs medicine from the vet, subcutaneous fluids, possibly hand-feeding, and lots of belly massage. See the related questions below for more info.

Leafy green vegetables are good for rabbits on a daily basis, including angoras. Non-leafy vegetables (like carrot) and fruit are high in starch and sugar, so they should be limited as treats. Too many treats will make your bunny sick or unhealthy. A bite or two a day of treat food is fine.

See the related question below for more info about a healthy rabbit diet: it's true of angoras, too (excepting, as noted above, you might choose a pellet higher in protein for an angora than you would another bunnies).