Housing

Perhaps the most common for people with one or two pet rabbits, indoor cages are a very popular choice. That said, like in many other areas, angoras have special requirements that are diffent from most other breeds of rabbits. And there are very few cages that meet the extra needs for rabbits that are designed for indoor use. Most cages for indoor rabbits have the solid plastic bottom that is inteded to hold a pile of bedding to keep the rabbit clean. The biggest downside to this is most beddings and litters stick to angora fur like velcrow, and can cause a lot of discomfort to the rabbit.  Also, the solid bottom with very little space to move around make for very poor airflow around the rabbit and can start to smell bad fast. If you are going to have your rabbit in a cage inside the house, here are some things to consider:

1. The cage should be tall enough for the rabbit to stand on its hind legs without its head touching the top. It should also be long and wide enough for the rabbit to fully stretch out in any direction. Ideally it would give enough room for the rabbit to hop four times in a line without having to turn around. 

2. Ideally, the cage would have wire flooring separating the rabbit from the bedding. Other breeds can develop sores on their feet when the live on wire cages when they do not have enough fur on their feet. But angoras have an abundance of fur protecting their feet. They actually are more likely to develop sore hocks when they are stuck on solid footing that is wet because moisture gets trapped and ruins the fur padding on their feet. The wire floor provides air flow underneath the rabbit that keeps things nice and dry. They are also less likely to develop matts on the bottoms of the feet when they are on wire floors. That said, not all wire flooring is created equal. The industry standard for rabbit cages is 1 in by 1/2 inch 14 gauge wire mesh. This is the perfect balance to provide good support to the rabbits feet. 

3. As far as Bedding goes, there are some good,  ok, not so good, and dangerous options. Never use Cedar, Walnut, or untreated Pine on rabbits, as the oils in those woods are toxic. My personal favorite choice for bedding and litter are pine pellets such as Equine Pine or feline pine. This is my top choice because it is really absorbent and it sticks to the fur the least. It also has really good odor control. some over all  just annoying beddings are things that stick to the fur really easily like Carefresh and other paper based bedding, and standard wood shavings, especially fine cut shavings. A good, Clean, uniform straw would be my second pick as it does stick less to the fur, but it lacks the absorbency and odor control the pellets have. 

4. Clean Often. Indoor rabbit cages will start to smell much faster than any of the other options. You should be cleaning the cage daily. It is a good idea to have an enzyme cleaner to use to wipe down the cage floor to help remove the ammonia build up. 

5. Each rabbit should have its own cage. Rabbits are very territorial by nature, and they like to have their own space. If you are going to keep two rabbits together in the same cage, make sure it has lots of room. Never put two rabbits who are not bonded in the same cage. they can and will fight and often times can sustain life threatening injuries. 

This is my favorite way to keep my english angoras. It is certainly the most rewarding way when you only have one or two rabbits. My rabbits Yoshi, Beth, Ash, and Poppy are all litter box trained. Yoshi gets to go wherever he wants in my house. It is so much fun when you hear little hops following you around as you are going about your day. However, this takes time, work, and a good understanding of rabbit behavior in order to successfully have a house trained rabbit. It can take a few months for a rabbit to really be litter box trained. You also need to keep in mind you will need to rabbit proof your house. I have kittens and puppies and kids around my house so its already rabbit friendly. But not everyone is already set up for that. Wires need to be tucked out of the way. You may have to train out behaviors like chewing on furniture. When you start training a house bunny, you cannot just set them in a room with a litter box and just have them figure it out. You will need to start in a small area, like a large dog kennel or puppy pen. Or even start with them in a cage. As far as litter boxes go, I like using the same kind of bedding/litter I would use in a cage. My ride or die is pine pellets. 

Another popular Choice for keeping rabbits is outdoor cages, weather it be cages in a shed or a rabbit hutch. Regardless of weather you have one or fifty rabbits, the minimum cage requirements are still the same. Like indoor cages, the cage should be tall enough for the rabbit to stand on its hind legs without its head touching the top. It should also be long and wide enough for the rabbit to fully stretch out in any direction. Ideally it would give enough room for the rabbit to hop four times in a line without having to turn around. I like having a minimum of 24"x24"x18"tall. Each rabbit should have its own cage. The biggest benefit to keeping rabbits in outside cages is they don't make your house smell. They also get more air flow which can help reduce ammonia build up. The down side is the rabbit is exposed to the elements, and subject to large temperature changes, which can cause increased stress. Because of this, it is often better to keep them in a shed with good vinylation than in a hutch that is exposed on all sides. If you want your angoras to grow a full coat, weather it be for showing or fiber production, its a good idea to have a cooling system in your rabbit barn if possible. In the summer months, rabbits will grow fiber slower due to the heat, and are also more prone to heat stress. 

I will admit, I used to love the idea of raising rabbits in a colony. Especially when I believed the narrative that rabbits are group animals and love the company of other rabbits. But this way of raising rabbits presents the most difficulties and requires the most amount of space. It is even more challenging to manage with angoras. Going back to the issue with keeping more than one rabbit in a small space, rabbits are territorial.  Often times females do not like the presence of other females, especially when they are pregnant/ nursing or in heat, which is pretty much all the time when you are raising rabbits this way. Each rabbit will need its own space, its own place to hide/burrow/nap. You will need multiple places to feed the rabbits because the rabbits higher up on the pecking order will not let the rabbits at the bottom eat. Some rabbits will literally stand over the food bowl and attack any rabbit that comes close enough. Males also present a problem because they often fight with other males. Although in my experience, english angora males tend to fight less than other breeds. I actually have a few males that like each other well enough to all be in the same room as long as there are not any girls around. It is really hard to monitor overall condition on individual rabbits in a colony compared to the other options as well, so if an individual starts loosing weight or becomes sick, you may not notice until its too late, as they would be hiding from the other rabbits and you may not catch it. The other big problem you will run in to raising rabbits in a colony is keeping the rabbits clean and dry. Angora fiber is very fine. The qualities that make it so soft and luxurious to the touch also make things stick to it very easily. Because of this, any kind of flooring used in a colony setting is going to get stuck in the rabbits fur. One issue that is really only present in this style of raising rabbits is parasites. Rabbits raised in colonies are more prone to worms, mites, and spreading bacteria. So you need to stay on top of cleaning and may need to implement a deworming schedule.