| The Life of a Wooly's Coat By Laura Sturdevant |
A Jersey Wooly will go through many coats as it matures, beginning with its junior
coat, then molting, and after several months, will emerge with a prime senior coat. If
an owner is lucky, the coat will not be lost to the summer heat and molting to
quickly, and the rabbit will have it's day on the table to show it's beautiful coat.
The young juniors will begin to be shown at around 8 to 10 weeks with a very smooth,
nicely textured, junior coat. It will be somewhat shorter and smoother then the more
matured juniors, but should not be overly "frizzy" and flyaway. The coat at 8 to 12
weeks will lie nicely and have a heavier topcoat. Although not as course as a senior,
you should be able feel and see the texture at this point A prime junior coat is
generally found between the ages of 12 to 15 weeks of age.
The color at this age will be very good, and should show excellent color and texture
for a junior. This coat, as it ages, will go through several changes. The first sign of
molting for a junior will be seen in the head. The nose, eyes and ear bases will molt
and will grow in new wool very quickly, because it is so short. This is usually
accompanied with, or followed by “blowing the wool cap”, which is when junior will
lose it’s “wool cap”, usually all at once, leaving a very funny looking bunny staring
back at you. This will be followed by the junior coat dying off; stretching out, drying
out and will become “frizzy.” A new coat will be growing in at this age, and should
emerge within a few months. By blowing into the coat, you may see tell-tail signs of
a new coat emerging at the base of the old coat. Once the juniors hit this stage,
usually past 15 to 16 weeks, they are left home to molt out the "baby" coat. Some
breeders have recommended plucking the coat out as it dies and reaches this stage,
others clip it, and other do nothing. There are pros and cons to each, and that
decision remains with each breeder.
Colors on the coats will also go through changes as the coat ages. A beautiful coat
with nice color and intensity will be the newer coats, those in prime condition. This
stage of a Woolies coat generally lasts for only 1 to 3 months. After that stage, when
the coats begin to die, they will fade, dry out and look frizzy and dead. The colors
and intensity will be lost, and it’s course texture will be replaced with frizzy dead
wool. A REW or Pointed will show their worth at this point as they have no color on
the body to fade and look “dead”, so they tend to show longer then the colored
varieties.
Different color groups do, as a generally accepted fact, tend to have longer or shorter
coats. Agoutis have a shorter coat, and will have a coarser texture. REW's tend to
have the longest coats. Regardless of the variety, the standards call for a minimum of
1 1/2" in length, allowing for a shorter wool on the underside. 3" is the idea length of
coat. The length is to be measured to the tips of the guard hair.
Each rabbit has its own predetermined way of molting, some will molt out the guard
hair, and later molt the under coat, while others will molt everything at once, be
totally naked, and leave you with the “Michigan Hairless” rabbit. Some will molt so
lightly that they can continue being shown. Those are few and far between though.
Regardless of what stage the coat is in, matting, webbing and cleanliness should be
considered as part of the overall coat. Together, they give the Jersey Wooly the
appearance that sets them apart from all other breeds.
coat, then molting, and after several months, will emerge with a prime senior coat. If
an owner is lucky, the coat will not be lost to the summer heat and molting to
quickly, and the rabbit will have it's day on the table to show it's beautiful coat.
The young juniors will begin to be shown at around 8 to 10 weeks with a very smooth,
nicely textured, junior coat. It will be somewhat shorter and smoother then the more
matured juniors, but should not be overly "frizzy" and flyaway. The coat at 8 to 12
weeks will lie nicely and have a heavier topcoat. Although not as course as a senior,
you should be able feel and see the texture at this point A prime junior coat is
generally found between the ages of 12 to 15 weeks of age.
The color at this age will be very good, and should show excellent color and texture
for a junior. This coat, as it ages, will go through several changes. The first sign of
molting for a junior will be seen in the head. The nose, eyes and ear bases will molt
and will grow in new wool very quickly, because it is so short. This is usually
accompanied with, or followed by “blowing the wool cap”, which is when junior will
lose it’s “wool cap”, usually all at once, leaving a very funny looking bunny staring
back at you. This will be followed by the junior coat dying off; stretching out, drying
out and will become “frizzy.” A new coat will be growing in at this age, and should
emerge within a few months. By blowing into the coat, you may see tell-tail signs of
a new coat emerging at the base of the old coat. Once the juniors hit this stage,
usually past 15 to 16 weeks, they are left home to molt out the "baby" coat. Some
breeders have recommended plucking the coat out as it dies and reaches this stage,
others clip it, and other do nothing. There are pros and cons to each, and that
decision remains with each breeder.
Colors on the coats will also go through changes as the coat ages. A beautiful coat
with nice color and intensity will be the newer coats, those in prime condition. This
stage of a Woolies coat generally lasts for only 1 to 3 months. After that stage, when
the coats begin to die, they will fade, dry out and look frizzy and dead. The colors
and intensity will be lost, and it’s course texture will be replaced with frizzy dead
wool. A REW or Pointed will show their worth at this point as they have no color on
the body to fade and look “dead”, so they tend to show longer then the colored
varieties.
Different color groups do, as a generally accepted fact, tend to have longer or shorter
coats. Agoutis have a shorter coat, and will have a coarser texture. REW's tend to
have the longest coats. Regardless of the variety, the standards call for a minimum of
1 1/2" in length, allowing for a shorter wool on the underside. 3" is the idea length of
coat. The length is to be measured to the tips of the guard hair.
Each rabbit has its own predetermined way of molting, some will molt out the guard
hair, and later molt the under coat, while others will molt everything at once, be
totally naked, and leave you with the “Michigan Hairless” rabbit. Some will molt so
lightly that they can continue being shown. Those are few and far between though.
Regardless of what stage the coat is in, matting, webbing and cleanliness should be
considered as part of the overall coat. Together, they give the Jersey Wooly the
appearance that sets them apart from all other breeds.
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