Rabbit chews on enclosure bars and slams them on the ground.

Question
I have a Dutch dwarf rabbit that lives with me in my room. I keep him in a puppy playpen with his litter box, toys, water bowl and hay hutch. For the past month, he has gotten into the habit during the morning (between 4-7:30 am). This is usually the time I wake up and feed him to either go to work or get ready for school, but on my days off its torture! It's very loud because I have wood floors (I lay down blanket for him) but he can move the pen further and slam it on the ground. I've tried changing his eating to a later time, I've tried the jailing method with the cage I used when he was a baby, and I've tried putting hot sauce on the bars (which he loved). He has been nuetured but doesn't have a buddy. Do you have any ideas on how I can stop this behavior?

Answer
Amber,

Unfortunately there's not really anything I can recommend to stop the behavior. Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk (which coincide with the time frame you mention) since, in the wild, it's the safest time of day for them to be out due to low visibility for predators.

My bun Clyde makes a raucous too. Best solution I can offer you - get up, feed bun, go back to bed, then invest in a heavier enclosure that he can't pick up. Free will is a pesky thing sometimes.

Best of luck!

Christine