Nips and bites.

Question
They are  about 5 weeks old and not weaned.  I had them in the house for a week because of high winds and sub-freezing temperatures.  The mother is brought into their cage around 10pm for dinner and let outdoors again.

Are they still too young to be handled.  I thought handling them early and often would make them tame.

Is weaning just about suckling or does it include time around the mother?  The mother runs free while the kits are caged to protect them from the neighbor's cat.
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-----Question-----
Most of my kits will lick my fingers when I stroke their cheeks and jaws with my thumb and forefinger.  This morning this one kit after licking me starts to nip and bite.  It bit hard enough to make me yell.  Since it's young I'm in no danger of it breaking my skin but the teeth are sharp.

Is it just exploring or will it grow up to be a bad pet?  Don't know if it was hungry but it was also chewing on the towel and blanket.  It was on the bed with me.  Maybe it just got tired of licking and wanted to roam around.

How do I teach it not to bite or should I just let it?
-----Answer-----
Hi Tom,

Are your kits fully weaned?  Young rabbits will nip, they usually grow out of it by the time they are 3 - 6 months old.  Then anywhere from 3-9 months old they will act like complete teenage brats this is when their hormones start to rage.  She could very well have been bored on the bed and wanted to get down to explore.  Each individual rabbit will have its own way of telling you what it wants.  I don't necessarily think its going to be a bad pet.  

Once rabbits are fully weaned and are now living their own lives you can start to train them.  The best way to stop a rabbit from biting is to make a schreeking noise when it bites you.  I will always say eeeeeeek.  This is what they do with each other when they are playing and one bites and it hurts.  So from now on when she bites you remember to make that schreeking noise.  Sometimes its just natural to pull your hand away quickly and say ouch or darn or whatever it is that you say, but you have to try to learn to.   Oh believe me its hard.  You will eventually get to the point where it is automatic.  

I have a 3 year old Holland lop that I rescued last year.  He lives in one part of my house.  We have a daily routine and I will get on my hands and knees and we will play ball.  Suddenly one day he came up and bit me on the noise and thought it was pretty funny and then ran away.  It took me about 2 months to break him of that because I really wasn't expecting to be bit on the nose.  

It will work out for you with time and patience, just don't be afraid to get down to her level.  She still sounds kind of young so give her time.  

Please let me know if you need any more help, I hope I was able to help you.

Sincerely,

Pam Enve

Answer
They are not to young to be played with at all.  In fact once the babies have their eyes open and are starting to explore, I encourage all owners to start playing with them.  Now that I know its still a pre-weaned kit I am less concerned about its behavior.  At this age they are very unpredictable.  It could have bit your hand looking for milk.  I don't know how many litters you have had but once the babies are out of the nest box you will see them run up under the mother and try to sneak in a quick drink, even when its not time for feeding, the doe will usually just get annoyed and shuffle it away.  It is still not to early to start to teach them that biting is bad by doing the shrieking when they bite you.

Weaning is all about suckling.  It shouldn't be done until they are 8 weeks old but I take them away 2 at a time keeping the babies all together.  I will take 2 away one day, then 2 more 2 days later etc until they are all away from their mom. (the babies all go in the same cage even though they are separated for a day or 2) Then a week or 2 later I separate the babies from each other.  By weaning them a few at a time I have found it takes less stress off the mother.  Rather than taking them all at once.  I have found that most doe's almost feel like it is a relief, but I do have one doe that will go into major depression when I take her kits away.  I actually give her something called Calm Supplement from the rabbit medicine chest.  Of all the doe's I have ever had she is the only one that has ever needed it.  But if I don't give it to her she will go off feed for several days after weaning.

I personally don't bring my nest boxes inside but instead use a 40 watt lamp to help them stay warm in cold weather, but if it was sub-zero here I would most defiantly do that.  I was recently told by another breeder that kits who are brought in the house right after being born and kept in until they have hair and their eyes are open, with the daily feeding from their mother of course.. she said she has found that these kits tend to have better interactions with humans because they are essentially handled and cared for by humans more than their own mothers.  I plan on doing some experiments with this during my spring breedings.

You are obviously well educated about your rabbits or you would not have been brought them in during such weather extremes.  I am curious though, you say their mother runs free?  Does she just run around the yard?  Is it fenced in?  I know a lot of people who have outdoor runs for their rabbits and just let them run free.  I just want you to be aware that besides the neighbors cats there are many other predators.  Most won't come close enough to your house like coyotes and fox(usually), but raccoons and hawks will.  I am sure you know how to care for your bunnies and I don't know how you have the out door run set up, but I just wanted to let you know.  I am sorry if you already know all of this but I try to keep people as informed as possible.  You would really be surprised how many ignorant people there are when it comes to raising rabbits.  You obviously have a good handle on it like I said before, so I am sorry if I lectured.

Goodluck with those babies and when you start to train them if you need help please let me know.  I just love training rabbits and find it so rewarding so I would be very happy to help.

Sincerely,

Pam