Socialisation & Habituation

You may be aware that puppies and kittens have well defined "socialisation periods" when young animals learn to recognise and interact with the species with which they live - which needs to include humans, as well as their own species, and any other they are likely to come into contact with.

There is now evidence to suggest that rabbits have a socialisation period, although the exact timing and duration of it are not yet certain. This conclusion is based upon experimental work showing that handling baby rabbits between days 10 and 21 resulted in them being more willing to approach humans at 48 days of age; and early exposure to cats and other animals reduces their fear of them later.

Hence, breeders must start to handle baby rabbits before 21 days of age to begin the socialisation process. Many novice rabbit breeders are afraid of handling baby rabbits until they leave the nest, in case doing so triggers maternal rejection of the litter. Although this is a theoretical risk, with a few simple precautions there should be no problems, especially once the litter have opened their eyes at 10 days. Such early handling is vital, and in fact, if breeding does are relaxed and well socialised themselves as ours are, it does not usually cause any problems to briefly pick up babies even in the first week of life.

Our does are relaxed and are happy for us to help them with their litter, they allow us to touch and handle the babies whenever needed. Sunflower Nursery employs the Socialisation and Habituation method and in doing so are able to provide rabbits which are not afraid of human contact and life as a pet.

Along with socialisation comes "habituation", which has been defined as "the process whereby an animal becomes accustomed to non-threatening environmental stimuli and learns to ignore them." Baby rabbits should become accustomed to as many people and experiences as possible before they are sold. We bring litters into the house to hear household noises; our rabbits are handled by children of various ages (our family and friends) who stroke and carefully handle the young stock under close supervision; we even take them for a short ride in the car as this will take away much of the stresses involved in travelling to their new home and through out their life.

The brutal reality is that baby rabbits whose breeders don't bother with a program of socialisation and habituation are at higher risk of joining the thousands of other fearful, aggressive, unwanted and neglected pet rabbits that lead a miserable existence in back gardens across the UK. We are here to provide this much needed extra care, giving the best possible start in life to all our rabbits.

Nicola Daniels BSc Hons
Sunflower Nursery