Why has my hob ferret started biting?

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When a ferret bites you - the first thing to remember is don't panic.

By Edward Cook

Friday, 11 July 2008

All my ferrets enjoy being handled but one has started to bite me when I take it off a freshly caught rabbit. This hob never used to do it before and I'm wondering why it should start now. Can you shed light on its behaviour?

Ferrets
EDWARD COOK says:
Some ferrets can get a bit excited when they first start working and whilst it isn't too much to worry about you certainly don't want the situation to get any worse.

I've had this happen to me a few times with different ferrets and in each case I've managed to stop it from biting me in the heat of the moment.

First thing to remember is don't panic. Most folk's initial reaction when they get bitten is to do just that but this is one of the worst things you can do. In fact it usually triggers a ferret's killer instinct to kick in - in other words, it bites harder!

To avoid this, let the ferret calm down gradually by letting it rag the carcass until it loses interest and lets go of the rabbit.

Now's the time to pick it up and handle it for a short while before letting it have another rag at the rabbit.

In this way it will get the feeling it hasn't been robbed of its prize