Getting a rabbit used to being handled

[lavendertealatte]

Bunster lets me pick him up sometimes, but usually not for long and then he starts kicking and struggling and breaks free. My neighbor's kid has a mini lop about the same age as Bunster I think, and she carries it around outside. I would never think of doing that with Bunster but when I heard from my hubby that she does that I thought maybe I should be acclimating Bunster to this too.

He's pretty comfortable around us, will flop next to me. But won't tolerate being held more than ten seconds. I've been giving him food whenever I pick him up.

What should I do? I read that if you put them down when they kick then they'll learn that's what they should do but I can't keep holding on when Bunster is struggling it's like holding on to a wet noodle so these instructions don't make sense to me. I haven't found a hold that is that comfortable. I see the "football" .. but haven't figured that one out. If I hold him against my chest, he starts trying to move his head to get down.

 

[Popsicles]

Rabbits naturally don’t like to be picked up, as the only time that would happen in the wild would be when they are eaten. Some rabbits tolerate it better, some really hate it. It’s not really in their best interests to force it upon them if they don’t enjoy it, and the only time you should pick them up is when it is strictly necessary e.g. for nail clipping. Most don’t find it fun to be carried around, and would much rather run around themselves! If you want to train him to be good for those occasional handling sessions, I trained my bunny by picking her up and holding her for maybe 30 seconds, and if she was good and didn’t wriggle I would give her a treat when I put her back down. If she scratched and tried to jump she got nothing. She now knows it is worth staying still for a treat at the end, and it also means when I put her down she actually stays and waits for a treat rather than kicking up the dust and running away.

 

[JBun]

Young rabbits can also be more tolerant of being picked up and held, then when they mature they completely change. So it might be that your neighbors bun tolerates it now but will grow out of it when it's older. Or it could just be one of those rabbits that tolerates or even likes being held. I've had a couple over the years that did like to be snuggled. It's not the norm, but it does happen.

 

[lavendertealatte]

Seems there are a lot of differing opinions on the matter, what do you all think of this?
https://www.bunspace.com/forum/thread?tid=4389&posts_tgp_no=1&posts_tgp_limit=10

 

[Popsicles]

I think there is a difference between training your bunny to tolerate being picked up, and them actually enjoying it. Yes, I can get my bunny to sit still and behave, that doesn’t mean she is enjoying it. Of course, it is great when you are handling them because you have to, but I don’t see any reason why you would force them to tolerate being picked up when they clearly don’t like it.
Basically, I don’t think you can teach a rabbit to enjoy something that is intrinsically scary to them. Some naturally do enjoy/tolerate it better, some don’t. I think you’d be better off learning the ways you can spend time with your bunny that you will both enjoy and feel comfortable with, instead of wasting time with these “dominance” exercises.

 

[Popsicles]

And as for her sentence about getting a pet and forcing it to love you.. you also need to realise they are a different species and you learn to love them in the way they feel comfortable, not force them to do whatever you want because humans are more important than every other species..

 

[lavendertealatte]

I understand your point of view. I don't intend on spending time with my bunny holding it but if it's possible, which some people's experience seems to indicate it is, I'd like to get to a place where I can hold him and have him be calm so I know he's not going to freak out at some inopportune time and accidentally kick himself loose and get hurt. Also ever since I got Bunster I am worried about having our friends come over because they all have young kids and I know they're going to want to pet Bunster. Frankly, I would have a lot less anxiety over it if I knew I could hold Bunster for a little while and let them pet him while he's in my arms.

 

[Popsicles]

Like I said, of course it is important to be able to hold him safely for when it is necessary

 

[lavendertealatte]

yeah I don't know why but I've watched so many videos and I can't find any sort of position that doesn't feel super awkward to pick up/hold Bunster. And sometimes he just kicks and gets away. He flinches now if he thinks he's going to get picked up ..

I can pick up like this --> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/375206212679584134/ .. usually facing me and just in the air.. which I don't do for long.. but not "hold" against me, and once I do have him in more of a hold I get scared that he's going to squirm, it's very awkward to put him back down as well and I think he senses that and jumps out of my arms. I don't know.. maybe it's cause he's small? but I don't see how I could get out of this --> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/533746993307480203/
and put a bunny down without getting kicked

interestingly at the end I did try catching him in a blanket and that seemed to calm him down.
so.. I don't know if I'm making any progress T_T have huge scratches on my wrists now and feel like it's going to mess up our bond. Maybe tried too many times today. ugh...................

ok videos like this.. https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/rabbits/company/handling
how does the bunny not just slip out?

 

[lavendertealatte]

Anybody else on this issue? Pretty sure Bunster's hormones are kicking in because all of a sudden he digs and chews a looooot more than he did before. Also he won't sit still for any petting not to mention picking up. We spend time with him every day .. he has access to the x-pen area attached to his pen when we're around.. anything else we should be doing? :/

 

[Popsicles]

Puberty will be a rough time and like many human teenagers he might be grumpy and antisocial and naughty! Are you planning on having him neutered?
And with regards to handling, they will feel most comfortable if they feel supported (particularly hind end) and safe - if he can feel that you are worried about dropping him he will squirm. He may also squirm just because he hates being held.. keep at it, keep practising and getting him used to being held for short periods and preferably as low to the ground as possible so it isn’t as scary for him. It won’t hurt him to be firm and hold him securely, so he won’t slip out like you are worried about. It’s all just practice and finding what works for you and for him - it’s taken me 4 years with mine and I still get scratches on a bad day!

 

[JBun]

I have one bun that detests being picked up and will struggle like crazy if I let her. So I've learned how to hold her so she doesn't jump out of my arms. Because sometimes it's just necessary to be able to pick them up.

She's a small bun, 2.5lb. I just scoop her up quickly with one hand under her belly and the other under her rump, and bring her right up to my chest immediately, holding her so her head is right close to my neck. Or if you need to block your bun from charging away, place a hand in front of the head to block before scooping up.

I hold her firmly(but not squeezing her) with one hand under her rump and the other over her shoulder/head, and kind of keep her front end pressed close to my body. I'll even use that hand and slide it up a bit more to cover her eyes if I need to. Sometimes they won't struggle as much if they can't see.

Another option is using a towel to bunny burrito your bun.

The ideal is training your bun to not mind being picked up or to tolerate it, but sometimes that just isn't an option or doesn't work. Like with this particular rabbit of mine.

 

[Vanbun]

Most of the rabbits we ever had gotten used to being picked up and handled and even being carried around for a little bit. It's really about building their trust with you. My beloved Spotty (in my pictured) was adopted by us around 8 weeks old. From day 1 we would hold him and handled him. He didn't like being picked up initially, but we made it a "safe" situation for him. I would pick him up, stroke him, hug him close and hold him for 30 seconds and build up from there. In the beginning I would never walk around with him. I would simply scoop him up, hand under his bum and hind legs, pull him close to my chest and rub my chin on him and give him ear rubs. Eventually after months of this he let me walk a little ways with him. Eventually he would sit and wait on his mat in the kitchen for me in the evening (he hated walking on our linoleum and hardwood floors) to come and scoop him up, plop him on the sofa next to me and we'd spend a few hours watching TV together. He'd get full body massages and head rubs flopped out next to me. It takes time to get your bunny to trust you to handle them but you do need to get them use to it so they don't completely freak out on you when you have to take them to the vet or when you have to trim their nails.

The other option is to hold him while you're sitting on the floor with him and build from there.

Our house rules to visitors is that nobody is allowed to pick up the bunny and they can only pet our bunny when either my son or I are holding him because Spotty could get freaked out by being grabbed by strangers.

One other thing, to demonstrate the trust we built with our bunny, when he was at boarding while we were on vacation, one of the caretakers decided to try and pick him up for a cuddle, knowing that he was use to being handled. He promptly scratched and bit her, which he had never done with us. That is my illustration on that trust we earned with Spotty.

 

[lavendertealatte]

It's so hard to even pick up Bunster cause he runs away, and the last thing I want to do is chase him around cause he's obviously faster than me. I've kind of given up a little... Did your Spotty kick in the beginning? He's not interested in pets anymore either .. he used to be when he was a baby, would tooth purr when being pet, but now he's only still if he's eating out of my hand so I can still pet him but he's not into the petting.

 

[Vanbun]

Have you neutered him yet? Hormones also play a big part in how bunnies act. If they're fixed they're calmer. I think you'll need to build trust with Bunster again. Be on the floor with him, just sit by him so he'll come to you but don't pick him up until he starts to come back to you willingly. At that point you can graduate to picking him up and putting him on your lap. Have plenty of treats, blueberries, bits of carrots even loose Alfalfa hay in your hand to get him to come to you. But the big thing is, if you haven't fixed him he's going to be cranky.

 

[lavendertealatte]

He still comes to me to nudge me for food and scratch and bite at my jeans, but I noticed he's not as comfortable whereas with my husband he'll jump on his lap. Haven't neutered him yet.