Help picking up bunny

[roundbear]

Hey guys,

I have had my bunny for well over half a year now. It is a female dwarf lop mix I believe and is black and white spotted.

I have always tried to hold her but she has never allowed me to. Whenever I try to pick her up, I put a hand under her belly and she either jumps away or kicks her hind legs and twists her body a lot.

I don't understand why as she does seem comfortable around me. She lies down next to me, eats and drink, and grooms herself when I'm next to her. She allows me to pet her and even sometimes touch her feet. But she never allows me to pick her up.

It's frustrating for me since I want a stronger connection with my bunny. I also get jealous when I see pictures of other people interact with their bunny, some are on their shoulders, others are on their laps or arms.

This also affects my ability to trim her nails which is at a zero. I even tried the bunny burrito but whenever im about to clip the nail, she'll twist and squirm and kick as if she's about to get eaten.

What can I do? Also sometimes when I try to force and pick her up, she twists and kicks hard, do you think she'll forgive and forget?


edit: I have a few other questions, and don't want to clutter the forum with threads.
I'm contemplating letting my bunny out (she's currently in a 3x3 ft fence) and roam around the room. My only concern is that I've done that before and she'll also poop and pee in random places and it's a hassle to pick up the poop every single time. She pees and poops in her litter box when she's in her fence, it's just when she's out her fence, she'll never use it. How do you guys deal with it?

thanks.

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

firstly you're afraid. So you're letting her do what she wants, and not what YOU want.

Run your hand over her head bringing her ears back. and lightly grab her ruff of her neck, with the ears cupped in your hand, and take the other hand to quickly scoop up her bottom. I can try to get pics later. Its just not putting up with their crud.

 

[hillrise]

:yeahthat: Most rabbits don't like their belly being touched, so you can't pick a rabbit up like you would predator type pets (cats, dogs). SOME rabbits allow you to pick them up that way, but it's not very many. Crystal's method is the best way, both for bunny's safety, and yours. Just remember to hold her securely, close to your body, not away from you, and with a firm hand and support. And be confident.

 

[roundbear]

thanks guys! i will do it.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I've worked a long time on getting our bunnies used to getting belly rubs, and coincidentally, being picked up the way you were trying at first. It takes time and patience, and most bunnies don't like being held. Too bad, but some handling is necessary so you need to make sure that you are the alpha in the equation. Time, patience, and consistency.

 

[jeanluc_pippen_merry]

Is the poo in a pile or dispersed all over the place? My guess is that she's marking her "new territory" when you let her out into areas she's not really very familiar with yet. Rabbits do that by dropping poo everywhere, peeing on things and chinning (which you can't see or smell). You should provide a litter tray in each room you allow them to roam because they might not go back to their usual spot in a different room to do their business. If you find a pile of poop in a certain spot, that's probably the best place to put a litter tray because that's probably where your rabbit has decided she's going to do her business in that room. I've heard that some rabbits can be trained to go back to their room to use the litter tray, but it's not easy and no all rabbits will do it. Just what i have read, haven't tried it myself.

 

[golfdiva]

Try practicing Crystal's method on a stuffed animal, etc. until you get it down to a nice smooth, quick movement from the floor to having the rabbits 4 paws on your chest. That will give the rabbit less time to get scared and react.

Re: using the litter box, if you can, try making her cage a little bit bigger and see if she still uses the litter box. If she does, gradually increase the cage size so she learns to go a longer way to find the box.

Good luck! Don't worry about asking too many questions, we were all were you are once!

edit to add: I forgot to mention, if you can't get the picking up process smooth, don't be afraid to make minor variations as long as your rabbits back legs are supported and not kicking around. (They can hurt their backs if their legs kick too hard against nothing.) Hersehy actually *hates* to be picked up the way Crystal described!I have to put my hands around his middle, right under his arms and pick him up like one would a small child! Once I figured that out, he let me pick him up more often! I can even put my hands around him and say "Can I pick up Hershey?" If the answer is "yes", he will bow down, if the answer is "no", he will scoot away!

 

[GorbyJobRabbits]

Thanks Golfdiva!

The way we are discribing you just need to be firm. Keeping the ears back helps to keep the head secure. And even chubby bunnies like my Champagne D'Argent, Beth, sits still to be fully checked over!

Not me, but a judge at our show this weekend with her. Beth's a grumpy bunny, but sit still like she's suppose to when getting checked over.