Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE suggestions on how to get my buns used to being picked up

Viewing 12 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • paulette79
      Participant
      21 posts Send Private Message

               I’ve had my buns for 2 weeks now. We’re doing awesome in the whole getting to know you/being comfortable with a 5 foot human in my space thing. I need to get her used to being picked up.. not to be snuggled (she’s no snuggler) but for her own safety- vet trips, emergenices etc. What is the best way to start this? She doesn’t let me pet her except for when she’s just woken up from a nap (she’ll let me pet her head) and the ocassional back stroke when she’s out playing. I’ve tried to pick her up but I usually just end up missing her front and catch her lower down her body. When I do get her in my arms I try to hold her to my chest to calm her… that doesn’t work well- she just wiggles & jumps away. I don’t want to hold her too tight to hurt her. She also knows when I’m trying to reach for her & she get ticked off & runs out of my reach. I don’t want this to become a chase game since I’ve come so far with her being comfortable with me, I don’t want to ruin it.

        Any tips on the best way to proceed?


      • Elrohwen
        Participant
        7318 posts Send Private Message

          One thing that helps me is to get them in a confined space *first*, then try to pick them up. If I just reach for them while they’re out and about, they freak out and run away. The more I chase, the more scared they get. The best method for me has been to get them in carriers, then take them away from their cage, open the top of the carrier, and pick them up from there. That way they can’t bolt and it doesn’t give them a lot of time to think about what I’m doing.

          Otto’s not thrilled about being petted either and the more times we pick him up randomly from his pen, the worse he gets. I try to limit picking up to times we need to do it or when he’s in a confined space like a carrier.


        • LBJ10
          Moderator
          16869 posts Send Private Message

            Have you tried offering her a treat while she’s being held? This works for Leopold. He remains calm as long as he’s chewing on something. The second he’s done though, he’ll immediately want down. And if he thinks I’m not putting him down fast enough, he doesn’t hesitate to bite.


          • paulette79
            Participant
            21 posts Send Private Message

              she’ll let me pet her back while she’s eating/chewing. As soon as she realizes what’s going on she moves away. I’ve given up her being one of those buns that ask to be petted.

              I’m more concerned about being able to pick her up to get her in a carrier to go to the vet, get nails trimmed, get the heck out of the house in an emergency etc. I want to limit picking up/holding her to those situations since most buns are not fans of being held or picked up. She’s got her 1st vet appointment next Tues. so I’m going to try both of your suggestions… getting her into a penned area vs. the whole room & offering one of her favorite veggies as a reward or consolation prize!!!


            • KatnipCrzy
              Participant
              2981 posts Send Private Message

                When my bunnies are out for their free time at night when we are watching TV- I keep a little bowl of cut up Craisins (so there are more pieces for treats) and my bunnies have learned to jump up on the couch to get a couple of treats then I hide the bowl so they think the treats are gone. So they periodically jump up on the couch and on our laps to check for treats. I think that helps them get used to being picked up- as they are easy to pick up when they are on your lap already and it teaches them to seek your attention.
                Plus it is really cute to put a treat between your lips and feel their tickly whiskers when they take the treat.
                Of course it can be a bad thing if you have a really bold bunny- Griffin will jump up on anyone that is on the couch- even a stranger and beg for treats. He started licking my friends lips because he fell asleep on the couch and Griff wanted more treats. : )


              • MagpieBunnies
                Participant
                37 posts Send Private Message

                  What has been working with Hemi is if I calm him down first by a bunny massage to get him relaxed. He still doesn’t like it when I pick him up but he’s less bent on getting out of my hands then, and I try to make sure when I scoop up his rear end that I get ahold of his hind legs so they don’t kick. It definitely takes practice.
                  If she doesn’t like you near her yet, maybe try putting a dish of her favorite veggies down near her so she’s happily munching. Then just pet her, that way she gets used to you being next to her and touching her. Hemi loves munching on bits of celery, frozen grapes, and carrot tops. I found that once you build that trust and don’t rush things they’re a lot more willing to cooperate. I’ve only been nipped at once in the week I’ve had him and it was because I cornered him to get him into the carrier to go to the vet. Learned the hard way that didn’t work with him. Every bun is different so just do trial and error and be patient.

                  Good luck!


                • Elrohwen
                  Participant
                  7318 posts Send Private Message

                    For getting them into the carrier, I just close them into their pen and corner them with the open carrier so the only way they can go is into it. Hannah is good and usually goes right in out of curiosity anyway, but Otto usually needs to be shoved in.

                    Another thing about picking up is that different bunnies like it different ways. With Hannah, you need to get all of her feet secure and it helps to cover her eyes – holding her like a football is fairly successful. With Otto, if you touch his back feet at all he’ll kick, so I pick him up facing away from me with one hand on his chest and one under his bum so his feet don’t have anything to kick out on. If I try to pick Hannah up like this, she panics and squirms.


                  • paulette79
                    Participant
                    21 posts Send Private Message

                      great ideas folks. she’s definitly comfortable w/ me in general. She’ll climb over me & if she’s in the mood she’ll come to me when I call her. I was posting a pic of her to Facebook & she jumped into my lap (onto the laptop) to check out what I was doing. She also hops up on my bed & wakes me up in the mornings when I sleep in late.

                      Her issue is the lifting her off the ground and petting. I never thought about trying to pick her up a different way. I’ve only know about the pick up from thier chest area and support thier bum.


                    • BaileyBun
                      Participant
                      149 posts Send Private Message

                        When I got Bailey, she was an absolute horror to pick up- she would kick and scratch and try to get down, and it really scared me. Bailey took at least a month, maybe 2, before she would willingly let me pet her. I spend a lot of time on the floor, holding treats When she was finally enjoying being petted, I started putting my hands near her belly, and just kept inching closer and closer to putting my hands in an “I’m about to pick you up!” position. It took a few weeks for her to be okay with me touching her tummy. Then I started by just lifting her front off the ground, then immediately putting her down and giving her a treat. I kept working with her every day until I could hold her just a little off the ground, and now she lets me pick her up, no problem. She has recently decided that she even likes snuggling with me when I pick her up, which is super cute. However, for her to get to this point has taken about five months- it was just a lot of patience and slowly getting her to trust me. I also always give her a reward when I put her down, and I think that helps her associate being picked up with a yummy treat.


                      • Misskaruhl
                        Participant
                        32 posts Send Private Message

                          teach me your technique!! Also, buns can each craisins?! I didn’t know.

                           

                          So I should keep a bowl of snack on the couch, and just say “up” and encourage them to come on the couch?

                           

                          Thanks,


                        • Misskaruhl
                          Participant
                          32 posts Send Private Message

                            I have the same problem

                            Haven’t picked up my buns since we brought them home. We attempted to put them in the carrier last weekend… EPIC fail. Any suggestions would really be great.


                          • paulette79
                            Participant
                            21 posts Send Private Message

                              today was her vet apt. She let me pick her up in the office to let down on the floor. She even climbed part of the way up my leg & then onto my lap so I could give her a boost back onto the exam table.

                              It seems like when she’s in an unfamiliar place she’s cool with me picking her up. I tried on Sunday (3x’s) and got scratched… EPIC fail also. Saga continues


                            • peppypoo
                              Participant
                              1945 posts Send Private Message

                                Yup, bunnies are a lot more amenable to being picked up and handled when they’re in an unfamiliar environment. I guess when they’re at home, they’re a lot more confident to kick, scratch, and squirm their way out of anything – they’re just kind of stressed out and scared when they’re in a new place, which strangely makes handling easier. The people at the vet’s office always look at me strangely when I say have an impossible time picking up my bunnies, and they do it so easily…I swear it’s not so easy at home, lol!

                            Viewing 12 reply threads
                            • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                            Forum DIET & CARE suggestions on how to get my buns used to being picked up