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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.

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Forum DIET & CARE How to Pick Up a Rabbit That Doesn’t Want to Be

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    • Hokankai
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        We’re getting ready to take Mama, our mother foster rabbit, in for her spay next week. Mama is very friendly and loves to be pet but doesn’t like to be picked up. She doens’t bite, but she hops away. Well, I’m going to have to somehow get her in and out of her carrier when she goes in for her spay, so how should I go about picking her up? She hates her carrier too (it’s associated with the noise and stress of the shelter), so she won’t go in there easily.

        Any ideas?


      • Sam and Lady's Human
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          I usually resort to trickery, I fill the box with new hay and some greens and when she’s in, close the door. But, you can and should do “pick up” exercises daily with your bun, just sit or squat by your bun and pick him up about a foot off the floor and set him back down like, 10 times. Then reward with a treat There’s a youtube video, I’ll try to find it…

          http://www.youtube.com/user/FastUpOnRabbitCare#p/u/20/50D01krKgi0

          Here’s a great one, I’d try the different holds and see what is easiest for you, and then do the exercises with it!


        • Hokankai
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            Okay, great! That’s probably a good idea to practice in general for when she get’s adopted, but I think that’ll help us transfer her to the crate . Thanks!


          • Elrohwen
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              I have a couple methods for getting them in the carrier. First, I try to corner them in the pen with the carrier in front, then put my hand on their bum and push them in. They don’t like it, but since they’re in a corner they don’t really have anywhere to go (though if I’m too slow, they’ll just jump over the carrier and run for it).

              My other method is to throw a towel over them and quickly pick them up and set them in the carrier (I have a top opening one, which makes this much easier).

              Mine are way too smart to be tricked into their carrier by food 😉


            • Hokankai
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                Yeah she pretty much really hates being picked up. Hahaha. I got her a few times but she’s just so big I can’t pick her up quickly and easily like I see in the videos. I think I’ll just corral her and shove her inside the carrier because I don’t want her falling and hurting herself.


              • Monkeybun
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                  Honestly, you need to be the boss. They may not like it, but do it anyway. Practice a lot picking her up, so she learns to tolerate it.


                • Hokankai
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                    Alrighty, will do! I don’t want her to be intolerant when it comes to adoption time. I’ll just keep wearing my hoodie when I do it .


                  • MayaConsuelo
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                      I second what others are saying, learn how to quickly scoop up the rabbit (with support under all feet at once) and do it every day. Now that I have to regularly put Bag Balm or calendula on Mr. Bun-Bun’s foot pads, it’s much easier since he’s used to it. ALSO, maybe keep the carrier out all the time, so they don’t associate it with bad times? Our carrier was hidden and we brought it out for a vet visit, Mr. Bun-Bun took one look at it and ran under the bed. He wouldn’t come out when I called him (which he always does) and wouldn’t come out even when we laid raisins down on the floor right in front of him! AND he hadn’t seen the carrier in 4 months (since we moved cross-country and he was stuck in it for 12 hours at a time for several days.) They’re smarter than a lot of people realize! 

                      When I was first learning to cut his nails, he would panic and start hyperventilating when I picked him up. But if you stay calm and just get whatever you need to do over with, the second you put them down they are fine. Just be calm and gentle and in control, it’ll work out!


                    • Elrohwen
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                        MB, I have to disagree – I think you can work around the picking up thing for rabbits that are extremely bad. Most probably aren’t that bad and just need a confident owner, but some just never get used to it. Hannah haaaates being picked up and is so strong that the experienced vet techs have a hard time with her. I can do all bunny maintenance without needing to pick her up and I can get her into the carrier easily, so we’ve come to a truce – she cooperates with whatever I want her to do as long as I don’t pick her up 🙂


                      • Hokankai
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                          Alright, I think I’ve got it down! I think I was hesitating and she sensed that, and plus I think I was picking her up in an uncomfortable position because she’s so big. She’s let me quickly scoop her into a supported football hold three times since last night without a fuss. I’m practicing scooping her up and holding her on my lap on the couch because apparently we only have 3 more weeks with mama (called the shelter last night and they want to spay and put her up for adoption in 3 weeks). I want her to at least not be frightened when she gets picked up, and she hasn’t nipped or struggled excessively so I think it was just me not being calm and assertive enough.


                        • RabbitPam
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                            It’s excellent if you can practice and get them used to being picked up for this kind of purpose.

                            I agree with E. however. I used to pick up Spockie twice a day at least – part of our daily routine – and never knew that some bunnies don’t like it. Well, Samantha won’t tolerate it to this day. I usually have to resort to the corralling into the carrier, or toss a towel over her for a fast grab and move. I can’t believe it’s been 3 years and we are not better than we used to be. But it hasn’t been bad deferring to her clear preference, and she has learned to cooperate by going into her house at the usual times.


                          • Ali925
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                              I am right with you on that Elrohwen!  Mine hate hate being picked up.  Blu is the worst, even the vet techs struggle with him too, they look to me lol.  But they have a better time with him than I do.  The key is to get them out of their living area/comfort zone.  When we do their maintenance, nail clipping, weighing, etc…we have to get them in their carriers and bring them to another room.  Then once we let them out on top of a table in a different room I can pick them up with very little issue.  Sometimes they get impatient during the nail trims and we take a break, but they’re usually good when I try to pick them up again.  Now getting them to not hold their paws so close to their faces so the hubby can cut the nails is another story lol. 

                              So getting them in the carrier is the hardest part!  Same here, they are beyond being tricked by food!  Even my neverstopseating Oreo   In fact when they see or hear the carrier, they flee faster than if I were a big scary animal coming after them.  I hear thumping. They hide.  I eventually have to close the door to their cages so they can’t hide in their litterbox.  I remove the cottontail cottage so they can’t hide in there (which they allllways do) and Blu eventually gives in and runs inside…but Oreo is the worst!  And she is such a good bun, very obedient for the most part, but when it comes to that, forget it!  I almost canceled her wellness checkup bc I didn’t think I could get her in the carrier in time..it’s gotten worse rather then better.  Anyhow, I feel your pain with not being able to handle them.  Little stinkers like to be in charge…


                            • The Rabbit
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                                Thanks for that. I was just going to ask about this. I’ve never been good at getting my buns to be picked up, and I’ve recieved a request from my Mom to make our newest bun a “lap bun.” I figure I’ll clicker train as well.


                              • The Rabbit
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                                  What if your bun is very fast? I wind up chasing mine all over trying to corner him. He’s very sneaky and can get out of most any situation (the other day he got on his little house and hopped out of the cage and went for a stroll in the living room). What should be done then? Should i practice in his caage?


                                • Sam and Lady's Human
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                                    Move his house so its not near the edge of the cage, or bunny proof your house/room.
                                    Instead of chasing and making it stressful, I’ve found its easiest to use bribery Samson knows to go in his pen by 8pm because thats when I put out the salad. Others practice by giving a small treat like a craisen every time they go in their pen on their own, and you can reinforce that by saying go home or go to bed when you see them going in.
                                    I don’t think I posted this video, its the one I was talking about earlier, I have to start doing this with my bunnies
                                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ysCCCFsV4Y&feature=player_embedded


                                  • Elrohwen
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                                      I’m lucky that Hannah runs right into the carrier. She’s so curious that she can’t help herself and is in there before she realizes it probably means bad things will happen (I just have to shut the door before she realizes this and tries to run back out). Haha. Once she’s in, I let her out onto the kitchen counter and DH holds her down while I do her nails. She’s really cooperative as long as I don’t pick her up -  even at the vet she will sit completely quietly on the table, but as soon as they try to pick her up she’s all over the place and they have to be careful not to drop her.

                                      TheRabbit – I find that the more you chase them around, the more they will run from you in any situation. I only pick up Otto when he’s in a confined space (the cage where his litter boxes are kept, for example). Sometimes it’s easiest to shove him in the carrier, then pick him up through the top of that because he knows there’s nowhere to run. If I try to pick him up while he’s out and about, he just scrambles away and I lose his trust. He’s well trained to go back to his pen when he sees the craisin bag, so I just need to get him in there before I try picking him up.

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                                  Forum DIET & CARE How to Pick Up a Rabbit That Doesn’t Want to Be