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Forum DIET & CARE How often do you pick up your bunny?

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    • Dee
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        I’m just curious and would love to read about how much other bunny parents do this. Answers can be very brief or include why, how and other details ☺. I used to NEVER pick up my bunnies cuz it stressed them so much, but then I found myself with two rabbits that I couldn’t even get into a carrier to take to the vet without a huge, elaborate luring and trapping fiasco. Then my male rabbit, BunBun, had some health problems and I had to give meds and sub Q fluids- what a nightmare! After that I did get used to picking him up. But a HRS volunteer has to make home visits to do the rabbit’s nails still, because I was too afraid to pick up Nelli, my wildwoman fuzzy lop bunny. Finally I learned to pick her up too, and am now comfortable handling her to do nail and fur trims, brushing, meds, etc.

        Now we have a new little Bun, Luke, who is quite shy- he won’t even let me pet him without a constant supply of treats, which is a bad idea. I pick him up. My thought has been that they need to be tame enough to pick up if needed, but it’s not something that should be done too often since most rabbits are frightened of it. 

        However, I just read a very good book on rabbits by an author that I respect (not sure if I should mention the name so I’m refrain g from that!). He says that rabbits should be picked up at least once a day so they are used to being handled, and even get used to short trips in the car. The reason behind this thinking is that is a rabbit gets ill/injured and is not used to be handled or travelling, the whole ordeal will be that much more stressful because of that. Makes sense to me! But its still difficult to imagine picking up my bunmiss daily if they obviously distressed by it. 

        So I’m interested in opinions ☺. Thanks in advance!


      • IsabellaRobyn
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          Hello!

          I think this is a pretty interesting topic and I’m looking forward to hearing what others have to say about it. Personally I don’t pick Belle up very often. I only really pick her up if I want her on or off of my bed. She really doesn’t like being picked up or held, her eyes bulge a little and she breathes really heavy. I’m interested to see what people say about the daily holding idea – I feel if I did that to Belle she would learn to dislike me, but again perhaps if it was added into a playtime routine it wouldn’t be quite so traumatic? Belle always flops and pants for a while after being held though so again I’m not sure. It’s a funny one because she is very affectionate and loves pets and sometimes to come and cuddle beside you, just not being lifted.

          When I do lift her I place a hand on her shoulders to stop her from running away and then scoop up her bum.


        • hiskatey93
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            Chom hates being picked up. He doesn’t seem outwardly stressed, but bites will be given. That being said, I only do so when he needs to be moved, or brought to the car for vet visits, or on our walk to the farmers market once a week. ((Once we are there boyfriend shall follow him on the leash and let him roam while I shop))

            Speckles on the other hand is lifted often. She licks us and snuggles down into our arms when we pick her up. She loves to be carried places. That and also she loves to wedge herself in random places, and needs to be picked up to free her. ((I’ll block an area off and somehow she will get through my blockade. =/))


          • Elliriyanna
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              Tenzin I have picked up 3 times since I brought him home. Twice to take him to the vet ( and of course I helped the vet as well, my vet was very comfortable with me helping ) and the third was to be sure his neuter was healing properly.

              My new boy, I have picked up off and on, but he was 2 when he came home, and he really does not mind. I will admit that makes my life easier. but honestly it doesn’t really affect him, why would he care if he can be picked up.


            • Sarita
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                Well Bobby quite a bit – other rabbits I’ve had not so much. I really think it depends on the rabbit and the human – some people just aren’t very confident and not sure how to handle their rabbit. My mother loves to try to hold Bobby but she has no clue how to do it and it’s painful to watch….


              • LBJ10
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                  Both of mine get picked up regularly for brushing, trims, etc. I have to because they will not sit still otherwise. Wooly is pretty easy to pick up, always has been. He lets me know when he’s had enough and I put him down. Leopold, on the other hand, took some work. We had to practice picking him up and holding him, giving him a treat, and then putting him down. He has become accustomed to getting a treat whenever he is picked up. I did this because I don’t like the idea of not being able to grab them in an emergency. They don’t like being picked up, so I don’t do it unless I need to now. But they tolerate it and both seem to “give up” when they know they have been “caught” (i.e. they don’t try to get away).


                • BunsAndDolls
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                    Toby and KitKat don’t get picked up very often. Toby hates it, so I only pick him up to move him, or to trim his front nails. It usually involves me sitting on the floor next to him and shooing him onto a pillow and picking up the pillow, so all 4 of his feet are always touching “ground”…keeps him from freaking out too much.

                    KitKat is so new to us that she still doesn’t trust us to pick her up. She isn’t used to be handled much, so she growls and nips at me if I try to pick her up. She allows it if it’s just for a split second to get her on or off the couch or bed, but otherwise, not so much. I leave her on the ground for grooming…it’s a long process, lol.

                    Hershey LOVED being picked up though. He liked being carried around the house, haha


                  • redbunbun
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                      I pick them up whenever I need to… checking stitches after an operation, stopping them from getting into someplace they shouldn’t, giving them a look-over to make sure there’s no poopybutt (or any other alarming condition that couldn’t be seen without picking up the rabbit), trimming nails, putting them in their pet carrier, etc. I would say I tend to average one pick-up a day per rabbit right now, since we’re currently monitoring Sukka’s butt for poopybutt quite diligently and Tossu has a habit of trying to get into the bedroom (where he’s not allowed).

                      I try not to pick them up “just because”, but neither of my rabbits stress out because of it, so it doesn’t really matter. Sukka doesn’t mind being picked up at all, and Tossu dislikes it but doesn’t protest too much, unless he’s in a bit of a mood otherwise. I feel like it’s really important to be able to pick up your rabbit safely and with little fuss in case of an emergency, so I’ve made sure to not avoid picking them up if I have a good reason to pluck them off the ground. They have to get used to it, unfortunately! Thankfully, it’s not really an issue for either of my goobers.


                    • Pomandcourt
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                        I agree with the author. I’m not sure every day is necessary, but you definitely want your bun used to it so that if you need to pick them up to take them to the vet or when they’re ill, it’s not creating any additional stress.

                        I pick up my one bun almost every day for a variety of reasons. Sometimes she’s perfectly happy to be handled and other times she bolts. I try and to it very slowly so she’s not surprised by it and can move away if she doesn’t want to be lifted. That said, I’m often picking her up for her own good so I don’t always give her the option not to be lifted. Ideally, she would always have the choice, but sometimes I need to check her or get her in her carrier and I don’t have six hours to convince her it’s a good idea.

                        My other two are very nervous so I’m working on getting them comfortable being held and touched. They don’t get picked up nearly as often, but I still need to trim their nails etc so they do need to be handled.

                        As long as you’re not carrying them around just because you want to hold and cuddle them, it’s fine to lift them occasionally for their health or convenience.


                      • Bam
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                          I pick mine up every couple of days, more often if there’s an issue. Can’t say they’re overwhelmed with joy, but they do get used to being handled.


                        • Paradigm
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                            We always picked up Mr Roger multiple times a day. He would put his feet up on our legs when he wanted to be lifted onto laps when we were on chairs he couldn’t get onto and quite liked sitting on my wife’s shoulder. He would also climb onto our bodies and heads while we slept.

                            He didn’t mind being held at all, although he wasn’t a fan of us walking around.

                            Our new buns, Fred and George, are really too young to tell what they’ll be like after puberty but we’re hoping to classically condition them into liking it. They’ve already started to bump our hands for strokes and climb onto our laps so we’re hopeful. We’ll see, though.


                          • Dee
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                              Wow, thanks for all the responses- it’s interesting to know how others deal with this! My rabbits both get really stressed by being picked up. Nellie snorts and grunts and struggles and nips me quite hard and then submits and just breathes crazy fast the whole time, while Luke freezes and kind of curls up in a ball- very cute but kind of sad!- and then makes a surprise launch for the ceiling every so often, followed by frantic snuffling in my neck ?.

                              The part I hate is the “sudden attack” aspect of it when I have to grab them. I need to give Nell a treat usually, then scoop her up when she’s occupied with eating. Now she is suspicious of treats since I’ve been picking her up daily for meds lately. Luke is just learning to trust me, and I feel that it’s a huge step backward every time I approach him in a nice friendly manner, then snatch him up with lightning speed. But if I didn’t do that, how would I bond him with Nelli? They need to be transported to neutral territory. I’m always afraid I might hurt them when I grab them too, I feel like I have to be so firm with my grip.

                              But it does get easier to actually handle them because I’ve gained confidence.

                              Sarita, I know what you mean about painful to watch! I taught my hubby how to pick up BunBun safely, but at first the lift/letdown was pretty bad! I must have said “Support his hind end!!!” about fifty thousand times lol. I won’t let hubby pick up Nell or Luke because he would almost surely drop them ?.


                            • Paradigm
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                                I saw and interesting video series about training rabbits to be picked up in stages. It suggested training bunnies to put their head down if they wanted to accept being picked up and let them run away if they didn’t.

                                Mr Roger almost always had a choice about it (he had a knack for knowing when it was cuddle time and when it was time to be shut in his cage (room inspection, etc) or about to be put in his carrier.

                                He seemed to be pretty much the opposite from most bunnies I’ve heard of. We never had any luck with training him to do anything else.

                                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6lv1vOAneA


                              • Dee
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                                  Paradigm,
                                  That’s a pretty cool idea, training bunnies to communicate whether they want to be picked up! The Utube link isn’t showing up as live, but I’m gonna search!


                                • Samara87
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                                    Mr. Binkins is pretty unhappy with being picked up. If I’m standing, he doesn’t struggle, but if I sit down and try to continue holding him, he won’t have any of it. If he knows I want him to go to his cage and he doesn’t want to, he won’t let me pick him up. He’ll jump over my hands and away. And every time after that if I even touch anywhere but his head he’ll run away.

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                                Forum DIET & CARE How often do you pick up your bunny?