Being held

[Leifsmomma92]

So, my bunny, Leif, is about 7 months old. He was the runt of the litter and his momma pushed him out. Thankfully, my sister noticed this and nursed him to health and then gave him to me when he was about a month and a half old. I nursed him, held him, did everything with him.

Now that he’s older and going through hormones, I haven’t had the funds to get him fixed but plan to asap. He refuses to be held. He panics and jumps out of my hands immediately. Even when I keep him calm and show zero threat, he senses that I want to pick him up and starts to grunt and even nibbles me (he’s never actually bitten me, he loves me too much to want to hurt me) but he will not let anyone even come close to picking him up. But whether he’s in his cage or out in my room, he will come up to me or my family members and kiss us, love on us, etc. He just does NOT want to be held. I’ve looked up videos and everything for how to hold your bunny properly, and he just doesn’t want to have anything to do with it. He’s too hyper…. what should I do ? It just breaks my heart that I can’t hold or cuddle with my own rabbit… help me

[jerseygirl]

Really young rabbits tolerated being held pretty well but it is typical they’ll not like it as they get older. Some rabbits like being held but it is not the norm. The majority don’t. They may tolerate it but not enjoy it.
It’s to do with the being a prey species.

It is a good idea to get a rabbit used to being picked up for things like putting them into a carrier, but you’d be hard pressed getting them to like being held and cuddled. You can sort of give them floor cuddles. They’ll feel much more secure with all 4 feet on a solid surface.

You never know, your boy may come to liking it again either after desexing or as he gets older but try not to be disappointed if he doesn’t. He’s obviously showing affection in other ways, which is great.

ETA: I took in a 4week old rabbit who was easy enough handle while young. He’s 6yrs old now and I can pick him up when needed but he certainly doesn’t like it! His breathing gets fast and noisy and eyes get larger. He flicks his feet at me once I put him back down. He’s a single bun but pretty well bonded to me.

[Tay]

Rabbits in general don’t like to be held. As prey animals they are terrified of pretty much everything. You mean no harm, but they see something bigger than they are trying to scoop them up. They’re not particularly the most cuddly pets. That’s not to say that they never are – it just depends on YOUR particular bunny. I’ve seen people whose bunnies will just sit on their laps. Mine will sit on my lap but only on his terms – he does the same things as yours if I try to pick him up. Sometimes it’s easier to just not pick them up and let them come to you

[jerseygirl]

True! Some do genuinely enjoy sitting in the lap. They’re sitting horizontal as if on the floor and can usually see where they can hop away to if feeling under threat.

The rabbit currently in my avatar was a lap bunny. And he was blind so you’d think he’d have been more skittish. Perhap the lack of vision helped as his world wouldn’t be spinning around when being picked up.

You could maybe work on getting your little one to come sit on your lap. Don’t force it, just attract him with a treat and give some gentle pets. He may come to settle in and enjoy that or sitting by your side.

[Leifsmomma92]

He knows that I wouldn’t force him to do something that he didn’t like. He’s a spoiled little boy haha.

I just felt like a horrible bun bun mom because my sister has two bunnies (who are his sisters) and she doesn’t pay much attention to them and they let you do whatever with them with no problems. Leif, has a mind of his own and knows that he will get his way haha.

I let him out every single day, and he WILL come up to me on my bed and lay down next to me, but he especially loves it when I lay on the floor with him. He goes crazy and jumps all over me and gives me kisses and runs figure eights through my legs. So I’m not completely deprived of his affection, I just see others pick up their bun buns with ease and let them lay in their laps and my wild boy wants nothing to do with it. I thought that I was doing something wrong

Thank you so much for taking the time to enlighten me with y’all’s wisdom ! You have no idea how much I appreciate it !

[sarahthegemini]

You definitely aren’t doing anything wrong. My little Buttercup will let me do almost anything but picking up is a no-no. And she is a bun who loves attention and will literally dive out of her litter box with hay still in her mouth and come booming over if she thinks her brother is getting more attention lol.

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Leifsmomma92 on 1/11/2017 5:18 PM

He knows that I wouldn’t force him to do something that he didn’t like. He’s a spoiled little boy haha.

I just felt like a horrible bun bun mom because my sister has two bunnies (who are his sisters) and she doesn’t pay much attention to them and they let you do whatever with them with no problems. Leif, has a mind of his own and knows that he will get his way haha.

I let him out every single day, and he WILL come up to me on my bed and lay down next to me, but he especially loves it when I lay on the floor with him. He goes crazy and jumps all over me and gives me kisses and runs figure eights through my legs. So I’m not completely deprived of his affection, I just see others pick up their bun buns with ease and let them lay in their laps and my wild boy wants nothing to do with it. I thought that I was doing something wrong

Thank you so much for taking the time to enlighten me with y’all’s wisdom ! You have no idea how much I appreciate it !

IMO, you definitely are NOT a horrible bun mom!  You are letting him be himself, an independant little soul. It sounds as if you have a wonderful bond.

[Billybobunny]

I don’t think my rabbit likes me he doesn’t even come up to me. When I want to play I try to get a harness on him and he bites me also when try to pick him up he will bite me kick me and run away I had to save him from this man because he was in love with one of the ladies he lived wigs and is now a dad the man who was selling him was desperate so if we hadn’t have stepped in he was gonna go to some man who wanted to ring his neck and then put him in a stew when i went to get him he was perfect his old owner piked him up fine and that was the last time he let some one pick we think he is either one or two years old but we don’t know for sure please help quick

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Billybobunny on 1/14/2017 4:09 AM

I don’t think my rabbit likes me he doesn’t even come up to me. When I want to play I try to get a harness on him and he bites me also when try to pick him up he will bite me kick me and run away I had to save him from this man because he was in love with one of the ladies he lived wigs and is now a dad the man who was selling him was desperate so if we hadn’t have stepped in he was gonna go to some man who wanted to ring his neck and then put him in a stew when i went to get him he was perfect his old owner piked him up fine and that was the last time he let some one pick we think he is either one or two years old but we don’t know for sure please help quick

As discussed above, rabbits generally don’t like being picked up. It scares them. Not to mention you’re trying to put a harness on him, he’s probably terrified. The best thing to do is now build up his trust from scratch – sit on the floor with him and let him approach you. Do not try and pick him up and please forget about the harness. If a rabbit panics whilst having a harness put on, he can quite literally break his bones. 

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