Is there a way to make your rabbit less freaked when you hold him?

I don’t want to traumatize him and have him become aggressive but I also don’t want to never hold him and then every time I need to pick him up have him freak out on me. Curious to hear how everyone’s bunnies feel about being held and how you accommodate them.

Most of my rabbits love being held. I handle them from birth and always feed them right after being held so they've come to associate "oh, if I let her pick me up, I'll get food" so they're super chill about it. I do have a couple that don't like being held, and I just don't try to push them. I try to keep their handling for grooming and stuff to a minimum, to not stress them out, for those two.

Usually the main reason that I see rabbits freaking out about being held is when they don't feel like they are secure - so if the handler is nervous or doesn't have a good hold on them. Rabbits like to stay close to your body, where they feel confident in not falling.

Oh cool! I’ve been trying that! He seems so freaked that he won’t even eat the piece of banana I try to give him. I hold his bottom and feet securely and make sure to press him close to me. I’ve definitely gotten better at it. Thanks for the advice! Will try holding him more often for shorter periods and giving him treats when I do. Eventually he caved and did eat the banana so he must not have been too freaked.

SableSteel said:

Most of my rabbits love being held. I handle them from birth and always feed them right after being held so they've come to associate "oh, if I let her pick me up, I'll get food" so they're super chill about it. I do have a couple that don't like being held, and I just don't try to push them. I try to keep their handling for grooming and stuff to a minimum, to not stress them out, for those two.

Usually the main reason that I see rabbits freaking out about being held is when they don't feel like they are secure - so if the handler is nervous or doesn't have a good hold on them. Rabbits like to stay close to your body, where they feel confident in not falling.

Click to expand...

You can also make him used with being handled and petted everywhere. Also just lifting the front legs up and put him them down, with treats. To just get used being handled in different way [emoji5]

I am a firm believer in teaching bunnies to tolerate being handled and held. There are times when holding a rabbit is a necessity. You need to be able to hold and handle them for nail trims and other grooming, if they get sick or injured, if there's ever an emergency and you need to evacuate them or something, etc. If other stuff is already going wrong, it's better that the simple act of being held doesn't put additional stress on your rabbit in that moment.

When picking up or holding a rabbit, make sure they feel secure (ie hold them tightly) and that their back feet are supported underneath. Many rabbits, even those who are quite tolerant of being held, don't necessarily want to eat a treat while they're being held. I always offer the treat after putting them back down so that they can fully enjoy it but still associate getting a treat with having been picked up.

Being confident helps, as bunnies definitely pick up on that.

During my first 4-5 months of rabbit ownership I didn't pick my bun up once. I feel like some Youtubers tell us that if we pick our bunnies up we're going to break their spines. Don't get me wrong, it is definitely a possibility but not nowhere near as common as I thought it was. The first time I picked my bunny up was after my parents threatened to pick him up first and I didn't want that at all lol. Every bunny prefers to be picked up and carried differently. My 3.5 pound Holland Lop likes to be held with his head under my chin and his body going down my chest while my 4.5 pound Mini Rex likes to be held in the football hold because she feels much more secure.

Bunnies are never going to love being held. They're prey animals and feel safer on the ground. Some bunnies also have too much energy to be held and they'll start biting which isn't what you want at all because you could drop them.

Definitely make it a positive experience though. Talk to your bun and tell them they're safe. Don't hold them too long and always give a treat, even if it's just a pellet.