The dangers of "trancing" Please read.

OK so I was attending the monthly class given by Chris Norland who is a very respected women in our local house bunny community. She is a registered nurse (humans) and an excellent bunny specialist her in Washington. OK so during her class she told a story about the dangers of trancing your rabbit. She explained that laying a bun flat on its back to "trance" it is actually the top level of "fear stage" for your bunny. Predators will throw a bun on its back and that bunny will just give up or "trance". Her example was a very recent story about a three year old buck who was "tranced" by a groomer who was not rabbit savvy. The perfectly healthy bunny who had been given regular vet care and good treatment went into cardiac arrest and died in the groomers arms. This happened from the sheer fear level of being put on his flat back or "tranced"...Please do not try to trance your bun or let anyone else try. Spread the word and thanks for reading. :thanks:

I'm guessing there are varying opinions on this. It's not the best idea to take a rabbit who has been handled very little and force it onto its back. However, I work with my rabbits from a very young age to be comfortable with handling in any position, including their backs. This is very common among those who raise rabbits and beneficial for grooming, health checks and showing, where the judge turns them over for the health check purposes. From my experience, there is no indication that this position causes more stress than an upright position. Their heart rate doesn't change and the rabbits don't seem distressed. After all, it's "old news" if they're handled on a regular basis.

I do have to wonder what, exactly, the groomer was doing to "trance" the bunny... and I'd bet anything the fact that it was being done by a total stranger in a completely foreign location was a major contributing factor. (also, there could've been a preexisting, undiagnosed heart issue - for example, like poor little bunny Foo had, which caused her to go into cardiac arrest during a routine spay surgery )

I don't actually do the specific "trancing" process, but I do flip my girls over onto their backs routinely to trim nails and/or do "bootie checks" (flystrike paranoia, plus it's just generally a good idea to check their bums every now and then for signs of potential health issues). Nala takes it like a champ... Gazzles used to, but at some point she started to get stressed out by it - I can tell she's less than thrilled by her mild to moderate increase in heart rate and change in breathing; however, some nose rubs from mommy and a craisin or two really help calm her back down.

I was reading about "trancing" as well and wondered if there was a difference between it and just flipping a rabbit. Especially once I found this site and seen so many people who did it. Franklin could care less if I flip him. Kai just hates being handled period and shya stresses a bit but gets over it.

In my mind, the difference is between tolerating a "flip" and relaxing into the position. When I initially flip a rabbit over for grooming purposes, they tolerate it just fine but aren't willingly flopping backwards. When I'm grooming or clipping nails, most of them reach a point where their body relaxes a bit more and their head falls back a little softer. It actually seems like they fall asleep...similar to when a horse is standing in cross-ties and dozes off during grooming. That's what I would consider a "trance."

The one thing you do have to be mindful of is ensuring that the rabbits are secure in this position. I have seen people trance rabbits just for kicks, remove their hands from the rabbit, and just leave it laying on the table as they back away. This is NOT a good idea. At some point, the rabbit will "wake up" and try to turn upright. That immediate action could cause injury to the neck or spine if the rabbit is not supported. Anytime I'm working with a rabbit on its back, the rabbit is firmly supported either between my legs or with both hands so that I can safely place them back upright when I'm done.

OakRidgeRabbits said:

The one thing you do have to be mindful of is ensuring that the rabbits are secure in this position. I have seen people trance rabbits just for kicks, remove their hands from the rabbit, and just leave it laying on the table as they back away. This is NOT a good idea. At some point, the rabbit will "wake up" and try to turn upright. That immediate action could cause injury to the neck or spine if the rabbit is not supported. Anytime I'm working with a rabbit on its back, the rabbit is firmly supported either between my legs or with both hands so that I can safely place them back upright when I'm done.

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that really is SO important - if a rabbit's on its back and kicks their back legs into the air hard enough, they can suffer an extremely serious spinal injury as a result.

When Chris clips my girls nails, does scent glands and teeth she holds them in a position were they are on there butt. Here is a photo of her using the correct and safe hold on a mini rex at the humane society.

I hold my girls a little more in the crook of my elbow, but the position is pretty similar (and iirc it kinda slips more into the position in the picture when I go to do front paws)

My Snowball's favorite relaxing position is upside down in the crook of my arm like a baby.

Nikki, our avatar, will sleep on her back all on her own. I never flip any of ours all the way on their back but, instead keep some weight on the posterior so they don't struggle.