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briennap

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I've had my bun about 4 months and she got her nails clipped right when I got her and so this is the first time I've tried it alone, and it's terrible I'm so scared of hurting her. She's two years old and she was groomed when I got her so I know she's been through it before she just does not have it with me though...she's okay with the holding, my boyfriend holds her and I go to clip the nail but right as I press down and she hears the clippers she squirms and I don't want to keep cutting in case I cut the quik.
I know so many people have difficulty with this but I just couldn't handle it if I hurt her, she won't be tranced because she won't lay on her back she kicks too hard to be wrapped in a blanket I've literally tried everything. she fights so hard I'm worried she's going to hurt herself in the process of getting away. I've tried clipping my nails next to her ear so she's used to the sound but I'm out of options right now and need some help 😔
 
Don't worry. There is a position where you hold your buns front paws to clip while holing the back legs firmly. If you download "Rabbit Nut" then it has a few videos to help.
 
You could try taking your bun to the vets and have them do it this first time so you can see what to do. They will usually only charge around $10-15, but you'll want to ask what they charge first so you're not surprised by a large vet bill :)

You can also watch this how to video and see if this method might work for you.
http://rabbit.org/how-to-trim-your-rabbits-nails/

Imbrium just did a tutorial on how she picks up her rabbits and trims their nails, and I'm sure you can find lots of videos on you tube as well.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f40/what-point-do-you-stop-trying-pick-up-unruly-bunny-78317/
 
Imbrium just did a tutorial on how she picks up her rabbits and trims their nails, and I'm sure you can find lots of videos on you tube as well.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f40/what-point-do-you-stop-trying-pick-up-unruly-bunny-78317/

Specifically, my video and the couple posts where I gave some notes about it are here (buried in the middle of the thread)... but I do recommend skimming through the whole thread, as what works for some bunnies doesn't work for others and there's a lot of wonderful discussion in the thread with input and questions from a number of people. The video is 17 minutes long, but there's a guide in the post above it that gives time markers for what happens when so you can skip to the nail trimming parts.

she's okay with the holding, my boyfriend holds her and I go to clip the nail but right as I press down and she hears the clippers she squirms and I don't want to keep cutting in case I cut the quik.

I know so many people have difficulty with this but I just couldn't handle it if I hurt her, she won't be tranced because she won't lay on her back she kicks too hard to be wrapped in a blanket I've literally tried everything. she fights so hard I'm worried she's going to hurt herself in the process of getting away.

A couple of the tips from my video: if she has dark nails and you have trouble seeing the quick, have someone hold up a flashlight behind them (or if she's not on her back, set a flashlight on the floor to backlight them).
If you're having trouble seeing because of fur in the way, use a shallow bowl of water or a spray bottle (warm but not hot water is most comfortable for the bunny) and dampen her toes just enough to get the fur around her nails to lay down out of your way.

What clippers are you using that she squirms when she hears them? I use either bird clippers or a small pair of cat clippers; there's no noise except when I snip all the way through the nail. I apply slight pressure right before I snip; if the bunny squirms it typically means I'm too close to the quick (though sometimes Gazzles reacts even when I know I'm plenty far from it as her quicks are easy to see). I just move the clippers slightly further from the quick and then cut.

As for trancing, I strongly recommend against it since it can be stressful for rabbits - I hold mine on their backs, but don't trance. I don't like to use a blanket, as I feel it makes things more awkward and difficult - works for some people, but it's not right for everyone.

In the video, you can see how I hold and flip my bunnies to prevent them from kicking/struggling much (and how I respond when they do struggle to prevent them from hurting either of us). I forgot to include it in my notes, but around the 15 minute mark, I go back and show how I flip Gazzles in more detail. You also get to see her bite me and get disciplined for it :p.

Bunnies aren't as fragile as people tend to think - you HAVE to be firm with them when handling them for nail trims and such. They're more likely to hurt themselves than for you to hurt them; exerting firm but gentle control minimizes struggling and prevents them from kicking their hind legs full-force into the air while on their backs (which is where the risk of serious injury is). I flip my rabbits so swiftly they don't even know what happened until after it's over with; at that point, they tend to just comply (mostly).

The key to nail trimming, regardless of how you do it, is to be swift and confident. If you're nervous, your bunny will feel it and SHE will be nervous. It took me almost 9 minutes to do both bunnies' nails in the video because I was doing a lot of talking (and because I normally sit cross-legged on the floor to do trims rather than on the bed), but normally I can do both bunnies in < 5 minutes.
 
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Specifically, my video and the couple posts where I gave some notes about it are here (buried in the middle of the thread)... but I do recommend skimming through the whole thread, as what works for some bunnies doesn't work for others and there's a lot of wonderful discussion in the thread with input and questions from a number of people. The video is 17 minutes long, but there's a guide in the post above it that gives time markers for what happens when so you can skip to the nail trimming parts.



A couple of the tips from my video: if she has dark nails and you have trouble seeing the quick, have someone hold up a flashlight behind them (or if she's not on her back, set a flashlight on the floor to backlight them).
If you're having trouble seeing because of fur in the way, use a shallow bowl of water or a spray bottle (warm but not hot water is most comfortable for the bunny) and dampen her toes just enough to get the fur around her nails to lay down out of your way.

What clippers are you using that she squirms when she hears them? I use either bird clippers or a small pair of cat clippers; there's no noise except when I snip all the way through the nail. I apply slight pressure right before I snip; if the bunny squirms it typically means I'm too close to the quick (though sometimes Gazzles reacts even when I know I'm plenty far from it as her quicks are easy to see). I just move the clippers slightly further from the quick and then cut.

As for trancing, I strongly recommend against it since it can be stressful for rabbits - I hold mine on their backs, but don't trance. I don't like to use a blanket, as I feel it makes things more awkward and difficult - works for some people, but it's not right for everyone.

In the video, you can see how I hold and flip my bunnies to prevent them from kicking/struggling much (and how I respond when they do struggle to prevent them from hurting either of us). I forgot to include it in my notes, but around the 15 minute mark, I go back and show how I flip Gazzles in more detail. You also get to see her bite me and get disciplined for it :p.

Bunnies aren't as fragile as people tend to think - you HAVE to be firm with them when handling them for nail trims and such. They're more likely to hurt themselves than for you to hurt them; exerting firm but gentle control minimizes struggling and prevents them from kicking their hind legs full-force into the air while on their backs (which is where the risk of serious injury is). I flip my rabbits so swiftly they don't even know what happened until after it's over with; at that point, they tend to just comply (mostly).

The key to nail trimming, regardless of how you do it, is to be swift and confident. If you're nervous, your bunny will feel it and SHE will be nervous. It took me almost 9 minutes to do both bunnies' nails in the video because I was doing a lot of talking (and because I normally sit cross-legged on the floor to do trims rather than on the bed), but normally I can do both bunnies in < 5 minutes.


Thank you so much you've been so helpful! And I feel like I do act confident when I start but then She struggles so that's when I give up and start worrying about hurting her..but she need a to give in and get this done because they're getting long it's been about 8 weeks now. And luckily her nails are white so it is really easy to see it's just the second I clip down she freaks and starts squirming everywhere (I use the same kind of small cat clippers you probably use) in no way do I act forceful but I hold her firmly cover her face talk to her and pet her til she calms down but the second she feels the clippers she panics. And you said to clip further down which is what i did I was successful with one nail lol, but they still seem really long...even up to where the quik is seems really long I've seen other bunnies and you can't see there nails at all but hers are always visible and look longish...could it be because of her short hair?
 
Sometimes covering their face can make them freak out more easily.

If her nails are very long, you'll need to clip them more frequently and only trim off a small amount each time until they're back to normal. I actually addressed this in my video because my own rabbits' nails recently got too long (I slacked for 2-3 months ><) - the quick gets longer as the nail gets longer; each time you trim a little bit off the ends, the quick recedes slightly. By doing more frequent trims you gradually "train" the quick to go back to the proper length. Only then can you trim the nails back all the way.
 
I get my daughter to hold our rabbits against her chest like she normally would whilst walking around and snuggling them, ghen I gently lift one paw/foot at a time and trim the nails. They completely ignore me the whole time, even though it takes ages because of all the fur in the way (I'll try your trick with the warm water next time Ibrium! Thanks!) because they're too busy enjoying snuggoes and pats, so at no point do they need to be held down or flipped on their backs or wrestled with. Admittedly though they have always been super layed back bunnies when being held like that.
 

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