Handling rabbits

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suze81

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Hi I've not had rabbits before and after doing my research I have two rabbits. We have had them a week now and have been letting them come to us. The worry I have is that we still haven't picked them up. They are 9 weeks and I'm worried they won't be used to being handled.
How long does it take for rabbits to get to know you?
I know I should groom them and check their health weekly but how do you do this when they run away so much?
Thanks
 
They are still very young and -- contrary to popular belief -- early handling does not make a rabbit easier to handle when older. They will each have their own tolerance of handling that probably won't be seen until after hormones kick in and they become adults. Some young rabbits will have a drastic change in their personality with the onset of hormones.

Here is a quote from Rabbits USA magazine:
Founder of Bunny Bunch rescue, Caroline Charland, states, "People often think a rabbit must be held a lot as a baby in order to like being held as an adult.I don't find this true at all. Over the years, the Bunny Bunch rescue I founded has saved many mother and baby rabbits from shelters. All the babies were treated the same. When they became adults their personalities varied-- some liked to be held, some hated to be held and some tolerated being held.

On a similar note, the two that you have may appear to be bonded, but baby bonds don't count. If you are housing these two together, there could come a time (again with the onset of hormones -- the age at which that comes can vary as can the extent of the effect of those hormones) when the two rabbits begin to have scuffles or even fights. Such fights can turn quite serious. So it is usually advised to separate hormonal rabbits if/when they begin to show signs of not getting along. Once neutered and healed, they can be re-introduced and possibly bonded (if the rabbits are willing).
 
In some respects I disagree with the part about early handling. Yes, each rabbit has a personality and temperament, but you can get it more use to being handled when you start them young. We’ve had many litters and many rabbits over the years that we raised and showed them. In general, the more we handled them the more accepting/tolerant they were of it.

We bought a pair of rabbits from another breeder once and whenever we opened the cage door they ran to the door. We found out that the breeder had made it a point everyday, from the time they were young, to scratch their heads. We realized they were expecting us to do the same thing, by coming to the front for their scratch.
 

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