Jumping Out of Arms

[nicolekline97]

My rabbit is quite large and strong. I would say she is approximately 13lbs. The last 2 days when I have had her in my arms she has jumped out of my arms. Most of the time when I pick her up it is to take her in or out of a place not carrying her around. If I have to carry her more than 30 seconds or a minute she gets her legs moving, may nip at me etc. Most of the time it has been fine and I can get down quickly before she jumps but I can tell she is getting stronger. I do not want her to break a leg or have a fracture. I am trying to think of a better way to transport her around so she is safer. She spends most of her time in 4 spots...her crate, her exercise pen, under the couch and on the deck. It is when she is under the couch that I might need to bring her back to her crate to eat, drink or go to the bathroom if it has been to long. Some of the times she gets out from the couch and runs around. I do not mind too much but she eventually needs to be taken to her crate. I had wanted her to be a free roaming rabbit but she has chewed up a door. I suppose we could just not have her take her nap under the couch. Any ideas?

 

[Remy The Rabbit]

Remy is very similar to your rabbit! After 10 seconds of holding him he will squirm and thrash around until he's on the floor. He once tried to crawl on my shoulder and jump off. Some rabbits just don't like to be held in my experience. I don't pick him up anymore, just because it scares him, but if I need to transport him I use an old cat carrier and just gently push him into it, way easier if I need to bring him to my room or something. If she's chewing up the door, you could always look into bunny proofing. The cat carrier may be a bit of a hassle if she doesn't want to go in, but just place a treat in there. There may be some other ways, that's just what I suggest since she won't be too upset with a floor under her feet

@Mariam+Theo had some great advice earlier today on bunny proofing, you could even make a foul smelling spray for the door:

"One way is to get an untreated pine 1x3 from Lowe's or Home Depot and tack it up with small tack nails over the baseboard, or just remove the baseboard and put the 1x3 in its place. Check out this link to see how it is done: Bunny Proofing. You could also use packaging tape and put it on the 'chosen' spots of the baseboards. Another option is to make a nasty spray. The only reason why I wouldn't do the spray is that the taste will wear off. I actually made some nasty spray today out of water, alcohol, lime, and distilled white vinegar."

That was for baseboards though, you can look up 'Bunny proofing for doors' if you want to check it out!

Bunny proofing will allow her to become free roam, there are tons of different appliances and methods you can use, just personal preference.

Others probably will have different ways of transport, that's just what I do sometimes since Remy will flip out if he's above the ground for too long, he's fine with the cat carrier.

Good luck and best wishes!
Remy The Rabbit <3

 

[Lucas the Bun 💕🐇]

I found that I can expend the time my bun lets me hold her by putting my face next to hers ( but that’s just my bun)
here’s a cute way to bunny proof base boards
https://rabbitrescuesanctuary.blogspot.com/2020/07/how-to-protect-your-skirting-boards.html

 

[Lucas the Bun 💕🐇]

Extend
I’m horrible at spelling

 

[Hermelin]

Myself have never had problems picking up my bunnies. Some tolerate and others love being picked up and won’t care.

When I know my bunnies start to show discomfort or seem to want to jump, I’ll just distract them with treats.

You can teach your bunny to run to the crate, it will be easier than picking up or just give the command jumping into a carrier. I’m a lazy person, so I have taught my bunnies a word when to jump into the cage or carrier or come when I call for them or cuddles.

I know when I had my french lop you couldn’t really carry her as comfortable you can do with smaller breeds. She was scared being picked up and could struggle. Later after a bit of coaxing (treats), finding what she was comfortable with and earing her trust, she would jump into my arms and press her head to my cheek. I just needed to re-adjust my arms correctly and I could pick her up calmly, while giving her kisses and cuddles.

Worse bunny was Toste and I still need to read his bunny signals and see if he will accept me to pick him up. He will tell when he don’t want to be picked up and want to be alone. So it’s easier to have word that tells him when to go to the hutch or when being called. Ignoring the signals and he will attack me

 

[Blue eyes]

Is the crate and the pen area the same? (Ie. is the crate inside the pen area?) It sounds like you may just need to find a way to coax her into her pen/crate area. Does she have access back to the pen/crate (and litter box) when she's under the couch?

Some have trained their rabbits to follow voice commands to "go home." I just used food. One can use a favorite green or a little treat to coax them in. With consistency, she'll learn that she gets a reward when she goes in.

 

[Niomi]

I do pet therapy and I put my rabbit in a cat bed and pick up the rabbit, bed and all. A rabbit feels more secure with something under them and you won't get scratched. It also helps to keep the shedding hair off of you. When someone wants to hold one of my rabbits, I put the rabbit in their lap with the bed under the rabbit. Just a suggestion you could try.