Nail Clipping?

[Aushi]

So my buns are getting looong nails and they hurt whenever they wanna get on me and cuddle. Whenever I pick them up though, they do not stay still... how do I cut their nails? :?

 

[Bville]

Here's a link to a video that helped me learn to trim my rabbit's nails. I have only done it by myself a couple of times, but I think it will get easier with more practice. In the past I held my rabbit facing away from me and my daughter trimmed the nails. That works too, but my helper quit on me!

http://rabbit.org/how-to-trim-your-rabbits-nails/

 

[bunnyornot]

I'm glad you asked because I haven't had to cut my bunny's nails yet. she's still less than a year old and we're just now noticing her nails hurting when she jumps on us. I was thinking of letting the vet do it.

how often do rabbits nails need cut generally?

 

[Aushi]

I'm not an expert on this but the rule of thumb back at the vet office I used to work at was as often as necessary. It doesn't necessarily have a specific time frame (though usually they'd say once a month) but more like when it starts to scratch ya.

I just wish I had more bun experience xD But people here don't tend to own bunnies so I literally never saw one at the office. In fact, I've never seen an adult rabbit in person, ever!

 

[jcottonl02]

It completely depends- if you can get someone to hold the rabbit for you then it will be a lot easier.
I myself have a very placid old bunny who doesn't care what you do so I just pick up each foot and clip the nails.
In the past however having to deal with more nervous, wriggly bunnies I would sit cross legged on the floor. Face bunny away from you and lean bunny back into your stomach as far as the bunny is comfortable (some hate being on their back, quite understandably). Use your arm around the bun to secure him. The little paws will be accessible and clip clip.
Having said this, though, I trim nails all day every day so I am experienced in trimming nails so find this easy to do by myself, but depending on how confident you are will affect how easily and quickly you get them done.
Remember they have a quick (vein that feeds the nails) running through a certain portion of the nail. White nails are easy as you can see the pinky coloured vein in the nail- clip a few millimetres after the quick stops to cushion the quick. Black nails can be a little more tricky- shining a light underneath them can sometimes help.
Make sure you are always cutting in a downwards motion, not side to side as this can pinch the nail, causing discomfort and the bun to pull away from you.

Your best bet is probably getting a friend to hold bunny until you get more confidence to do it all yourself, which can take some practice!

Happy clipping

Jen

 

[Sweetie]

If your bunny's nails are black, shine a flashlight on their nail, flashlight shining towards you. Meaning bunny between you and the flashlight. You can see the quik and you just put your fingernail at the end of it, so you don't clip it and cut the nail. I do this with Sweetie as she has dark nails and I usually don't see the quik.

 

[bunnyornot]

Thank you both for the input. I still haven't tried mine. I'm nervous because I know she won't like being made to hold still. she's not a nervous bunny but we let her roam around and she likes to jump on laps and be pet but we really don't hold her we just let her choose what she does so I may practice holding her still first. I know it's not the end of the world but I don't want to clip too far in to her nails and hurt her. I still may let the vet do it at least the first time.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I had the Vet Tech show me how to do them, and, my son is the holder and I'm the clipper.