Picking up bunny

[KathyandChanelle]

Well, here I am again. My bunny is spayed (almost 2 months now), and she's really mellowed out. Doesn't even want out of her hutch sometimes. I'm still working on picking her up, but she's still struggling so much. I know not to pick her up by the scruff, but that's how she was raised by her prior family and she doesn't struggle. Should I start picking her up that way (but I'd feel so bad) or keep getting scratched while trying to pick her up? She struggles so hard. It's not even that I'm trying to snuggle with her constantly (although I'd love if she were receptive to it once in a while), but even to get her from point A to B means picking her up, so I don't want to give up. I have yet to try the towel wrap, since I don't want to scare her. Any ideas?

 

[Imbrium]

try these techniques and see if one works - sometimes it's just a matter of finding what the bunny is most comfortable with.

for both, start by standing over the bunny and sliding your non-dominant hand (so your left if you're right-handed) under the bunny's rib-cage (have the bunny facing away from you when you start)...

tactic 1: as *soon* as you start lifting the bunny and their hind feet come off the ground, get your other hand underneath their back feet. pull the bunny up to your chest and hold them snugly against your body - use one hand to control the front of the bunny; move the hand that was under their back feet to their side, with their back legs resting on your forearm/in the crook of your elbow. if you're doing it right and holding them tightly enough, they really can't get the leverage to do any serious scratching/kicking/struggling.

tactic 2: lift the bunny straight up into a "running with a football" type hold (I usually use my non-dominant arm for this so my other hand is free for whatever, but either one works) - by the time you're halfway back to a standing position, the bunny's butt should already be in your armpit, their back feet should be supported by the inside of your elbow so they can't kick and their torso should be supported by your forearm. I dunno that this would work on a really big rabbit, but it's perfect on 3-5 lb bunnies.

I find that with the first tactic, I'm standing most of the way back up before I really get them firmly in the holding/carrying position whereas with the second one, I've got them tucked up securely by the time they're a couple feet off the ground - I think that's probably why my girls seem to prefer it.

either way, the key is to have the bunny's back and front ends both supported and be applying gentle pressure to them from both sides so they feel secure and can't move their legs enough to put up a fight.

 

[KathyandChanelle]

Thank you for the thorough advice!! I will try it!

 

[KathyandChanelle]

So here I am, trying to figure out how to pick up my bunny because she struggles and even runs away from me when I pet her...then today, my daughter tells me that the bunny lets her pick her up. She showed me how she just leans down, supports her bottom and chest, and picks her up. No struggle. No nothing. Now here's the kicker... my daughter is 5 years old. What?!?! Why is my bunny so scare of me (even though I feed her, give her water and treats, try to pet her, etc) and so friendly towards my daughter? My daughter was handling her, petting her picking her up, moving her from one place to another like a doll, and Chanelle acted like she was just fine. Can anyone explain this behavior to me?

 

[JBun]

I think it's called 'kid magic'. It should seem that it would be the complete opposite, that a rabbit would stuggle more with a kid because if it scratches, the kid usually drops it to the ground, and the rabbit is free. I don't know. It could be that your daughter and rabbit are just the perfect match for each other and have formed a bond. It could also be that your daughter is smaller and closer to the ground, so it's not as scary as when we adults pick our bunnies up and haul them way up into the air to be held. It could also be that your bunny, like all of our bunnies, sees you as it's human slave and you are only allowed to do things that your little bun wants you to do, like feed, give treats, and nice nose rubs. I'm pretty sure that's how my bunnies see me, haha. Who knows what these silly bunnies are thinking, and why they behave the way they do

 

[Troller]

I think its because you might be a tad nervous and overthinking the process. I also struggled, actually still do, but emotionally it doesn't even register anymore. If I have to pick the rabbit up, well I have to, and do so. Now I'm not much better at the technical aspect of it and in some ways regressed a bit now that my Conan is bigger, but my rabbits don't sense any hesitation, only confidence, and they better let me pick them up on the first try or they'll have to suffer multiple attempts. I thinks your daughter as most kids do just do it and have no qualms about it. Just my opinion.

 

[Imbrium]

confidence definitely does help... as does the "low to the ground thing" (hence why I suggested the second tactic where you've got the rabbit fully supported and snuggled up to you before you lift it very far)

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Finally, they do react differently to different people. Bonnie, a dutch I found in the front yard just loved me and was really pesty but loved to be held, by me only. If Nancy came into the rabbit room while she was out, she'd screech and immediately would attack her legs. Only one of us thought it was funny. You just have to be consistent and keep working with your bunny. Not all like to be picked up, but they need to learn to tolerate it.

 

[KathyandChanelle]

You know, I think my being nervous or at least hesitant could be the issue. When I first got her, I picked her up perfectly fine. Somewhere along the line I think I might have gotten nervous (I can't remember if she jumped out of my arms or struggled or what), and she probably picks up on that. OK. Confidence. I will have confidence. I am glad, though, that she's so great with my daughter and my daughter with her. Maybe they do have a special bond

 

[Azerane]

I used to have trouble with my previous rabbit, so much so that one day I asked my mum to pick him up out of the hutch, she had him out in about 2 seconds, with no struggling A lot of it is about the rabbit remembering you being nervous and passing that energy on. After that I was more confident and firm (not hard) with my hold and had no problems. I also had a hard time with Bandit, but I think that was partly a fear of new people, he struggled every time I would pick him up/put him down. But I was persistant, held on, and never put him down until he stopped struggling and relaxed. He had to learn that struggling didn't mean I was going to let go. I pick Bandit up similar to how Imbrium first described, I use my left hand (I'm right handed, though you have to be able to do it both ways) and put one or two fingers around the front of his front legs/upper chest, I put two or three fingers under his chest (just behind his front legs) and I also put my thumb over the back of his neck/shoulders (without this he always hopped away). Only when I have my hand completely secured around the front do I go for the back end with my right hand, if I haven't got him secured at the front first, as soon as I touch his bum he jumps off. So I secure the front first, then I slide my hand under his bum (from the back, in between his back legs) and then pick him up from both ends. I don't put my hand under his hind feet, because then he tries to push off, so I have it between his back feet. Then as soon as I have him in the air, I twist his face around towards me and rest him on my chest.

 

[Imbrium]

You know, I think my being nervous or at least hesitant could be the issue. When I first got her, I picked her up perfectly fine.

if you used to be able to pick her up just fine then it's definitely a confidence issue. it's also possible that she's a little on edge about you, specifically, picking her up for the same reason that you're nervous - perhaps you two had a bad experience, like if she almost slipped out of your grasp and you had to rein her in mid-air? that could cause you to be paranoid about dropping her and her to be paranoid about the near-drop and then you two feed off of each others' nervous energy... and she's not forgetting about it because your nervous energy reinforces hers every time you go to pick her up.

just my 2c armchair psychologist thoughts... but perhaps for the next week or so, if you know you're about to go pick her up but have a spare moment first, you could do a really quick relaxation exercise. I doubt it would be enough to banish the nervous thoughts, but it *would* have a noticeable effect on your vitals (heart rate, breathing, etc.) and would probably relax your body language slightly... and those two things are presumably what's tipping her off that you're nervous. as you calm down, she'll hopefully calm down too and as you continue to have less stressful experiences when picking her up, your nervousness should begin to fade and the relaxation exercises would no longer be needed .

 

[Troller]

And about struggling rabbits, it's going to happen but don't let that be the end of it. I honk I posted earlier where my bun Conan struggles so much aI got to put him down to readjust and pick him right back up. It's getting so he's realizing that fighting it just makes me more tenacious. My other rabbit Xena was actually nipping my chest whip I was cradling her. Hurt like the dickens but I stayed firm and she gave up struggling. Don't give up or they get used to it and expect it.