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Do bunnies like being on their back?

I think it depends on your bun! Sugar used to sit and then flip when you didnt expect it although shes calmed down a bit now and seems to dose while she is on her back. depends on their mood i sopose!
 
Honey does not mind at all, and no-one has managed to flip harley for more than a couple of seconds, even the vet had trouble.
 
Generally I'd say no if they are being picked up and held like it - it's a very unnatural posture and most likely to remind a bun that it is being picked up and carried off to be eaten. If they flip themselves over onto their back while lying relaxed, that is a different matter and shows they feel content and safe.

Flipping most buns over onto their backs makes them freeze and is called 'trancing' and is generally (although not universally) considered to be extremely stressful to rabbits. Because they freeze, people assume that they are relaxed, but the general theory is that it's an instinctive response to being held by a predator and is therefore very stressful. Personally I wouldn't turn a bun onto its back apart from out of necessity for health checks (and then I would hold the bun not trance him or her), but I would be happy if my buns felt secure enough to throw themselves onto their backs to sleep.
 
The reason bunnies "relax" when they're flipped onto their back is a survival technique called trancing. Basically they're playing dead, so they look relaxed but are actually stressed. You should only do it when you need to, e.g. checking bums etc.

edited to add: I posted at the same time as Alison!! Hers is a much better explanation. :)

AMETHYST
 
i always have to put Crystal on her back when clipping her nails because when i put her on her bun to clip them she kicks her legs :? so i agree with everyone else only needs done if necessary :)
 
I do it to check Charlie's claws but he is babied and honestly doesn't mind, if I rub his nose he toothy purrs :lol: I wouldn't try and do it to Jet though
 
Well this explains a lot! Cookie only lets us carry her a couple ways, one being when she is held like a baby(on her back, curled up)--we thought she loved it, she was so good! Yesterday when I clipped her nails, I held her in that position and she never once struggled while I got all of them done! She was turning her head this way and that gently like she was watching the kids playing on the porch nearby and didn't seem stressed but just calm and not struggling like she usually does when I'm half done. It was nice to get them all done at once and so quicky! When she was done she went right to eating the greens we had given her to eat while getting clipped but ignored until turned upright again. Cookie also lets us carry her around when she has her head tucked under our elbow when she is resting on our arms.
 
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