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Picking your bunny up?

KB26

Young Bun
Just out of interest - can many of you pick your bunnies up for a cuddle? My wee boy doesn't like being picked up but he's happy to come and sit beside me / on my feet / on my lap...or chew anything I'm wearing at the time! :lol:

If I do pick him up he struggles so I'm scared it'll hurt him :( He is still young - and he's not been neutered yet. Maybe that will make a difference...?
 
Just out of interest - can many of you pick your bunnies up for a cuddle? My wee boy doesn't like being picked up but he's happy to come and sit beside me / on my feet / on my lap...or chew anything I'm wearing at the time! :lol:

If I do pick him up he struggles so I'm scared it'll hurt him :( He is still young - and he's not been neutered yet. Maybe that will make a difference...?

No. Neither of mine like to be picked up and restrained in any way and they're both neutered. I'm sooooo jealous of folks on here with cuddly bunnies, but I think the vast majority of bunnies like to have their feet firmly on the ground. I'm not sure if handling them more makes it any better. You might just have to enjoy him on his own terms!!
 
Mine will only be picked up at the vets, where they behave impeccably.

In their run they will not be picked up, but are happy to trample all over me....
 
No, none of mine LIKE to be picked up. Kenco is probably the easiest, Starbuck and Fay will tolerate it but still try to run off if they can.

With Twinkle and Star it really stresses them, so I try to avoid it as much as I can. They dont even really like to be stroked.
 
out of all my buns only one is a snuggle bun, the rest much prefere ground level fuss


buns really are not ment to be picked up, instinct is mr fox carrying me away to eat

you just have to be a little patient, you may be able to handle better later you may not, buns sense fear, so if you are not confident your bun will know
 
Harvey, Castiel and Lucy seem to enjoy cuddles, and Ruby quite enjoys them as well, but I do avoid constantly picking them up, I prefer coming down to them and giving them strokes and nose-rubs :) dangling from somebody's arms must be scary when you're a prey animal!
 
im so glad im not the only one with this problem!

how are you meant to pick them up? normally i try to pick my bunnies up by grabbing them round the middle and scooping them into my arms
 
I think I've got the knack of holding him securely enough so he feels safe(ish) but as soon as he senses that I leaning down to put him back on the ground he'll make his mad bid for freedom...! And if I try to pick him and and miss first time that's game over - once he knows I'm trying to pick him up he'll run circles round me. I think he enjoys it...he runs up to me and sniffs/nuzzles then binkies away from me...cheeky wee blighter :lol:

Don't mind if I never really get to cuddle him properly because he's very affectionate in other ways...but I still am slightly jealous of hearing about bunnies that relish being picked up! :oops:
 
My experience with Smudge.

My rabbit Smudge was 12 weeks old when i got him and although he had been handled from birth he was still not used to being held my people. However having him from a young age enabled me to get him used to sitting on my lap, every day i would bring him in and sit him on my lap in the kitchen (and i still do this often more than once a day). Being on a higher chair also stopped him from jumping down, im lucky that he loves being stroked and will sit on my lap (on his terms) when he nips me or moves about i put him down i dont force him to be stroked. What i found was good was having him on my chest.... holding him bum and putting all his feet on my chest, now he is fine and lets me hold him and walk around easily if i need to take him into my room.

I do think it depends on a rabbits 'personality' they are all different and i have noticed a change since i got him 'done' he doesn't nip/ bite me very often at all now.

I would say get him on your lap and stroke him on the nose rabbits seem to like that i think, if it doesn't work you can always sit next to him and stroke him. Persevere and hopefully it will work, it takes a while but worth it in the end if your rabbit is comfortable with being held.

Good luck :wave:
 
im so glad im not the only one with this problem!

how are you meant to pick them up? normally i try to pick my bunnies up by grabbing them round the middle and scooping them into my arms

I've found that Chesney seems more secure when I put one hand on his chest and the other under his bum, so he is almost slight reclined...NOT under his feet though. My God I made that mistake when we first got him and he struggled to get away and tore my (bare) forearms to ribbons! :shock:
 
My rabbit Smudge was 12 weeks old when i got him and although he had been handled from birth he was still not used to being held my people. However having him from a young age enabled me to get him used to sitting on my lap, every day i would bring him in and sit him on my lap in the kitchen (and i still do this often more than once a day). Being on a higher chair also stopped him from jumping down, im lucky that he loves being stroked and will sit on my lap (on his terms) when he nips me or moves about i put him down i dont force him to be stroked. What i found was good was having him on my chest.... holding him bum and putting all his feet on my chest, now he is fine and lets me hold him and walk around easily if i need to take him into my room.

I do think it depends on a rabbits 'personality' they are all different and i have noticed a change since i got him 'done' he doesn't nip/ bite me very often at all now.

I would say get him on your lap and stroke him on the nose rabbits seem to like that i think, if it doesn't work you can always sit next to him and stroke him. Persevere and hopefully it will work, it takes a while but worth it in the end if your rabbit is comfortable with being held.

Good luck :wave:

Thank you :D I'll just keep it on his terms for just now and see how we get on
 
Spenser HATES being picked up. :evil: For the last month he's been travelling from hutch to run by carrier as my right arm is in plaster and my parents can't lift him. Not ideal, but I didn't MEAN to trip over a step when I was rushing to get him a treat. :roll::roll: I rehomed him at 7 months, and I suspect he might not have been handled much in his earlier months (previous owner had poor health). This thread is making me feel better, thanks! :wave:
 
i pick them up for bum checks whether they like it or not, and as i have them there, i cuddle them. tabby snuggled down for a forty five minute session, snuggling in on my chest while i gently pulled out her loose hair. matthew then had about twenty minutes but was keen to be off. his moult is more or less finished so he's not in so much need of the hairdresser...
 
My bun hates being picked up. Happy to sit next to me but if I try and pick him up he's off in a flash :lol:
 
Mine doesn't seem to mind being picked up if you pick her up from the hutch or off the sofa. But the moment she's had a taste of freedom, then she'll get mad if you pick her up unless she's ready
 
I've had my two since they were 8 weeks old (they're now 20 weeks) and both decided when they were around 12 weeks that they HATED being picked up! I sit with them in the run and they'll come over and 'investigate' me but if I try and pick them up they're off like a shot!

Soooo I've started bringing them in the house for some 'bonding' time so that they get to know me and realise I'm not going to hurt them..... hopefully over time this will do the trick!

I do pick them up for bum checks and they wriggle like mad so I get it over and done with asap and give them a treat afterwards.

They seem to prefer it if I pick them up using a towel, maybe they feel a bit more secure that way ..... only thing is now, whenever they see me with a towel in my hand they run a mile ....... even if I was just planning on towel-drying them!
 
Mango can be picked up, he's not madly in love with it but he will let you. After a while he tends to get nervous and he wants down. Maia is harder to catch but once immobilized she won't fight, strangely I may add because she's got a real bad temper! She prefers to climb over me and does so with confidence. I think she doesn't like human hands because she had to me medicated and force fed in the past.
 
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