Handling woes

I have two male rabbits, their six months old. The boys are outdoor buns.

I have tried from day one to take the gentle approch to letting them get to know me.

I can now hand feed them and they come running up to me for a nose rub every time i go out to them .

The problem is i can't stroke or lift them. My hand goes near their back or sides and their off (was trying the put my hand under their chest and lift the front legs approch then hand under their bottom). Last time i had to take Buster to the vet the hole process to lift and put him in the crate was so stressful for him. His little heart was racing. Brownie hates it too, he grunts and kicks like mad.

If someone can give me some advice on a way i can make this a bit less stressful for all of us. At the moment i avoid lifting them at all if i can. Do health checks at the side of the run with treats.

I usher mine into the carrier, a few treats inside normally helps!

We find the longer it takes to get them in, the worse they are, so on vet days, hubby goes in, and just grabs them to put them in (well tia, rupert just walks in). Its less stressful for them if you can tempt them in....

Rabbits dont like being picked up, they're a pray animal so in their mind, you're a fox or something picking them up for dinner you might find the more you try, the worse they become.... because they remember you trying so won't come near you any more i can't lift mine up but i don't mind cos i know they trust me and feel safe

We cannot pick up Boris at all - we don't even try anymore as it's just too stressful (and we don't own any chainmail )- we have to lure him into his carrier for the vets - and then it takes the vet and 2 nurses to control the little monster. It did take us ages to get him to the point where we can stroke him as we want - we started off by just stroking him when he was eating - being a bit occupied he didn't really notice and when he did, well - food took priority. Now however - he loves having his head stroked and purrs away in contentment - but it took alot of time and patience. The fact you can hand feed your buns and get nose nudges is great - big step in the right direction.

Buttons hates being touched; she loves to kick, wriggle, scratch completely different to Nibbles who is more than happy to be picked up and cuddled! Think you've just got to tempt them in really!

I had this problem with Crunchie when we first got her, found that if I left her pet carrier on on the floor with some hay in it, so she could get in at all times when playing and roaming, that when I picked it up and put it in front of her she would just wonder straight in!

I had this trouble with a bun and I would keep treats away from him and the only time he had them was in the carrier. In the end when he saw the carrier he would go inside hunting for his treats. Just make sure he only has the treats when he enters the carrier. Also I would just leave him in there with the carrier door open so that he knew he could get out whenever he wanted and he just never feared the carrier again. Some buns just don't like to be picked up..... they are pray animals so I guess the fear is always there. Some just trust more than others.

Thank you everyone.

Looks like my boys are not going to be the picky uppy and cuddley type. Which is fine with me. I love watch them free ranging in garden, digging and getting into all sorts of mischief. Normally with Buster in the lead and Brownie following behind.

Will work on getting them into the crate. Should be quite easy they'll go anywhere theres a treat or fresh hay

Are they neutered as that may help. Also boys quite often start fighting so be aware of that and are they brothers?

tonibun said:

Are they neutered as that may help. Also boys quite often start fighting so be aware of that and are they brothers?

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same questions here (though in my experience being siblings doesn't make any difference as to whether two buns will get on or not - some of my most loved up male couples were bonded as adults)

They are both Neutured got them sorted as soon as they dropped. I don't think they are brothers, Brownie is a loinhead and Buster a loinhead x rex. I got them from a pet shop our local rescue would not rehome to us due to my dd2's age (She's 7). They had been living together at the shop for a while.

We have a spare small hutch incase fighting breaks out (got it after reading its rare to bond males and paniced). I haven't seen any humping in a while more grooming with my two. They also flop out next to each other. Think pinky and the brain thats my two, Busters the brains of the outfit and Brownie just follows :lol:.