How do you "bum check" etc if hard to handle

We adopted Chewie in April (I think, my brain is confuddled right now) of 2011. He was handed into Elaine at the Tameside Rabbit & Guinea Pig Rescue in Nov 2010 (I think), where I believe he was found abandoned with his brother. He was named Cheeky while he was with Elaine

Chewie was a scared little thing from the moment we saw him. In fact we were close to choosing another rabbit who was more perky and interested in us, but something about Chewie made us want to bring him home. He'd already been there a while, and I guess no one wants to adopt the scared little bunny who you can't handle!! So we thought we could give him the good life he deserves with our girl bun Smudge.

While he now has a very good life with his new wifeybun, he is STILL wary of us humans to this day :-( Over a year later!

I really can't figure him out. He will happily take food from us, climb on us and let us stroke him (sometimes, and on his terms), and you start to feel like you are bonding with this little cute bunlet... but oh my goodness, if you try to pick him up you may as well have unleashed a little monster. He struggles, and he is a STRONG little monkey too.

I try to pick him up in a firm but gentle way, with what I call the "scoop and hold tight" manoeuvre while close to him on the ground, because I don't want him to hurt himself. It's impossible to do it slowly and gently as he will have run off by then - I think he senses the picking up is coming.

It's not the same as with Smudge, who simply dislikes it and will put up with it. Chewie actively hates being picked up, and it seems that he is SCARED, whereas Smudge is just a bit miffed.

So the original question: with a bun like this how can you possibly get to a point where you can do bum checks and other various health related things like clipping nails?

I hate having to pick him up because I know it frightens him so much. Is there another technique I could use that wouldn't scare him? I know that doing it slowly would be better but he is just too suspicious of being touched around his body area.

ETA: Thought it might be interesting to mention that sometimes when you try to stroke Chewie and he's not in the mood for it he actually does a little "head flick" or "mini binky" away from you, which makes me think he's just playing... so I don't think he HATES us :lol: just has this fear of being picked up.

Poppy also hates being picked up but needs help cleaning her bum sometimes. Obviously when we clean her up she needs to be picked up but when we check we just kind of get her front half, then lift her up that way and quickly have a look or when she's flopped I'll have a look by lifting her leg up quickly :lol:

I do it once a week when giving them their pellets, as soon as he tucks in I just get him, quickly turn him enough to check and put him back down, it takes all of 5 seconds but the looks he then gives me last me all day:lol:

Aly&Poppy<3 said:

we just kind of get her front half, then lift her up that way and quickly have a look or when she's flopped I'll have a look by lifting her leg up quickly :lol:

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madcatwoman said:

I just get him, quickly turn him enough to check and put him back down, it takes all of 5 seconds but the looks he then gives me last me all day:lol:

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Thanks for your suggestions both of you! :wave: Unfortunately there is no way we could do those things with Chewie as he very jumpy if you try to touch his tummy/back area, and simply hops off if you try any of that. I think he assumes he is going to get picked up

I lure mine in to a carrier and take them somewhere strange where they'll feel safer staying with me than leaping in to the unknown, then try and feed them treats while I do what I need to. Eli is impossible to pick up from the ground but this works really well for him.

For bum checks you could try holding a treat up in the air so they have to stretch up to get it, and then get down low to have a look.

BattleKat said:

I lure mine in to a carrier and take them somewhere strange where they'll feel safer staying with me than leaping in to the unknown, then try and feed them treats while I do what I need to. Eli is impossible to pick up from the ground but this works really well for him.

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Ooh that's not a bad idea... it's semi-easy to lure him into the carrier, although we do get a whine and a stamp as he goes in :lol: but then we could take him into the bathroom to do stuff like nails, etc. as he might think he's at the vet (where he's docile as anything lol).

Frankie is like this. I have to wait till she's flopped and demanding a nose rub (she ducks her head as she's looking at me, as if to say, come on then!) then while I'm stroking her head I have to carefully look around her tail end. Usually takes a few goes before I'm able to see all round, but it's the only method that works for us.

She actually has to be treated on the floor at the vets now! I even have to take her in for nail clipping as I just can't do it at home. She's a tiny delicate little bunny, and impossible to hold. She soon got wise to jumping out of my arms at the vets, when previously just being there would have been enough to be held. The only time she let anyone hold her was when she had bloat a few months ago. We knew she was in serious trouble then as it was so out of character.

My boy, Peter was like that, I could barely hold him, though at the rescue I saw him get his nails done, so I know he can keep still.

I just made sure that I had to pick him up when he was to go into the garden from his hutch. I'd hold him until he stopped trying to escape, because he was terrified, and I wanted him to know, he won't get hurt, then I would put him down and talk to him, I did this every day, and he learnt not to struggle and although he still hates being picked up, he will sit quietly when I have him. He is a dutch though, so pretty small.

I can't remember how I got him to stop struggling before I picked him up. I think I just pinned him gently and had him between my legs so he couldn't hurt himself, but was still on the floor, but I can't remember. I managed to get the same response from both my rabbits, where once they give up running from me and/or I catch them, they stay stock still and small, except Peter will still run if I let go of touching his shoulders. But I can't remember how I did it.

Not sure if it'll help you, since your rabbit sounds bigger.

I can't do it, something about a bunny's bum really doesn't sit right with me :lol: so i can't answer but my mum could lmao

I give them something yummy to occupy them, then lift their tail up and have a good look! :wave:

BattleKat said:

I lure mine in to a carrier and take them somewhere strange where they'll feel safer staying with me than leaping in to the unknown, then try and feed them treats while I do what I need to. Eli is impossible to pick up from the ground but this works really well for him.

For bum checks you could try holding a treat up in the air so they have to stretch up to get it, and then get down low to have a look.

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This is a great idea BattleKat, thinking back to vets visits this is the only time my rabbit ever willingly climbs into my arms! Other than that she won't allow me to touch her and picking her up is virtually out of the question.

I'm going to try this next time I need to check her.

Mirth said:

I think I just pinned him gently and had him between my legs so he couldn't hurt himself, but was still on the floor, but I can't remember. I managed to get the same response from both my rabbits, where once they give up running from me and/or I catch them, they stay stock still and small, except Peter will still run if I let go of touching his shoulders. But I can't remember how I did it.

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This is interesting, I've actually done this once with Chewie! I put my hands on his shoulders and boy did he wriggle about, but I held him down gently yet firmly, and kinda in between my legs (but not squashing him LOL) and eventually he just sat still.

Then I let him go off and munch some hay, and when I went to stroke him he didn't run away!! It was almost as if the earlier little episode made him think "oh, it's not that bad", but I think it may take A LOT of those episodes to get him completely comfortable with it.