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How do I wash a bunny that HATES to be handled?

My bunny hates to be picked up so much, we've tried to many times but she always bites, scratches and kicks so hard that I have to put her down, to prevent injury to me or her. I noticed that she was a bit dirty around her bum and im not sure how im suppost to wash her without causing her loads of stress and possible injury? Any suggestions would be helpful ;)
 
towel over bun, pick up, wrap towel round firmly, get bun in good position for trimming (i prefer trimming to washing though i did have to wash tabby's underneath once) and move relevant bit of towel aside. i think there's a vid on youtube.
 
how dirty is dirty? I wouldn't wash mine if it was only a little bit of poo/wee, I'd either leave it or clip it. This weather is far too cold to wash in if you ask me. But I also reccomend the towel method and having someone to help you
 
Why do you need to wash her? If it's a case that she's ill, fair enough. However, I think a lot of people wash their rabbits because their diet causes them to have tummy troubles. If your bun isn't on 80% or more hay, with a small amount of pellets and fresh leafy greens/herbs, this is likely the cause for the tummy problems that mean you 'need' to wash her. Lots of people they can't feed sugary veg (carrots, parsnips) or fruit at all. They shouldn't be having more than an inch of it per day anyway.

If bunnies diet isn't as above, give that a try. If it's pretty good already, try cutting out all fresh veg/fruit out for a couple of weeks and see if it improves. Some people can't feed their rabbit anything but hay and pellets or it sets them off.

It's better to fix the problem :thumb:
 
Why do you need to wash her? If it's a case that she's ill, fair enough. However, I think a lot of people wash their rabbits because their diet causes them to have tummy troubles. If your bun isn't on 80% or more hay, with a small amount of pellets and fresh leafy greens/herbs, this is likely the cause for the tummy problems that mean you 'need' to wash her. Lots of people they can't feed sugary veg (carrots, parsnips) or fruit at all. They shouldn't be having more than an inch of it per day anyway.

If bunnies diet isn't as above, give that a try. If it's pretty good already, try cutting out all fresh veg/fruit out for a couple of weeks and see if it improves. Some people can't feed their rabbit anything but hay and pellets or it sets them off.

It's better to fix the problem :thumb:

:thumb:
 
Thanks Everyone :thumb:
I'm not exactly sure why she has mess on herself (I think its because she digs all her hay and sawdust a lot)... she just flopped over yesterday night and I saw that she had quite a bit of pee, poop and a little hay stuck to most of her bottom and tummy. I haven't really noticed it like this before and I wanted to wash her to get it all off incase it made her fur go all messy and tangled because it is quite hard to get to her belly. I will get my mum to help me with the towel method tomorrow :thumb: Thanks guys!
 
Try trim her to start with, then wet cotton wool, save washing as a very last resort because rabbits take a ridiculous ammount of time to dry

I think the towel method on youtube is called 'bunny burito'
 
yes try and leave washing until a last resort :) trimming (with baby nail scissors if you can) and brushing would be my first move, then dampening with a cotton wool ball and more brushing etc etc
 
Thanks Everyone :thumb:
I'm not exactly sure why she has mess on herself (I think its because she digs all her hay and sawdust a lot)... she just flopped over yesterday night and I saw that she had quite a bit of pee, poop and a little hay stuck to most of her bottom and tummy. I haven't really noticed it like this before and I wanted to wash her to get it all off incase it made her fur go all messy and tangled because it is quite hard to get to her belly. I will get my mum to help me with the towel method tomorrow :thumb: Thanks guys!

Ah it's good that she's not been having diarrhoea, I was worried that might be the cause. Lops and longer haired bunnies can end up with longer strands which can mat easily between the legs, it is a pain! Sawdust is really a pain for getting stuck, I'd definitely try switching for another substrate such as carefresh (which is great but expensive) or megazorb (originally a horse bedding, but exactly the same as carefresh just smaller bits). You can get great big sacks here http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/megazorb.html which fill a standard large dustbin and last ages, and come to about £13-14 with postage. I use megazorb and it's great, and impossible to get stuck to fur :wave:

EDIT: For now I'd just try cutting away what you can. Be careful of their genitals as they can protrude. Just take a bit off and see what it's like the next day, and perhaps wipe with baby wipes rather than bathing. It's really not good for bunnies to get wet as they can't dry out very well because of their thick layers of fur, especially in this cold weather - they can easily die of hypothermia. The fur can feel dry but be soaked underneath, unfortunately.
 
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