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Do you pick up your rabbits?

Oh no I didn't know how damaging that could be. When you say snuffles do you mean Pasteurella? Is it just that the change in temp causes their immune systems to be suppressed and lets it colonise?

I bring them inside because I like having them hopping around but I don't have the facilities for house rabbits. I guess I'll have to play with them in their run from now on.

Thanks for all the picking up replies xxxx
 
I pick Tinkerbell up because I have too, she doesnt overly enjoy it, I never pick up my frenchie Teddy, he hates it and is such a big powerful rabbit i don't argue with him!!! Joey by black bun is a real snuggly bunny, he loves being picked up and cuddled, he's the only one i've had from a kit though and that i handled from the start :love:
 
Ellie hated being picked up so I only picked her up when I needed to. Fiver on the other hand is perfectly happy to be picked up, but only with people he knows. Freaks out if someone he doesn't know picks him up, which I don't mind. Fiver frequently asks to be picked up and if he's scared he jumps at me to be picked up and comforted.

It depends on the bunny really. :)
 
I pick Furbee up a lot cos he loves it, I pick Trixie up sometimes just so she gets used to it because she doesn't hate it just doesn't love it, but I don't pick up Muffin cos he hates it.
 
My two hate to be picked up, so all health checks and grooming is done at floor level. If we have treats down at floor level they will climb all over me and occasionally let me support their bottom so we can have a proper cuddle and as long as it's support rather than holding they are happy.

As for inside to outside - my two are indoor buns. At the moment I'm working full time so it's too dark to let them out when I get home. At the weekend they love their supervised time outside, but I leave the door open so they can go back in when it's too cold. I always give their litter tray (which is a huge cement mixing tray) a thorough scrub of a weekend and have to do this in the back garden as it's too big to do anywhere inside. Normally they like to watch from their digging box, presumably to make sure I'm doing it right. Last weekend they disappeared after just a few minutes and were happy to observed from behind the patio door whilst I friezed my butt off. I swear they were laughing at their stupid human who didn't know any better than to stand around in the freezing cold. Since then I think they've invent a new game of - 'how long can we get her to stand out in the cold,' first Kizzy will come out and binky round the garden, then she'll tag Bob. He'll come out and binky while she goes back inside to watch from the window and then they'll swap.
 
Mine all get picked up regularly. Some of them don't like it, but tolerate it. Dylan has to be picked up daily to medicate him and he is now used to it. I pick them all up more in the summer to carry out bottom checks. I have arthritis of the knees and it is painful to get down to their level.

Apple and Cherry, who I fostered from a young age, like being cuddled, but I picked them up a lot from the start and they have always been happy and relaxed as long as they feel secure.

I live on my own and I need to be able to handle my rabbits easily to check/medicate/syringe feed as and when necessary. For me, picking them up at times when they don't need something medical done, stops them associating me holding them with unpleasantness. They get a treat afterwards too - bribery works wonders for my buns!!!

It's one of the many questions where I don't think there is a right and wrong - we all have to work out what is best for our buns and our own individual circumstances.
 
Yep, always picked up my rabbits. i think its important to get them used to it early on (especially if you have rabbits from a young age). Its important to be able to hold a rabbit safely without it wriggling for veterinary attention.

Because my hutch and run are not attached, I have to pick up and move them over twice daily, so they are thoroughly used to handling. However they don't like being caught but will sit forever in your arms. I think because they go to the vets a lot, they have associated being caught to going to the vets, so its quite understandable.
 
Our bun will not be picked up. I have tried when we need to put her back in her pen but she just wriggles like crazy. She's 5 and we've only had her since June :/
She's just been spayed yesterday and when I picked her up last night the vet nurse was saying how good she was at being picked up in the towel for being fed and getting her meds.

Once home do you think she'd let us pick her up? Couldn't even get her wrapped in the towel. Groggy as she was she still managed to be super wriggley, so settled with just trying to hold her still on the floor. :roll:
 
nessar said:
As you're new I'll also just mention that if you put your rabbit on its back (like holding a baby) be careful you dont tip him back and trance him, as whilst they seem peaceful it is extremely stressful.
Click to expand...

When I took my rabbit for his check up after being neutered the vet told me to hold him like that to put him in a trance. He was squirming around a lot thought so maybe this was why..?

You always hear different things, it's difficult to know what to do right.
 
lone_cat said:
When I took my rabbit for his check up after being neutered the vet told me to hold him like that to put him in a trance. He was squirming around a lot thought so maybe this was why..?

You always hear different things, it's difficult to know what to do right.
Click to expand...

Sometimes it is necessary for things like medical procedures, so they stay still, it sounds like this was the case. For instance I will trance one of my rabbits when she has her fur around her bum trimmed with clippers, as if she jumps etc she could get cut on her private parts, but I wouldnt do it routinely or if it wasnt necessary. Dr Anne Mcbride found that the body of the rabbit is flooded with stress hormone, the heart rate changes, and respiration speeds up as well - signs of experiencing extreme stress. It is a useful tool but it is also important to know the effect it has on the rabbit, so you know not to do it unnecessarily. So many people wrongly think the rabbit is relaxed or enjoying it, when in fact they are terrified, so it is something that is important to know about.
 
My ND buck absolutely HATES being picked up.

* He'll sit beside me and let me stroke him.

* He'll climb and sit on my chest and let me stroke him.

* He'll climb on my back and also my face and head, too.

* He'll let me put my arms around him and 'hug' him while on the floor.

* Occasionally, he'll even jump into my lap.


BUT, if I try to pick him up... the fur starts flying.
 
King was roughly handled before I got him, so he absolutely HATES being picked up, so I only do it to put him in a carrier for vet's visits.

Because my lionhead is so fluffy, I frequently scoop her up for a hug, and she'll sit on my lap for 5 minutes or so, but that's it :) When I sit on the floor, she'll always come over for a cuddle, and she jumps up on the sofa too for some love, so for ehr part it's mostly nasty memories of previous groomg sessions, and fear of being stuffed in the carrier and taken to the vets I think :D
 
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