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Just does not like being picked up! Help!

BunnyMomx2

Young Bun
Hiya I got Stella and Stanley when they were 8 weeks now both 13 weeks.. handled everyday and we spend a lot of time sat in their free range area!

Stanley doesn't mind being picked up so it's great because we can complete the usual checks!

Stella on the other hand hates it... thumps if we try and get her and when we have her will always try and scrabble to a point almost dropping her.. i don't really understand it as she is always running over to sniff us and to see what we're doing also takes food from hands and tolerates a pet when in their house.
If anything we thought she would most tolerate it as she has come from a home with a young child and they used to handle daily and she used to be pushed around in a pram and all sorts before coming to us.

We still continue to handle daily even if its to go into the free range area but I worry we won't be able to check her over properly..

I know some rabbits just do not like being picked up and of course i accept that.. she is a complete diva [emoji813]

But any tips just to make it easier when checking her would be great please

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If I have a Rabbit that gets stressed when being handled I keep picking up to a minimum as she may never like it and so it is not fair to keep stressing her/him. If you keep them very clean and on a good diet there should be no need to over-worry about Flystrike unless you notice there are flies pestering them. Is she neutered? If not she maybe acting hormonally which would explain in part to why she does not want to be handled. Most Rabbits find being handled stressful, they prefer to come to us if we sit on the floor, this helps them to grow in confidence but it takes time.
 
I agree with above, I have a very nervous rabbit. I can do most checks on the floor, I feel under her tail while she was occupied by some food as a quick bottom check for anything that might attract flies. I also try touch her feet to check her claws if I can't see them clearly. Anything else I just do by looking. Obviously she does need picking up if her claws do need cutting etc and she's usually ok once in someone's arms but saves chasing her round regularly :)
 
One of mine is very much in the "I'm-staying-on-the-floor" camp. I've learned to try and do checks on floor level instead as it just stresses her out too much to be chased and grabbed
Most rabbits aren't huge fans of being picked up as it's like being grabbed by a predator for them.

If you do need to pick her up, you could try leaving a carrier out and waiting until she goes in it, then take her out of there instead. I always wrap mine tightly in a towel (the burrito method) to avoid any kicking while I'm cutting nails, for example, as they can injure themselves when they kick.
 
None of our buns tolerate the pick up so we save it for nails and vet trips.

For checks we sit or lie on the floor with them and just wait til we've ticked everything off.

We can often judge nails by feel when they hop all over us.

I have seen someone using a hop up onto a clear table to do checks underneath but no idea how they would grip easily.

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