How to get bunny used to being picked up and held

[Charity]

Hello, i’ve had my bunny for a month. He doesn’t let me pick him up. How can I get him to let me pick him up? Or should i just let him be? i would like to be able to handle him and carry him.

[GlennTheLionhead]

Let me know when you find out how, I’ve been trying to pick mine up calmly for 5 years LOL.

But jokes aside, rabbits generally don’t like to be picked up as they feel like they are being taken by a predator. They can however be very loving overwise, I have cuddles with my boy every day and he’ll snuggle up to my leg… So you can definitely still have affection with a bun that doesn’t like to be held. Let us know if you need tips on how to get him used to pets and cuddles.

Otherwise, if you need to pick him up for handling purposes you can try approach his level, calmy pet him and scoop him up. Making sure to support his bum really well. If this still doesn’t work I’ve heard you can train them by slow touching their sides when you pet them, progressing to stoking their belly and progressing to having you hands around them without picking them up, letting them jump away when they want, its a slow process that could take months. I usually manage to pick mine up by being calm and petting him and putting my hands over his eyes and gently picking him up.. He will run away from me several times before but I just remaim calm and keep talking to him reassuringly and being on his level till he lets me get him after a couple minutes.

But some bunnies still refuse this and the only way to handle them is by using the towel trap to pick them up i.e, throw a little towel over them quickly so they are confused for a second and quickly scoop them up and move the towel off their heads.

Sometimes it can work better to make arrangements so you only need to handle them for nail clipping and vet trips.

[DanaNM]

I do think it’s important to be able to pick up your rabbit confidently because sometimes it’s necessary (nail trims, grooming, medication, etc), but if you are trying every day it could make your bun frustrated and fearful.

Is you bun afraid of hands in general, or just the picking up?

If he is fine with being petted and hands, that makes things easier because then I find it’s more about the picking up technique than the bun. I like to use the “football hold” with squirmy buns, and actually with all of my buns!

If the bun won’t let you get your hands near them, you need to first work on building trust around touching and hands. Clicker training and hand feeding is a good place to start with that. Glenn gave some great advice on that above. 🙂

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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