my bunnies always run away when I try to pick them up?

[amber*s&bbabies]

My rabbits always run and try to hide when I want to put them in their excersise pen outside. they look really scared and i always have to corner them or trap them which i hate doing cuz it seems like im a bad  person.. help ?

[Beka27]

Once they’re outside, do they seem to enjoy it? Not all rabbits like to go out, for some it’s more stressful than it’s worth. Domesticated rabbits aren’t necessarily used to all the sights and sounds and smells of the great outdoors.

So that would be my first question to you, if it’s an issue with only picking them up which we might be able to help with, or an issue with them recognizing where they are headed and they don’t want to go.

Do you have a space for them to exercise where they don’t need to be picked up, like a pen attached to their cage?

[Karla]

Hehe, some bunnies are just not grateful

I think what you need to do is to accept that just taking them out to their exercise pen will require a lot of time in the beginning…sit down and have lots of treats ready. Talk to them, feed them some treats, pet them, and let them run off and hide from you because they know that something is going on. Keep sitting on the floor and talk to them with your treats and when they are calm and relaxed around you, then quickly pick up the first one.

Continue with the next one like that.

Oh, and do give lots of treats once you put them down again.

The important thing is that they don’t associate you with being lifted – and right now they do. So trick them, because bunnies love treats. And do make sure you do this exercise a few times a day, so they don’t always get lifted when you sit down with them.

[Karla]

Oh, and I was going to add – Karl was like that as well. He would completely panic and be crazy every time I had to lift him out in the garden. Eventually, we made him a staircase of his own, so that he could go out as he pleased, and it was definitely not because he did not want to be outside that he was struggling like crazy, because he practically moved outside and really loved it.

So, perhaps you can get them to go out on their own?

[Deleted User]

It is possible that it is just the catching and being picked up that they fear.
You can easily tell if a rabbit is frightened outside. What are they behaving like in their outside pen?

[MirBear]

my rabbits are like that. they love being outside but not picked up..
a short trip to the vet lastnight did it for hershey.. she jumped into my arms off the table. now today she doesnt run away when i walk up and lets me pick her up without struggle..

*NEW BONDING TECHNIC* VET VISIT.. *DUH DUH DUH DA….*

[Andi]

Many of my rabbits will run away to when it’s time to come inside, but they do it because they don’t think they are done yet LOL.
How long have you had your bunnies?
Are they ok with being picked up inside the house?

There have been some great suggestions already, and i agree with them. Patience and treats go a long way with bunnies

[amber*s&bbabies]

Hey guys, I havent been on in a while(volunteering at a camp for 2 weeks). Ive had scully for about a year now and he is the worst for being picked up. Yes I think its just the picking up part because he just sits in my arms when i hold him and seems to enjoy it a lot! but i can barely catch him and its very tiring. Buster and Scully both like being outside in there pen, Buster espcially. I recently “adopted” Buster from a friend who,she said, wasnt a bunny person. So to her that meant never taking care of him. He stiff has numerous infections and a runny eye poor baby. A few weeks ago he started letting me pet him and now he loves it. So it is a lot easier to pick him up now since i dont always pick him up every time i pet him. I just cant seem to get them to want to be around me.

[jerseygirl]

It was good of you to take in Buster. Sounds like he’s doing better already!

I have a rabbit who is not good about being picked up. Once I have him he stays still but it’s the getting him part that is the trouble. His former owners told me they used this hidey cube thing to transfer him. He seemed to compromise and get into that and then they’d take him where needed. I have found that I do better with him using same sort of technique. I use an empty basket, tray or his litterbox and once he’s in it, pick that up. It’s still involved me herding him around but eventually he concedes and stays in the box while I pick it up. I know other members do this too. Using something like their maze haven or hidey box as a transporter. You do need to watch they don’t leap out once you lift it though.

Another way is try using a tunnel of some sort and put a box or carrier at one end. Rabbits are pretty curious, so may go down the tunnel into the carrier where you can lift them in that.

I just cant seem to get them to want to be around me.

Best way to gain their attention is ignore them! It really does work. Another member also mentioned hand feeding her 1st rabbit (pellets one by one) and eventually he felt secure enough to come up onto her lap even when not feeding them. That could be worth a try.

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