How to get bunny comfortable with being handled?

[mk94]

My new bunny is quite the social little fellow, he comes right up to you and sniffs you without a care in the world. He'll let you pet him and he will allow you to pick him up. However, if you're holding him for too long he starts to struggle a bit and when that doesn't work he starts nipping! I think it's just his way of saying "put me down, I want to run around some more". I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this? We need him to allow you to hold him. If for nothing else, at least for the purpose of clipping his claws. Ideas? We don't want to give him too many treats since he's still pretty young and we don't want to upset his stomach.

 

[addictedtochins]

Neutering can help with behavior problems

 

[mk94]

Do you really think this is a behavior problem? He's only 10 weeks old.

 

[minrex]

In my experience, the best way to get a rabbit to tame down is just to hold them as much as possible. Don't let the struggling or nipping affect you; if he nips and you put him down, he learns that nipping gets him what he wants. I have accumulated tons of scars on my wrists and arms from being scratched by rabbits, but I have never put one down because it scratched me. If a rabbit I'm holding starts to struggle, I simply hold it more firmly (without squeezing it or hurting it), adjust my position a little so that hopefully it feels more secure, and don't put it down until after it's stopped struggling. Once a rabbit learns that struggling isn't going to get it anywhere, it'll usually become pretty easy to handle (so long as it also feels secure when being held). I see so many people act like they're scared to death of getting scratched by this 3 lb. bunny they're holding. A scratch or nip isn't going to kill you, or even hurt for very long. It's something you will have to deal with if you have a rabbit, no matter what. Just get him out and hold him several times per day. Sit down with him in your lap and stroke him (most rabbits I've known enjoy having their heads rubbed or scratched gently). If he struggles, don't put him down until he's stopped (unless you feel like you're absolutely going to drop him if you don't put him down). Once he's stopped struggling, stroke him a little longer and talk softly to him, then put him down, so that he doesn't associate being put back down with his struggling. This method of taming has never failed me in the 17 years that I've owned rabbits.

 

[PetoftheDay]

Make it a habit to pick him up every day, and make sure all four feet are resting on something, your arm or chest, so he doesn't feel precarious. He'll get used to it over time. My bunny did, and didn't mind when I held her. My husband didn't pick her up much when she was a baby, so when he had to pick her up, she hated it - and even played dead once so he'd put her down!

 

[Euphoric]

I work with a Rabbit Rescue, as well as own rabbits myself (And member of the ARBA)
The best way is just time. If you have a dwarf breed rabbit, you must realize your rabbit may NEVER want to be held for long periods of time. Most dwarfs do not fee comfortable with longer holding sessions. What everyone has reconmended has been great. just have them sit on your lap calmly.

For clipping nails, you can flip a rabbit over on his back (Between your legs) and "trance" him to let you clip his nails. This doesn't work with all rabbits, and some need to be wrapped up in a blanket.

 

[PetoftheDay]

For clipping nails, you can flip a rabbit over on his back (Between your legs) and "trance" him to let you clip his nails. This doesn't work with all rabbits, and some need to be wrapped up in a blanket.

We got really lucky - sort of, with Miss Hoppy. She would NOT "trance" when flipped on her back, just got mad and insistent on righting herself. The towel thing kind of worked, but only if I held her quite firmly while my husband did the actual clipping - it was awful, especially because her nails were black so it was hard to see the quick, so he'd be trying to balance a flashlight and clippers ...

But after a few sessions of this, we resorted to letting the vet do it. One day we took her to the vet's office. They did the clip but said "You know, she really wasn't due for a trim, you must have done it recently, right?" When I explained it had been a long time since we did, she said "Well, she must be trimming her own nails - some rabbits do that!" I guess she hated the ordeal as much as we did.

It was only when she was very old, and not well, that I ever needed to trim her nails again, and by then, she didn't mind so much.

 

[mk94]

Thanks everyone for the advice. We have been trying to hold him and making sure he is calm before we put him down. The little stinker still tries to bite me though. Funny thing is, he doesn't try to bite my husband. In fact, he was even letting my husband hold him the other day and he really made himself comfortable. My husband used his arm to support him and the bunny was lying on his stomach with his hind feet dangling. His body was being supported by the length of my husband's arm on the bottom and my husband's chest on his side. And he was just lying there, half dozing. Stupid rabbit...

 

[blondeangel]

if your nervous about the rabbit biting or scratching you, that nervousness may be picked up by the rabbit, which is making him antsy. he probably will sit longer in ur husbands arms as he probably doesn't have that nervousness feeling which puts the animal at ease.

 

[mk94]

We flipped him over on his back today and he just sat there with a perplexed look on his face. Hopefully this means he is one of those bunnies that is calm when flipped on his back. We still haven't tried clipping his nails yet, but we have been giving him a treat now and then when we're holding him. It doesn't seem to sway him from nipping though.

 

[susansheila]

You guys have given a lot of great advice. However, I have a 15 lb flemish. He's basically a very social bunny. But when it comes to clipping nails it's a struggle. And when I hold him he will start to nip after a bit but for the size of him a nip is more like a bite.

Any suggestions for "big Bubba"?

 

[Euphoric]

I love flemmies I have a 12lb English lop, so I know how you feel. You can't flip them over like a smaller rabbit. The best thing to do is to stradle bubba between your legs and cover his eyes with a towel. I clip the front nails, then I flip myself over and do the hind. The hind are the biggest problem.

My english lop bites, not nips, so its been a huge problem but you just have to keep him coverd.

 

[susansheila]

Okay, thank you, I will try that.