Hi guys, fostering a bunny and though ive had bunnies before I've always excused myself from picking them up. For some reason it scares the shit out of me when I try to pick them up from the ground, probably because they slip out and run fast. Once they on the table I'm completely fine, probably because theyre calmer.
Just the other day my foster had stasis because he was shedding so much and it jammed his digestion. Recommendations are to brush him everyday, but to do that, I'd have to carry him onto the table and brush him (he wont stay still otherwise). I really don't want him to experience stasis again (it was so stressful for him and me), so I know I have to just bite the bullet and do it.
Please give me some advice to get over this fear – I know that the more nervous I am, the worse it is for the bunny but I am not kidding when I say my legs literally shake as I'm preparing myself to pick them up.
Bunny toll included
by hanurh
6 Comments
You’ll have to bunritto the cutie pie while you guys are still on the floor.
Once bunritto is tightly secured, scoop up the precious baby like a football, snug against your body, one hand under the chest, the other on the booty.
Then gently unwrap the bunritto onto the table once ready! Hope this helps 🙂
One hand under the butt and one hand under the tummy and then hold close to your chest. They might squirm and move themselves but just relax and be chill. Treat them like a baby.
my bunny does not like it, wiggles around every few seconds and looks angry when plonked down, however after about 30 seconds he calms. I avoid picking him up except for manicure day
I am the same. Especially with our smol boy. I’m just used to a very different type of animal (horses) and so intimidated by how fragile they are. I have the same problem with cats.
We also have the same issues with fur and stasis like you do. What I’m currently doing is to lure them in the carrier, put them on a high surface and then brush them inside the carrier (one at a time, of course). While I brush them I have to move them around a bit anyway, so I lift them (either the front or back) a tiny bit for that. If they’re especially squirmy I keep one hand with the very lightest bit of pressure (really just enough for them to know your hand is there, unless more is absolutely necessary) on their shoulders at all times. But make sure to remove the hand immediatly when they calm down and seem to behave. My hope is this will not only get them used to being handled (they both hate it, I suspect because noone ever actually took the time to get them used to it) but built my own confidence in being the handler, so to speak. Immediatly removing the hand/pressure is supposed to serve as a kind of reward and teach them that staying still is more comfortable and easier for them than wiggling around. The hand/pressure is *not* supposed to be used as a punishment, though!
I haven’t been doing this for very long (we’ve only had them for a month) but I think there’s already a tiny bit of improvement on both sides. There’s less grunting from the big guy and the little one (who is also way too smart for his own good) already almost consistently let’s me do my thing without protest and just munches on his parsley.
I also never ever let them jump out of the carrier through the top. They’re only allowed to exit through the front. I just don’t want them to associate the top part being open with “Oh, I can leave now”.
Also lots of treats involved. Usually parsley or dried flowers inside the carrier and some pea flakes by hand.
I have to say, though, I am in no way an expert on bunnies. These two are my first and all I have is the mountain of research I’ve done the year prior to getting them. What I do have is experience with horses. Since there’s so little advice about how to actually handle squirmy rabbits (outside of bunny burrito and “just do it”), I kind of had to come up with my own techniques. So I just applied what I know about horses to bunnies because I noticed a weird amount of similarites between the two in both behaviour and biology.
Having said that if there’s something bad about my strategy please feel free to yell at me. I’d rather feel bad about being yelled at on the internet than hurt our little terrorists.
EDIT: Because the small guy is so insanely smart I also have to make sure to do this at different times of the day and lure him in the carrier without anything happening occasionally. Otherwise he would instantly pick up on the routine and not enter the carrier.
I throw a very light baby towel that covers my bunny, which freezes him for a brief second that allows me to scoop him up from his chest and cup his butt. I also uncover his head from the towel as I pick him up and then give him a few kisses as I carry him to the table. He gets his daily meds and then I carry him wrapped, facing me until I’m floor level to set him down gently and removing the towel.
He’s deathly afraid of the same thing.