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Rabbits
Hiya,
I've had my rabbits (I have three) for a couple of months now and I am doing great with regards to handling them. They love being stroked and stuff but they aren't so keen on being picked up. I'm pretty sure that all I can do is persevere (but tell me if you think different!). Any tips to get them used to it faster?
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Want to answer more questions in the Domesticity category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Pets?
For mine, I wold just let it run around my room and on my bed. Eventually it came to me and wanted to be picked up. Hope I helped.
~Nokomis~
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Rabbits LOVE carrots or wet food and if you show them they need to be picked up for the food then they will want to be picked up more often .
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No, there really isn't a way to make it go faster, and if you try, it will most likely only hurt the progress that you have made.
Rabbits scare easy, in the wild they are constantly looking out for, and running from other animals who want to eat them. They still have a lot of those "flight or fight" instincts in them.
I can try to give you a few tips to help you out. You may already know them, but maybe not.
You probably already know what their favorite treats are, keep them handy at all times. When you handle them, let them get completely used to you stroking and cuddling them before you try to pick them up. Keep giving them a treat every minute or so as long as they are remaining calm.
When you feel like they will be ready, slowly and calmly put one on your lap. If he is still calm, then continue to give him treats, talk to him softly and pet him softly.
But, if he starts to get upset at all, then set him back down immediately and try again later.
Don't feed him the treats, or pet them while they are acting nervous and jittery. This may seem mean, but if you do these things, then it will only reinforce that they should be acting nervous. If you sort of ignore the nervous behavior and let them do their own thing until they calm down, then they will begin to realize that there is no reason to be nervous.
You should do this with each rabbit separately, and do it as often as possible each day. When you do, keep them in an enclosed area, perhaps a bathroom or small room. Do it in a place where they wont be able to run off and get scared. If they do run off and get scared, then you will have to chase after them. As you can probably imagine, that would be pretty terrifying for a small rabbit.
So
-keep yummy treats handy
-talk softly and slowly
-pet them softly and slowly
-work in a small area
-go very very slowly at the rabbits pace
-if they get scared, immediately stop trying to pick them up and try later.
Good luck.
oh, I forgot something. Be careful when handling rabbits, if they get upset, put them down, do not try to hold them tight. This is important because rabbits will break their back very very easily. If you have small children, then be aware of that also.
Also, you should get them fixed so you don't end up with a housefull of rabbits. It should also help them calm down and make them easier to train, as well as have some good health benefits.
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There isn't really much you can do except wait for them to get use to you. But you could maybe do it more often or softly. Let them out to run around and sniff your hand before you pick them up. Besta Luck
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some animals just don't like to be picked up and cuddled with, but it also takes alot of bonding between the animal to actually get the to let you hold them even for a minute. My cat, i've had her for about 5 years now and shes finally getting to the point where she will let us hold her, so just give your rabbits some time and they'll eventually let you hold them :D
as always Natally*
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You probably can't really make it go any faster. Rabbits are by nature timid creatures - thus the long ears and twitchy reflexes. Your best bet is probably to try to keep them good and calm while you attempt to pick them up. Try little steps, like just getting them to your lap and continue to pet them.
If she doesn't happen to see this question, ask selectopaque - I'll guess she'll have some excellent advice on this for you.
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