Picking up rabbits...?

[Nao57]

So I wanted to ask what you think about picking up rabbits.

I heard some people say not to pick up rabbits by the back fur skin. And some say not to pick up by ears.

But a lot of Youtube videos show people picking them up by both those methods on Youtube.

So...does that mean it doesn't matter? What do you think? Do both work?

 

[promiseacres]

Ears are not handles
You can scruff a rabbit but should quickly support their hindquarters.

 

[Nao57]

Ears are not handles
You can scruff a rabbit but should quickly support their hindquarters.

I hope not to. But if I pick this one bad tempered rabbit up...its a mess not sure what to do.

 

[Bunnylady]

Never, ever, EVER pick a rabbit up by its ears. At very best, it's uncomfortable for the rabbit, at worst, you can damage the cartilage and ligaments that support the ears, permanently breaking them.

If you must scruff a rabbit (and, let's face it, most of us with multiple rabbits find this necessary at least some of the time), you don't want to drag the rabbit out of the cage, you need to lift it off the floor, and as quick as you can get at least a hand under the rabbit's hindquarters to support the weight. Most rabbits do not like to be picked up, and some will suddenly explode into wild kicking and flailing when their feet leave the floor. Rabbits, especially meat breeds, have delicate bones for the size of their bodies, and they can break their own backs doing this, so you need to stop these wild struggles as quickly as possible. It takes a lot of nerve to wrap yourself around a wildly kicking rabbit, but that's what you may have to do - the more supported the rabbit feels, the less likely it is to struggle (at least, most of the time). A rabbit on its back is less likely to struggle (and don't give me that "a rabbit on its back is convinced it's about to die and goes immediately into shock" business - that's physiologically impossible). My favorite technique is to remove the rabbit from the cage (by scruffing if necessary) and quickly cradle the rabbit, feet side up, in one arm, with the rabbit's head tucked in at my elbow and the rump supported by my hand. if the rabbit struggles, I can use my free hand on its chest to keep it there; if the rabbit gets really wild, I may slide it over so that its backbone is against my breastbone and I have one hand on its chest and the other on the belly just in front of the hind legs (a position I call 'the bunny straightjacket'). The point is to protect you and the rabbit from damage as much as possible, and in this position, it can't kick effectively and it can't reach you with its claws. Most rabbit drama happens near the door of the cage; just turning around so it can't see "home" may be all it takes to stop the struggling. Tucking the head far enough under your elbow that the rabbit can't see may help (but not so far that it can't breathe, of course). With practice, you can learn to approach the cage while cradling the rabbit on its back, then flip the rabbit onto its feet on the cage floor and get your hands clear before the rabbit even thinks about kicking.

 

[Nao57]

Thank you very much for teaching me.

 

[Niele da Kine]

Never the ears. Usually, I'll grab the loose skin along the back shoulder area to get it to the front of the hutch. Then scoop under the hind end and tuck the head in the crook of the arm. Kinda like a football. Sometimes rolling them up in the hem of a shirt is helpful, too. You don't want them to kick out with their back legs. As mentioned, they can break their back while doing this.

If they're facing towards their hutch, they will struggle to get back home, so point them away from their hutch.

Sometimes, when they've been trained a bit, then you can just hold them in your arms. If you start with a young bunny and pick them up all the time, then they will get used to you and you will get used to them.

How big they are also matters. A tiny Netherland Dwarf can be handled by an entirely different type of handling than a Flemish Giant.

 

[Nommie Bringeruvda Noms]

Do take care, if you absolutely must scruff them. Their skin is very thin and easily torn. That's both painful, and poses the risk of infection. Many people think that because a doe picks up her kits to move them, this way, it's OK for them to do, throughout the rabbits'life. Not so. For one thing, rabbits don't have thumbs or walk on 2 legs, so their grip options are very limited. A kit is tiny, and weighs next to nothing, so it's not terrible, and the does are very gentle, even if they do it quickly - and I've still seen those snap teeth piece the skin, by accident. Their skin doesn't toughen up much as they grow, though, so that as they get bigger, their weight becomes more likely to tear their skin, especially if it's done roughly.