Rabbits N'Rodents

How to have a tame bunny

Rabbits are prey animals, and therefore tend to be timid unless you are lucky enough to get one that is either very laid back or already used to handling. 

Taming

When you first get your bunny, it is advised you give them a day or two to settle in before you start to try and tame them. If you do have a nervous bunny you will have to work slowly with them and remember that not every rabbit will warm up to you as quick as the other bunnies.

My smallest bunny, Clove, has always been very friendly and curious, whereas Fudge tends to be a bit more wary and she comes to me when she wants fussed over, so I play it by her terms. Both have been with me four years now, and have had the same treatment, its just that rabbits are individuals, like us. 

Rabbits hate being picked up, as they are ground dwelling animals and are out of their comfort zone up in the air, however, overtime and with proper handling they can adjust to it.

Therefore, it is better you start off slowly, start getting them used to your scent (breath), voice and movement. Offer them some food by hand and talk to them all the time in a gentle voice. As soon as they happily take food off your hand, you can slowly move your hand about, which will probably scare them a bit if they are very timid, but soon they'll get used to that, and gradually you will be able to pat them.  

If you find they take a while to get used to you, or bite and charge at your hand, they may have had a bad experience with humans before, or  prehaps they are at that age when they need to be spayed or neutered .

Rabbits are curious animals, and therefore if you let them out in a run or proofed room and if you sit in the corner with a magazine, they will undoubtly come over to have a look! This is a good bonding exercise, as this allows the rabbits to make the first move, and it helps if you have little treats, like a few bunny pellets or a bit of vegetable as a reward. The sooner they relate you with positive things like food, toys and exercise the sooner they will become tamer.

If you have indoor bunnies or ones that live in a shed, you will soon find that the bunnies love to interact with you and will pull at your shoe laces and trousers or if you are lucky enough to have a licky bunny, you will recieve lots of bunny kisses! 

Handling

A lot of books, vets, breeders and even other pet owners would say that when you lift an adult rabbit, you should gently scruff them and support their bottom, however, I do not recommend this. It can cause a lot of pain as sometimes it is hard to get enough of their skin, making the rabbits protest more when you go to pick them up.

Therefore, I always tell people to pick up an adult in exactly the same way you would a baby bunny. This is when you put one hand under their belly, and use the other hand to support their bottom. They will probably put up a bit of a fight, so keep a firm grip of them without squeezing or pinching them and have them facing your chest. You must ALWAYS support their bottoms, as if they kick out they can do a lot of damage to their spine. 

At first stay close to the ground so as if they do jump out of your hands, they don't have far to fall and be as brave as possible as they can sense when you are nervous. Once you have them, talk gently and don't hold them for too long. If you are new to handling bunnies, I don't recommend you walk around with them as they often wriggle when they feel you have relaxed.

My tip is to stroke them firmly but gently until they lower their heads and then pick them up as this shows they have either relaxed or have been submissive. It works with my rabbits, but you may have some that just nudge away your hand. 

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