MidwestMatthew
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2016
- Messages
- 38
- Reaction score
- 3
Our New Zealands were just fine being handled by their previous owner. She picked them right up out of their cages and put them into crates for me to drive home and they were just fine. But half an hour later, they fought tooth and nail when I tried to do the same thing, and it hasn't improved since. It literally took me over an hour to get two rabbits from their outside cages into temporary housing in our basement because of the heat the last few days. The ordeal was so traumatic to them that three days later, they still hunker down low in the corner of their cages and lower their ears every time I open the cage doors - even just to put in some hay.
Because they obviously don't like it, I try to handle them as little as possible. But sometimes you've got to do things with rabbits that require handling them - and I can't seem to figure it out. I've watched all the YouTube videos, watched other people handle rabbits, and for whatever reason, ours simply will not let me pick them up.
Just for the record, I'm very gentle and quiet around them, try hard to protect them from startles, etc. They're not pets and usually live outside, but other than that, it's hard to imagine meat rabbits having it better than ours have got it.
So how can I manage to actually pick up these rabbits for cage transfers, etc.? (And I hate to think what's going to happen when their nails need to be trimmed!)
Because they obviously don't like it, I try to handle them as little as possible. But sometimes you've got to do things with rabbits that require handling them - and I can't seem to figure it out. I've watched all the YouTube videos, watched other people handle rabbits, and for whatever reason, ours simply will not let me pick them up.
Just for the record, I'm very gentle and quiet around them, try hard to protect them from startles, etc. They're not pets and usually live outside, but other than that, it's hard to imagine meat rabbits having it better than ours have got it.
So how can I manage to actually pick up these rabbits for cage transfers, etc.? (And I hate to think what's going to happen when their nails need to be trimmed!)