Rabbits by Accident
Well-known member
If you get the leather sleeves, you won't have to worry about what they do LOL
I also meant to ask, picking them up by the scruff won’t suffocate them right? I know my mom used to warn me against holding our large orange cat that way because she said the cat was too heavy to hold that way. I feel like my rabbits are close to being as heavy as that cat so I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t hurt them.I don't like holding them by the scruff of their neck either but sometimes it's the best way to get them to submit to being picked up. You have to grip quite a lot of skin so they're held very securely. They should calm down immediately, just like a kitten does when it's mom picks it up by the back of it's neck. If I think the rabbit is going to be nervous, or say if a dog comes running up, I will lay my hand on the back of their neck just in case. That way, if they do react, I'm ready. You can usually tell ahead of time because they'll tense up.
I try everything else first rather than scruffing them. While I've never heard that it will suffocate them, picking a rabbit up by the scruff, especially a larger/adult one, separates the skin from the muscle beneath. Unlike cats, rabbits never pick up their babies by the scruff, and their bodies are not built to withstand it (and if anything would make them feel like a predator had them, it would be that!). I have seen the damage when butchering and don't want to have any part in that.I also meant to ask, picking them up by the scruff won’t suffocate them right? I know my mom used to warn me against holding our large orange cat that way because she said the cat was too heavy to hold that way. I feel like my rabbits are close to being as heavy as that cat so I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t hurt them.
I had written a nice long clarifying answer & my ancient tablet froze up & lost it.I also meant to ask, picking them up by the scruff won’t suffocate them right? I know my mom used to warn me against holding our large orange cat that way because she said the cat was too heavy to hold that way. I feel like my rabbits are close to being as heavy as that cat so I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t hurt them.
Ya, I have used their scruff to keep them in one place while they’re still on their feet but it just didn’t quite seem right picking them up like that. I think mostly because of what my mom has taught me. It makes me glad I haven’t done that more than a few times and that they’re still ok. I don’t think I’ll do that again unless I have another hand hanging onto them in another spot.The reflex to go limp disappears sometime around 4 weeks old when they are mobile enough (dogs & cats), rabbits don't have the reflex, because a doe cannot pick up kits that way.
Other than that, there are connective tissues going from skin to underlying layers of muscle and such, those are not designed to carry that much weight in an adult animal. You can do damage and hurt an animal that way, giving them reason to fight and panic. Scruffing to keep an animal flat on a table is another matter. I pick them up just in front of the hips if i need a one handed grip, then you have a grip around the spine and way more structure to hold then just skin. And even then only untill i have them close and on my arm or into a transportcrate. Yes, that is way easier with an animal that maxes out at about 4 pounds.
I definitely won’t hold them that way anymore then. I’ve done it once or twice when trying to figure out how to handle them but it never worked well anyway. I’m also a bit afraid to hold them very close to me. I can handle scratches on my arms and hands, but I’d rather not have them on my stomach or chest. I honestly don’t know, though. I feel like if I could just get them out of their cage, I can handle the rest. They squirm and scratch so much. Idk? My mom has asked me before why I like bird so much and that’s probably one of the main reasons, they are just a lot easier to handle. You only have to worry about 2 feet instead of four and normally bird bites don’t hurt as much as a mammals bite. I haven’t been bitten by the rabbits yet and I hope I’m never bitten but man they fight and I wouldn’t put that past them.I try everything else first rather than scruffing them. While I've never heard that it will suffocate them, picking a rabbit up by the scruff, especially a larger/adult one, separates the skin from the muscle beneath. Unlike cats, rabbits never pick up their babies by the scruff, and their bodies are not built to withstand it (and if anything would make them feel like a predator had them, it would be that!). I have seen the damage when butchering and don't want to have any part in that.
Only very rarely do I grab rabbits by the scruff, but sometimes you're not left much choice. (I like my rabbits, but I am not willing to sacrifice my own skin for them!) In those incorrigible cases, I collect both ears and scruff in my right hand, but I do NOT lift or carry a rabbit that way. Once their ears and shoulders are immobilized, they tend to stay still, though I would not call it relaxed. When I have them immobilized, I reach under them and lift them, by the body, with my left hand. Sometimes my hand is under their belly, sometimes it's cupped under their hindquarters - this depends on how big the rabbit is.
I don't carry them that way, either, since they tend to start flailing if you have very far to go. What I normally do is pull them up against my own body and carry them that way (my rabbits are gentle, even when they're being pills about being taken out of their cages). But I also handle a lot of other people's rabbits which are not gentle, and if I'm afraid a rabbit will bite me, I flip it over on its back in the cradle of my elbow and carry it that way. I've had nasty angry does furiously chewing on their own dewlap in that position, but they couldn't get to me. Once you get where you're going, you just roll the rabbit forward onto the table/ground/whatever.
If you're moving rabbits from one cage to the other, or out to a pen in the yard, and you have trouble keeping them in your arms for the trip, you might consider just bringing a small carrier or even a cardboard box to the cage, pulling the rabbit from its cage directly into the carrier, then carrying them in that. That's what I have smaller kids do with very large rabbits.
Handling animals is definitely a learned skill. Part of it is a back-and-forth of establishing confidence on your part and trust on the animal's part. My daughter and I have been able to handle many people's "uncontrollable" animals because of our confidence, which comes from experience and transmits to the animal, often making it calm rather than panicky. There really are some plain old nasty rabbits, but we've found that they're few and far between. In our experience, most kicky scratchy bunnies are acting out of fear or nervousness, though occasionally young does just coming into sexual maturity will be pretty uppity for a while.I definitely won’t hold them that way anymore then. I’ve done it once or twice when trying to figure out how to handle them but it never worked well anyway. I’m also a bit afraid to hold them very close to me. I can handle scratches on my arms and hands, but I’d rather not have them on my stomach or chest. I honestly don’t know, though. I feel like if I could just get them out of their cage, I can handle the rest. They squirm and scratch so much. Idk? My mom has asked me before why I like bird so much and that’s probably one of the main reasons, they are just a lot easier to handle. You only have to worry about 2 feet instead of four and normally bird bites don’t hurt as much as a mammals bite. I haven’t been bitten by the rabbits yet and I hope I’m never bitten but man they fight and I wouldn’t put that past them.
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