Rabbits are prey animals by nature. When somethin’ lifts them off the ground, it can trigger an instinctive feeling that they’ve been caught by a predator. That’s why it’s important to handle and pick’em calmly, gently and with respect for their natural instincts.
The goal isn’t just to pick up a rabbit correctly.
The goal is to make them feel safe.
How to pick up a rabbit
Place one hand under your rabbit’s chest and use your other hand to support the hindquarters. Then gently lift yer rabbit toward your body and hold them close so their entire body is fully supported.
The back legs should always be properly supported. Rabbits have powerful hind legs and can seriously injure themselves or damage their spine if they kick and twist while unsupported.
Many rabbits feel more secure when they’re held close against your body rather than stretched out in front of you.
What should ya never do?
There are a few things you should always avoid:
Never pick up a rabbit by the ears.
Never pick up a rabbit by the scruff of the neck.
Never lift a rabbit using only the front legs.
Never allow the hindquarters to dangle unsupported.
While some of these methods were used in the past, they can cause both stress and injury.
Can children pick up a rabbit?
There’s really no exact age when a child is ready.
What’s most important isn’t how old the child is. It’s how calm, gentle and responsible they are when handling the animal.
Young children should always be supervised by an adult.
For many kids, it’s actually better to start by sittin’ on the ground or on a low stool and letting the rabbit come to them. This reduces the risk of dropping the rabbit and helps children learn to interact with animals on the animal’s terms.
As they get older and learn to read a rabbit’s body language, they can gradually take on more responsibility.
Do you have to pick up yer rabbit?
Not always.
It’s worth remembering that many rabbits would rather keep all four paws on the ground. Sometimes it’s better to sit with your rabbit than to pick up them. Many of the strongest bonds are built when the rabbit gets to choose when to approach and seek attention.
How can children help around the homestead?
On a homestead, caring for animals is about much more than holding and petting ’em.
Even younger children can help by:
Refilling hay
Checking water supplies
Helping with feeding
Collecting weeds and branches that rabbits can safely eat
Assisting with cleaning enclosures and exercise pens
In this way, a rabbit becomes more than just a pet. It becomes an opportunity to learn responsibility, compassion and respect for living creatures.
For many homestead families, animals also help teach a deeper understanding of nature’s cycles, where care, responsibility and respect go hand in hand whether the animals are kept as companions, for breeding or as part of the farm’s journey toward self reliance.
The journey toward a more self reliant life is often filled with gardens, building projects and animal care.
But for many folks, it starts with somethin’ much simpler.
Maybe with a child pickin’ a handful of dandelion leaves.
Maybe with a water bottle that needs fillin’.
Or perhaps with those first careful attempts to hold a rabbit the right way.
That’s how many of us learned responsibility in the first place. Not through grand projects or complicated plans, but by caring for a small animal that depended on us every single day.
And sometimes, those are the lessons that stay with us the longest.
Fredrik 🐇
Trackbacks/Pingbacks