Don't hold your rabbit. Most rabbits do not like being held. It makes them feel trapped and scared. I'm not telling you to never hold your rabbit, but don't make that the main way you socialize with your rabbit. Instead, try cuddling and playing with your rabbit when they have all four feet on the ground.
It is best to let your rabbit initiate this i.e. sit on the ground and let them approach you. The best times of day for cuddles are morning and evening when your rabbit is naturally more active. Avoid disturbing your rabbit when it is sleeping.
Rabbits like to play and need plenty of exercise to stay healthy and happy. Ideally you want to provide them with up to 4 hours daily of supervised time out of their cage.
If you can avoid it, try not to hold your rabbits for too long. They prefer to be able to run free and play on the ground and can find being held quite stressful. To put your rabbit back down, keep them as close to your body as possible and lower them to the ground as you squat down.
You may need to handle them for any number of reasons, from grooming them to checking them for any signs of a medical condition. While most rabbits won't appreciate you picking them up all the time, it's still important to practice handling them occasionally. That way you can pick them up when you have to.
Anything longer than 24 hours is too long – and even that is pushing the solitude limits of rabbits. Rabbits are social creatures and require about as much, if not more, interaction and maintenance as dogs do and more than some cats need. Considering rabbits to be low-maintenance pets does them a grave disservice.
We usually tell our adopters that we expect the average bonding is going to take about two and a half weeks.
Ideally, rabbits should be able to exercise whenever they want to but a minimum of 4 hours free run a day is recommended, ideally split into two exercise periods morning and evening of about 2 hours each.
Many rabbits hate being held and will actually freeze with fear. Our advise would be that it is always better to get down to your bunnies level and have a cuddle. You can get just as much enjoyment out of cuddling your bunny by getting down to their level. Lay or sit next to them and interact with them that way.
They also have a lot of personality, so don't expect every rabbit to be like a cuddly stuffed animal. Some rabbits don't enjoy being held, while some might. Rabbits can do puzzles and agility, just like tiny dogs! They need just as much socialization and enrichment as other pets.
Bunnies will much prefer their freedom to any sort of organized "walk." However, rabbits can be leash trained for specific purposes -- although as I said, they will get more exercise from free-roaming playtime. If you want to train your rabbit to walk on a leash you'll need to start with a proper harness.
The best places to pet a rabbit are their forehead and behind their ears. The cheeks and strokes down their backs are also good spots. But rabbits dislike being pet on their bottom, feet, chin, and underside.
Bonded rabbits can also break their bond. This can happen if they've been separated, for example if one bunny needs to spend a few days at the vet.
Occasionally rabbits will display positive social behaviours immediately, such as mutual grooming, eating together and lying down next to each other. If this happens, this a very good sign and, if you have time, the rabbits can be left together for as long as is possible during the day.
It's best to let your rabbit out of its cage or enclosure at least twice a day for exercise and socialization. If rabbits are regularly cooped up for more than 12 hours at a time, there is an increased risk that they will develop health problems (such as GI Stasis) or become depressed and lonely.
This means that, much like you and I, they can become bored and lonely living alone without the company of fellow rabbits. And this, in turn, can cause not only unhappiness but also a variety of physical and behavioural problems. However, sometimes circumstances prevent keeping more than one rabbit.
They should be brought inside overnight. They can only stay outside at night too from mid-May when there is no longer any ground frost. If your rabbits have first been gradually accustomed to being kept outdoors, they can stay outdoors all year round from then. Even the ground frost won't bother them after that.
Help them feel secure by holding all four feet against your body. Never pick rabbits up by their ears - this would be extremely stressful and is highly likely to injure them. Minimise restraint - reduce stress and minimise the risk of injury by using the minimum level of restraint necessary.
Tonic Immobility, often referred to as “Trancing” or “Hypnotising”, is a technique for handling rabbits that has been around for many years. It takes advantage of the rabbits' tendency, as a prey species, to “play dead” and stay immobile when placed in a vulnerable position, on its back.