Volunteers in Lemmon Valley began the task Saturday of teaching rabbits to become more sociable, adoptable and comfortable around people.

The estimated 1,300 rabbits at a ranch near Deodar Way and Estates Road on Saturday were in the Best Friends "Great Bunny Rescue of 2006" two months earlier, or their parents were part of it.

Human-controlled clickers are used to get animals conditioned to behaving. A clicking noise comes with a treat when a rabbit behaves well.

The treat and click eventually are alternated for positive reinforcement. Examples in the beginning include the rabbits allowing themselves to be petted, eating food out of a person's hand and coming to people when called.

Natural Instinct

"Rabbits at first want to run away," said Tiffani Hill of Ventura, Calif., volunteer resources manager for Best Friends Animal Society. After the Bunny Rescue, "we immediately separated males from females, but some females were already pregnant," Hill said. Rabbits stay pregnant about a month, and each litter averages two to six bunnies. About half the rabbits have been spayed or neutered, and veterinarians are coming from around the nation to assist, Hill said.

Carrots and Cages

Volunteers started training Saturday by putting a carrot halfway through a fence into a rabbit cage. Once the rabbits began eating the carrot, the person walked toward the cage and held the carrot steady for the rabbit.

Most of the rabbits then would back away but eventually warmed up, allowing a person to feed them. The volunteers then sat in cages with the rabbits and held carrots as the rabbits gnawed on them.

"They're all so cute and have different personalities," said Reno resident and volunteer Wendy Harper, 40. Her daughter, Rachel, said she wanted to help with the rabbits because she likes animals and hopes to work in that field after college.

"It's not rabbits in particular, it's all animals," said Rachel Harper, 15, a Galena High School student. "If it was any other animal, I would still help."

Rabbit ranch officials hope to adopt the pets locally. A rabbit can bring joy into a family, but it takes lots of care, said Jean Silva of Painted Cave, Calif., a volunteer with Santa Barbara-based Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter (BUNS) and a clicker instructor.

"They are not a child's toy, they are a 10-year commitment," Silva said. "Bunnies are very bright and curious and very engaged. If you spend time with a rabbit, you'll find a wonderful little person in there."

STORY BY CARLA ROCCAPRIORE, Reno Gazette-Journal

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