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Forum BEHAVIOR My bunny’s body language

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    • Peony
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        I am going to assume my bunny is more well behaved then most from what i read on the internet and forums. However I still want to understand her better.

         Once she got out of her pen and hopped under my bed. (It is pretty safe but the cable stapled on the base board worries me) So it was not like I was scurrying to get her, just watching her trying to make sure she does not chew on it. Well she thumbed about 2 or 3 times under there and I am going to assume that is a happy thump.

         Today I went to see if I could pet her underside again. (I was just testing how much she trusts me since I have no idea when it is ok to pet her) after moving from petting the head and back. She let me do it so I went to pick her up to put her on the second floor of the hutch. The reason I did this was to show her what the ramp was for. So after a minute or two she found the ramp and went to the bottom. She then ran outside the pen area and thumped at mt twice. I do not know if this was a mad at me thump or happy that I showed her this second floor. Ever since this moment she runs up and down the ramp like crazy (She never went up it before I did this so I put her up there to see if it was a sight problem. In my mind she never ran up it before because she could not see what the ramp was really for)

         So that story is to explain that I have no idea if that was supposed to be a mad thump or a happy one.

         My other issue is petting. She does not respond when I scratch the ground to offer her “grooming”. She always sits in this ready lunge position (I am pretty sure that is what her stance is for “normal” bunny language. So after trying to offer the “grooming” with it being ignored, I pet her head anyway. Sometimes she will turn her head to my hand and I will keep doing it, other times she hops away. So I am a bit confused in when I am supposed to really pet her since she is in this one position all the time. She does not even lower her head like I read most do, she stays in this sit, ready to hop away position.

         When sleeping she is more curled up as well. The only way I tell she is sleeping and not just sitting is that she does not respond to noise and is laying on her paws. I think I even petted her once while sleeping. it is so hard to tell with her. Sometimes she pins her ears on her back to give a better clue.

        Today, just now actually, she did shock me. She actually laid stretching out. Maybe this is her way of saying I have not fully accepted my place yet? I know it has only been 3 days but she seems very easy going and smart. She is even starting to come when called when I bring her leaves or have a treat.

         In the end I am just confused on how much she is accepting being petted from me. She never bows down even after I started. At first she only let me pet her head then when I approached her sides she would hop away and i let her. Now like I said earlier I can pet anywhere on her body, inducing her tummy area. She also started accepting ( I think, anyway, does not run away) when I brush her.

         For brushing I see if she is accepting pets (Like I said before is more of a trial and error thing because she keeps the same posture) After I pet her a bit and she has not moved, I grab the brush and show it to her by putting it near her to see (side of her head, front of eye not her blind spot) She then turns her head to sniff it and turns her head away, still in that somewhat tense sit. (Like I said I think it is a ready to lunge posture) and I begin brushing her. When I do the top of her head (she is a lionhead) she closes her eyes a bit but she does not run away or move so I keep going. I do not hear teeth purring (I think she only does that when eating hay) so I do not know how much she is liking it or not. Because she seems easy going, she might just be tolerating it, I have no clue.

         She only nipped me once and that was at the shelter when I was put in a pen with her to meet her. It was a friendly get out of my way nip or move. Other than that she never growled, bit, nip, or lunged at me.


      • Peony
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          Also I got these apple Orchard sticks that she rarely chews but every time I present it to her, she marks it (The chin rubbing)


        • Sarita
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            I think you are making it too complicated :~) She sounds happy and you don’t really need to offer yourself to her to pet her either.

            You are lucky that she accepts the brushing – most rabbits just don’t like this. I don’t think she understands the brush thing to tell you the truth.

            Don’t worry about her not chewing apple sticks – some rabbits just aren’t into those things. As long as she eats hay that will help with digestion and dental health.


          • Peony
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              Oh okay I just felt weird with the trial and error petting thing.

              And I figured she was different. Maybe it feels good to her because she is a lionhead? she had a strange hair near her eye and looked like it had crud on it. She even let me pick at that till I got it. All she did in reaction was close her eye when I put my fingers near.


            • Annabel93
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                I read that bunnies tend not to mind their eyes being fiddled with because rabbits will groom each other’s eyes naturally.

                I’ve never heard of a happy thump tbh, but I know my bunnies often make sounds that sound like thumps when they’re just moving about, but it’s just them being noisy.

                Anyway, if your bunny happily sits there and lets you pet her then she probably enjoys it. If mine don’t like something they’ll just walk away. If she’s new then she might not chatter her teeth yet, but in time you’ll probably spot her doing it and learn what she likes or doesn’t like.


              • Peony
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                  Do you know why she was thumping under my bed then? Not sure what she be mad about doing it there. She went there on her own.

                   Oh I forgot to say something about the sticks. I know she might not like everything I gave her but I just thought it was a little strange she did the marking with the chin and not chew on it.


                • Peony
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                    She did a weird thump timing again (This issue is what made me what to post this) What happened is I let her do a bit more exploring of the house on her own. She went to the bathroom for a bit, and two different bedrooms. When she returned to the door of her “room” (also mine but at this point might as well be hers) she thumped once then ran in to her pen, then hutch shortly after.

                    Is she trying to tell me she don’t want me to follow her or what? (I just watch her, I did not do any herding)


                  • NuggetBuns
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                      This is a great website to understand your bunny’s body language: http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

                      If your bunny is laying down and stretched out all the way (legs behind them), that means they are very relaxed, comfortable, and feel safe in their environment. If she doesn’t move when you pet her, she either enjoys it, doesn’t care, or she’s sleeping lol. She’ll let you know when she DOESN’T want to be petted though. My male rabbit will lick me or stick his head under my hand to let me know he wants petting/attention. I’m sure yours will do the same after living with you for a while.

                      I agree with Annabel about a happy thump, I don’t think there’s such a thing either. In the wild, they do it to warn other rabbits in their group when there’s danger. House rabbits do it for the same reason or when they’re upset, or spooked by something. My female bun used to do it a lot when we first brought her home. I wouldn’t worry about it though, it should lessen after she’s used to everything in your home. My female also likes to chin mark everything, including sticks, hay, veggies, that she doesn’t want. I will hold it in front of her and let her sniff it, then she chins it as if she’s telling me, “Thanks, but I don’t want this.”


                    • Peony
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                        Yeah I know, that is where I learned:

                        You can offer grooming to your rabbit, even when you haven’t been invited, by offering your hand. You should do so by putting your hand on the ground from six inches to a couple of feet in front of the rabbit. Scratching the ground there a bit can help. If your invitation is accepted, the rabbit will move a bit forward toward your hand, lower its head and front body, and fold its ears back. If the rabbit rears up, or gives you a skeptical turned-sideways pose, your invitation hasn’t been accepted.

                        She completely ignores it when I try that. (does not look, keeps doing whatever she is doing) Now I am trying to pet her when she “sits” and she usually does not move and lets me pet her. (When she does not want my petting she simply hops away, no mean noises or anything and I only see the angry foot kick once and I think that was from her thinking I was calling her to give a treat and i did not have one.) Sometimes now she lets me do her underside and her legs. Most of the time I feel it is a “doesn’t care” mood. I think this because she never lowers her head to the ground as I am doing it or do that tooth purr. Sometimes I can feel the side of her head vibrating when I scratch the side of her head but I often do not hear anything. The only thing she does really is move her head slightly to show she wants petting in that spot, unless it is just to look at me.

                        However even when I got her at the shelter, she does a very loud grinding noise a lot when eating. I think it is supposed to be this:

                        Some rabbits will mutter nervously to themselves. This sound is usually a little higher pitched than the happy mumbling of a rabbit being groomed, and sounds very different from a rabbit grunting as it eats or grunt-growling at you when it’s angry. I’ve been told, though, that some rabbits just always are muttering to themselves, and in such cases doesn’t necessarily indicate nervousness, but is probably just comfortable social mumbling. In fact, female rabbits may “coo” while nursing their pups. The context of the situation should make the meaning pretty clear.

                        Why would she do an angry thump after exploring the house though? She explored the two rooms and bathroom then hopped in front of my room/her room and did one thump and hopped in our room and into her pen and her hutch shortly after.

                         She did a thump or two when exploring under the bed too.


                      • Deleted User
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                          My boy will let me pat him when HE’S in the mood (so not often), otherwise he moves away. Brushing him? NO chance! (Very distressing for ME when he is moulting, fur and fluff everywhere). The thumping, at a guess, she is still unsure and something as simple as a shadow could give her a little scare. I wouldn’t worry too much – you’ll both work it out in time. Henry lays fully stretched out all the time (comfy bunny), and when he sits/sleeps hunched up I take that as he doesn’t necessarily want to be bothered. But I still give him a pat, and it’s up to him to move away from me, or stay if he wants more. Just do what you want at the time, and your girl will react accordantly. Henry doesn’t chin anything! Some do, some don’t. Just like we are all different, so are our buns. Worry a little less, and enjoy your girl! ‘Time’ is the secret to everything wonderful. Cheers Peony.


                        • Peony
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                            Can a single thumb be scare? I guess I forgot to detail when I say thumb it is always once. Or this:
                            She explored it a bit and after a few times of going pen to the outside area near my door, she made a first thump outside my bedroom (like in front of the door opening) She ran into my room then pen area on her own, then thump with a little honk.

                            That little sound around the same time as she did the second thumb shocked me, like ‘That was really weird’

                             

                            For the brushing, I do not push her on her, same with petting. If she lets me pet her for a while, I would get the brush, show it to her, then start brushing her. Sometimes she runs off, sometimes she stays, considering that i did not have her long (Now on day 7) I guess she is doing really well getting adjusted. I really think it is from her personality though ‘I do not care about much’

                             With my mom in the room, she was drinking water and id a small honk.


                          • Ktiernan
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                              My bunny Brenna often thumps under the bed. I still haven’t figured out quite why. However I have found out that she occasionally thumps her foot when I don’t feed her fast enough in the morning or if she decides she needs more hay at any time. I think it can be their way of getting your attention.

                              As long as she doesn’t thump and then go hide I don’t think it signals fear.


                            • Peony
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                                Oh it is not a food thing, she knows when it is time for greens and she always have access to hay. I do not think she thumps out of fear, she just runs to her bed area in her hutch when she does not like something. Showing her meat, playing gangan style, so on.

                                 

                                She can be a brat in the morning though and well I think it is understandable because how they are crepuscular. She wakes me around 7:30 am by cage plucking and I feed her greens at 8 am. She used to be a brat when it was time for us to go to sleep but last 3 days or so she went fit free.

                                Today I let her freely explore the hallway and I just laid there. She groomed me (licks) and did binkies. My Mom did the same and she kept attacking my Mom’s slippers by digging at them and nipping at them. I have no idea why but it made me laugh my butt off. I think my bunny is really an explorer, always moving, I still do not see her giving me a pet her signal so that worried me if she really liked me or not. Well today I know she really does like my since she licked me.

                                Maybe when she calms down and gets used to having access to more room, she will let me pet her more (once that pen is open shes not sitting still for petting lol)

                                This is on the 8th day of having her and she kept to her littler box the hole time too. I really think she is different then most bunnies.


                              • Peony
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                                  Ohhh me and my mom got up today and let her in the hallway right away. I think she did the give me my leaves angry thump lol, My mom was actally getting it when she did it. She knows what time it is :3


                                • rayray
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                                    Like most other said, I wouldn’t worry too much about any of this behaviour. A lot of rabbits take quite some time to get comfortable in a new home.
                                    If she lets you do something, then she probably likes it. Rabbits don’t seem shy about hopping away from you if they don’t want to be touched.
                                    If I touch Ziggy when he’s not interested in my love or when I offer him something he doesn’t want to eat, he’ll hop away but also kick his back feet at me. Almost like he’s kicking dirt in my face. lol!! Jerk.
                                    I’ve had him since August and last night was the 1ST TIME I’ve ever gotten a cuddle from him!!! I swear I hear angels singing softly because it was a miracle!


                                  • Peony
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                                      I figured as much and I do understand I might be expecting a lot because she seems more accepting being in a new place the most stories I hear. I am just trying to make sure I am doing the right thing for her since her language seems different then most too. I feel a bit bad since most of the time she is in the curled tense stance, at least that is what it looks like to me but maybe it is just her thing or never felt truly loved.


                                    • Loki Lover
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                                        If she thumped, then she might be scared or angry (because she doesn’t want you to catch her). If you want to learn more about bunny body language, I found a great website that has helped me a lot:

                                        http://language.rabbitspeak.com


                                      • Peony
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                                          She does not follow that well though, especially when it comes to petting, she is such an oddball. Maybe she will start bowing her head for pets when she get used to the house more, I think she did it today but she was in her hutch.

                                          The not being chased, now that I think about it, since I was following her as she explored to watch her, that might be the reason for that thump. Same for under the bed, I guess it could of been seen I was “chasing” her.

                                          I think this morning she did a mad thump for wanting her breakfast leaves. (was abut that time, just did not get it yet) Least that is what I think it was.


                                        • Ktiernan
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                                            Haha oh bunnys. So funny.

                                            Ray Ray you give me hope my bun will let me snuggle with her sooner than later. She’s getting more and more lovey but I’m hoping she will get comfy enough to sit in my lap at least.

                                            Yup definitely sounds like you have nothing to be concerned about. I bet she starts bowing her head for pets once she gets more comfortable in the space.


                                          • Peony
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                                              My mom started to call Peony schizo because now that we given her more room, she would be hopping around in the kitchen then out of nowhere would bolt full speed all the way to the second floor in her hutch then back again. ( Think her one stride record is kitchen > hutch> kitchen >hutch. She even did it this morning when I was getting her greens. There is this one spot she likes to pick at the wall and as soon she seen me see her doing that, she bolted to the second floor in the hutch. I was like… okay…….

                                              It is like she spends all her energy at full speed then sleeps.

                                               Oh, also yesterday,  Peony did something unexpected. See me and Mom starting to lay down these cube things and since she never jumped over a single layer, I was like she is fine, just put a single layer everywhere so it is easy to step over and she will not jump over it because she can’t. (She ‘tried’ when having a single layer to block of small parts in my room) So she was looking over the part that blocked off the bathroom, she used her front paws standing up (She can look over the top doing a periscope stance) and used her front paws to help her jump over the thing. I was laughing so hard because it just looked funny. Then we had to take the cube wall down to get her out since I doubt she be doing that again to get out =.= So because of that I made three layered gates out of cube things to block her off from the front room and kitchen (Mom wants to end her access from the kitchen at times) The reason for 3 layers and not two is because so me or my mom don’t have to bend over to open them.


                                            • Peony
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                                                What is the reason for small squeaking noises when drinking water?


                                              • LopLove
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                                                  Peony: My girl sometimes used to make “gulping” sounds when I first had her. My first few water bottles didn’t work very well, so I would sometimes come home to an empty bottle (because the bottle would leak throughout the school day) or a full bottle (because it didn’t let the water out easily enough). I’d give her a bowl of water, and she would gulp it up pretty noisily.

                                                  My rabbit also sometimes makes squeaking noises when she’s happy and grooming herself.


                                                • Peony
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                                                    I figured it was normal but it is new to me so I wanted to make sure.

                                                    I still do not get her fascination of my bed though (I made another thread about that issue) but the other night she actually slept on my bed.

                                                    I thought I try something and that was to carry my rabbit (litterbox carry method) to my Mom’s room and put her on her bed and see what she would do. (With my Mom being ok of course) So the trip there she was being a bit skiddish and fidgeted even after i covered her eyes. I set her box on the bed and she hopped out, did one circle around it and hopped right back in the box. Me and my mom assumed that was her way of saying ‘I am done” So I carried her back to my room and she was a lot calmer like she was happy to return. I set her on my bed and looked happy.

                                                    So it is not like she is obsessed of being on a bed, just mine. It might be normal rabbit thing because she prob likes me a lot but I still find it odd.

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                                                Forum BEHAVIOR My bunny’s body language