That’s a good question! I just always assumed it was part of the grooming process…. ie. “I scratch my ear and then I lick off any bunny ear wax….” ok, kinda weird that I would think that I guess! I hope someone has an answer that’s better than mine

I think they are eating whatever they find on the other end.
Like when primates clean each other they eat what they find. I think bunnies do the same thing.

Edson does this too!  I have often wondered what the heck is on his feet? I fact today I tried to investigate but he hates to have his toes touched!  I’m glad other buns do this because I think it’s kind of strange!

I’ve been working too long today, I started laughing when I read these posts because the first thing that popped into my pooped brain was Married With Children and Al Bundy sitting on the couch scratching his ear and………..eau heheheheh

OK I have just gotten back and and had a glass of wine and this really sounds absolutely ridiculous!  If my family knew I talked about such things they would commit me BUT at the time it sounded like a reasonable question!

Nonsense! I’m sure Edson at least would think that it’s a perfectly reasonable question… he just doesn’t feel like telling you the answer so us lowly humans are left here on our own trying to guess!!!

And I really should implement a self-imposed no drinking wine and posting rule since I just had a glass (or 2) myself…

Jack does this especially when he’s scratching his ears. It think it’s as lionlop said, cleaning up bunny residue off their feet.

And yet they don’t immediately wash up as soon as they leave the litterbox. T_T

I agree…I think its that they are now cleaning the ‘dirt’ off their feet that got on there from grooming.

I think its similar to how they lick their paws before cleaning their face-they are getting them wet to clean-just like mom’s who lick their thumb and then wipe your face LOL

I have no idea.  I tried it on myself and it was nasty.  I thought perhaps it was just my feet so I tried licking their feet and it wasn’t much better.

WascawyWabbit – HAhahhahhaaa! That’s grrrrrross!

I used to chew off my toenails. But no I dont’ lick my feet. I figure it is part of the grooming process.

Hmm, I always thought that they licked their feet BEFORE scratching their ears so that they could get their feet a bit damp to help clean…or maybe they are checking to make sure their toenails aren’t too long and won’t poke them when they are trying to itch…. I’m waiting for one of my bunny’s to scratch their ear so I can see if they lick their foot after. It does make sense that they would just be grooming some bunny ear wax off.

Pip does tend to lick her foot several times while she’s scratching her ears. But I see that she’s none too gentle with the scratching either way, and I often find her ears looking a shade pinker than normal afterward.
I think Mimzy does the multiple licks too. I just thought it’s that they don’t want their feet to be dirty at any time. I notice he’ll pick his foot up and flick and lick if he think’s he’s trod over a particularly dusty portion of floor also.
Weird buns. ^_^

Fastidious creatures … what … don’t want no ear gunge under my toe nails … thank you very much

Waskawy- LOLOLOLOL!!

Hehe…I just hadta!

I know bunny tongues are rough like a cat’s, so they can groom their fur really well. I’m guessing they scratch any dirt/gook out of their ears, then use their rough tongues to clean off anything thats stuck on their feet afterwards so they can be all clean

Haha Opal does that .. he spreads his toes and gets right inbetween and then does a little binky and then carries on with whatever he was doing

Yup, part of the grooming process.  If you watch when they wash their face, they also usually lick their front paws before finishing up.

Afterall, if you just wiped off a lot of dirt from your face, you wouldn’t want it on your hands.

i always kinda thought the opposite way… they scratch their ear. it ruffles their foot fur, so they lick the foot fur back into place. it’s probably one of those things we will never know for a fact.

I know you posted this years ago, but I just found it because I was searching for the same thing.  We have a saying around our house:  “If it doesn’t lick its foot after scratching its ear, then it’s not a rabbit.”  I’ve observed cat, dogs, squirrels and chipmunks, but none of them lick their foot after scratching their ears, so I think the behavior’s unique only to rabbits.  Fascinating…

Hi Julie, please do not respond to old posts – this is from 2008 – it confuses members. I am going to lock this thread.