Bunny Doesnt Seem Happy?

[iLoveDaisy]

My Daisy doesn’t ever really show that she’s happy. She doesn’t do Binky’s or zoomies. She doesn’t purr or flop. She doesn’t nessicarily seem UNhappy, but the most she does is nudge stuff, throw toys and hop. Is she unhappy or juat unexpressive?

[Bam]

How long have you had Daisy and how old is she?

Adult rabbits are typically a lot less prone to doing binkies etc than young rabbits. It’s kind of the same with humans, tbh. Kids and teenagers frolick about and do the human equivalent of binkies, adults much less so. This is normal.

If Daisy’s appetite is good, her poop is good, if she drinks (or eats fresh veg) and pees like she should and doesn’t excessively hide away from her humans, I think she’s fine. If she gets out-of-cage excercise/play time, shows affection towards her humans (f ex present herself for pets, most commonly of head and ears) and likes to relax near her family, I dont think you need to worry.

 

[iLoveDaisy]

Daisy is 1 1/2 and I’ve had hwr since she was 2 months old. She eats/drinks normally. She is a little more shy around other family members, but that just because I’m with her the most. Though, even when she was younger, she never did binkies or zoomies either

[Bam]

I dont want to make light of your situation, even though my gut feeling is that Daisy has a great life. Does Daisy have enough room to do binkies? Rabbits need more space than previously believed, at least for some part of the day. Binkies aren’t absolutely required -for bun happiness – sometimes they’re even a sign of stress.  Its a lot more important that the bun can relax in the presence of their human.

Do you have other pets (f ex a dog) that Daisy might perceive as a possible threat? Dogs can be totally complacent and calm and the bun can still need quite some time to decide that the dog is harmless.

It’s normal for adult (i e post-babyhood) buns to be shy around other people than the primary caregiver (you). Some buns are more outgoing than others, but as a rule, rabbits aren’t trusting of strangers and semi-strangers. Normally they will gradually accept other people over time, but they tend to do so very slowly (years, often several years). I recently read about a 9 year old bun who suddenly decided to jump into the owner’s lap and demsnd pets.  If your bun is attached to you, chances are good she’ll eventually accept other humans as well.

It’s good to keep an eye on food intake, poop output and body weight. You could perhaps weigh her once per week and write her weight down in a weight-journal.  I always recommend keeping a health-journal for everybun, because its pretty much not possible to keep score in your head.

 

[Wick & Fable]

What sort of direct social stimulation does she get? While our experiences are not the same, I’ve had my Wick since 2mo, and I know there was a time when I thought he was not super pleased because he never flopped, binky’d, etc.. I came to the realization that while he is with me all day, I’m not actively attending to him, so in a way I’m just chilling and inactive, therefore he also becomes chill and inactive. Nowadays, I put in the time to actively engage with him several times a day with pellet puzzles, pets, talking to him, etc. to get him more active. If the environment is not welcoming a rabbit to engage, they likely will not.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[iLoveDaisy]

Wick & Fable, Usually when Daisy is with me, she just sits on my lap. I was thinking about getting her a tunnel, and now I defindently will.

Bam, We do have a dog, but Daisy just hops up to her. Daisy isn’t afraid of any of my other pets (2 cats and a dog). My cats are scared of her. Daisy does have space to do Binky’s but she just hops around and nudges everything.

[LBJ10]

She’s a lop. Some lops just fit the stereotype (i.e. “lazy lops”).

[Bam]

It does sound very much like my bun Bam. He too was a lop. He very rarely binkied. Zero interest in toys of any kind. But he liked to lounge on his bed near his humans. He really, really liked food and cuddles.

[iLoveDaisy]

Yeah, I guess Daisy is more into lounging than binkying. I will try to get her some different toys, too, just to make sure she’s not bored.

[Bam]

The only toy my Bam ever took any interest in was a treat ball. He was very food-oriented, so I guess he thought the treat ball was worthwhile.

He did like to gnaw on apple twigs a lot though. He was really good at stripping the bark off of twigs. I used to give the dry twigs to my mum, she used them as kindling wood.

[LBJ10]

Yes, food-oriented toys tend to be more popular with bunnies that “don’t care for” toys.

[iLoveDaisy]

Daisy likes toys that she can throw. like baby toys

[LBJ10]

Stacking cups are very popular. Have you tried a set of those?

[iLoveDaisy]

I have not. But she likes throwing regular bowls and cups so maybe I should try that

[Author]

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