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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
So I’ve noticed that not many noises phase my girls. Car alarms can sound outside, sirens going in the distance, airplanes overhead, the vacuum cleaner, dogs barking…none of these illicit any type of reaction. But here’s what peeves Pippin: Celtic music. Pippin hates the flutes and bagpipes and will stand there on alert with her ears up and her back leg ready to thump. I think it’s the high pitches that she can’t handle so I have to listen to Celtic music pretty quietly now so she isn’t bothered. What noises do your bunnies hate?
Moose is terrified of the noise paper bags make. Yep. Paper bags. Because it’s going to eat him or something… lol!
Lol, Celtic music and paper bags. Bunnies are so funny!
Olivia has a lot of “pet peeve” noises. We have tons of DVDs and CDs in the living room and my husband re-arranges them sometimes. Olivia gets really mad and stomps. She especially hates the noise of opening a CD case. And if she’s in the living room and we are eating, any loud crunching sound sets her off. Such a Diva!!!
Bindi does’t hear as well, so not much disturbs him. In the summer, though, we have a pheasant that hangs out in our yard and will do his really loud “bak bak” and they both get super alert. And a couple of years ago I had Bindi out for playtime and I was watching the old clay Rudolph show and the Bumble was doing a lot of growling and Bindi freaked out and started stomping.
This is such a cute topic!
Tiger isn’t phased by much, but she hates firework season. Thumps all night, and keeps me up. I just try to reassure her with pets and coos that everything is fine. It’s a good temporary fix. :/ I feel it’s odd that only the most extreme of loud noises bother her. She loves most noisy things.
The one sound that seems to freak both of mine out is the sound of something frying. Both of them freeze and then try to hide. Maybe it sounds like a snake?
Lionel is terrified of the sound of running water. I have no idea why.
Whenever I get sick and vomit or if I have to cough a LOT (like, if I swallowed some food or water down the wrong way) someone, I believe it’s Scully, will thump several times. I’ve been really sick lately, but I always like crawl out into the living room in the middle of such an episode and choke out a few “shh you’re okay” as I struggle to breathe lol.
I think she’s worried about me ;;
The vaccum cleaner is the biggest issue in my house. I vacuum a couple times a week when Chester is shedding, and once when he’s not. Chester can’t seem to get used to it. He hides under the bed every time I turn it on!
He’s also not a fan on the sound I make while closing my laptop, or when I sneeze. I sneeze in groups because of my allergies, and that used to freak him a lot. He’s more used to it now. And finally, we have crows behind my building, and Chester doesn’t like them cawing.
Well, it could be worst, right?
Houdini doesn’t like the sound of me blowing my nose! I have allergies to rabbits and horses.. My two favorite animals that I’m around all the time.. But I take meds to help with itchy eyes and runny nose. But sometimes when I forget to take a pill and I go to feed and water Houdini and have to blow my nose ,he will sit so still, and start thumping.. Silly boy!
I realized whistling and clapping are also not too appreciated by my ladies. Those kind of seem like a given to me. Both are kind of loud or high pitched. Such silly creatures bunnies are!
Vacuum cleaner and pots and pans in the kitchen. She is off like a rocket when someone starts to cook dinner every night XD
Mine actually aren’t phased with the vacuum cleaner. I guess because I’m in their pen vacuuming every day and they’ve given up and realized thumping isn’t going to make that obnoxious noise go away. I have an annoyingly loud hand vac too that I use for quick clean ups everyday with them in their cage and they just eh *shrugs* used to it :p
One thing they absolutely hate though is when I’m putting ice in my cup. Even if I’m trying to drop one little ice cube in my cup at a time they still hate it! I think it’s more so Sally that hates it and Harley just hates it because Sally freaks out and darts everywhere. Sally also disagrees with the Ocarina but it could just be my lack of skills too :p
Posted By NewBunnyOwner123 on 01/01/2014 10:20 PM
Sally also disagrees with the Ocarina but it could just be my lack of skills too :p
I laughed hard. Mine is getting more used to strange sounds but today i was playing the nom nom song and my rabbit stopped eating hat and perked her hears up for a while.
Nom nom song:
She also stood there to the mission impossible theme song.For those two songs, she walked a bit and stopped when the sound source would be directly in front of her (I think she was trying to figure out direction of the source) my laptop is off the floor but she stood facing the correct direction in the correct position if the laptop was on the floor with her..
Gamgam style used to make her run into her bed, but she is used to it now I think.
Any loud clatter from something falling she will dart. (Now that I think about it from reading this thread, I think I seen her dart from ice. I never used it but she heard my mom putting ice in a glass I think)
First time she heard the vacuum in our house she went like a rocket to her hutch. The second time however, she stood there what she was doing (was far away at first) Then as it got closer she got on alert. Then once the vacuum was one stride from our room entrance she bolted to the hutch. She never did a fear thump (more then once in a very short span of time) Anytime she gets scared, she just bolts to her hutch.
There aren’t many sounds that have an affect on Nellie, but she absolutely can NOT stand music! As soon as the first note starts, no matter how quiet it is, she hops right back to her cage and doesn’t come out until it stops.
Oddly enough, she is unphased by the Wiggles’ music
The ocarina is a musical instrument. Most commonly known off the Zelda game :p and if played wrongly, like I do most the time, sounds like a dying animal haha
I’m relieved my buns don’t seem to mind music as I play it every morning while I wake up and sip on coffee and then clean previous nights dishes (I always do dishes in the morning for some reason. I’m not a night time dish washer. I guess because I’m so contently stuffed I don’t feel like doing anything :p)
I’m pretty sure Otto is mostly deaf. He will run up and nose-bonk the vacuum while it’s running (and moving). Nothing phases him.
Hannah is much more sensitive. She is phased by really loud noises like pots and pans clanging, or the vacuum. Not so much that she freaks out, but enough that she goes on alert and usually finds a place to hide until it’s over.
My bunny get freaked out when I play fast/loud music and runs around my house like crazy. He will occasionally stop and stare at me, thump his foot, and continue running around like a lunatic. I end up turning it off after a few minutes. Also the noise of passing cars always gets him standing up on his back legs.
Luna and Paddington both hate the smoke alarm (then again so do I) and the hoover.
Other than that, not much phases them noise wise. Although they freak out if I get up or move around too fast, haha!
Lionel is terrified of the sound of running water. I have no idea why.
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My rabbit is scared of running water too, actually bath water. Our other bunny Lily is scared of any kids making noises because she had an ordeal as a young bunny. She was dropped by a young girl who received her for an Easter gift. I don’t blame Lily for being scared of kids – I would too.
NO EASTER BUNS!!!
Posted By Tessie on 01/04/2014 10:14 AM
Luna and Paddington both hate the smoke alarm (then again so do I) and the hoover.
Other than that, not much phases them noise wise. Although they freak out if I get up or move around too fast, haha!
Tessie, we’ve had some unfortunate run ins with smoke alarms mostly in my last apartment where there were both alarms in the hallways AND inside the units, both of which were extremely loud and pretty terrifying. I think I’m more scarred from that than my rabbits are, but I know how sensitive their hearing is so mostly I freaked out because I didn’t want them to be scared or uncomfortable. I honestly just hate smoke alarms so much after that.
The other day I sneezed pretty loudly (I’m getting over a cold) and Pippin stood forward completely on alert. Sometimes if I cough or sneeze, they get upset. Maybe they just care about me haha
Yeti is okay with most sounds, except for the dreaded vacuum (hand vac). I always give him a warning by quickly turning it on and off, to give him time to find cover lol. You’d think he’s expecting a bomb to drop.
Alby is freaked out by the mixer. Its far away from his playpen, but he still hides when he hears it. I haven’t used the blender since I got him, but I’m sure he’ll hate that too.
I’d like to add harmonica and banjo to this mix. No musical instrument is safe for those tender bunny ears. haha
Posted By justwildbeat on 01/06/2014 02:48 PM
Yeti is okay with most sounds, except for the dreaded vacuum (hand vac). I always give him a warning by quickly turning it on and off, to give him time to find cover lol. You’d think he’s expecting a bomb to drop.
I try to “warn” Merida by doing that with the vacuum too- she doesn’t seem to get that it’s a warning though haha. She’ll usually watch it, on High Alert, until it gets within ~5 feet of her before she runs to hide.
Merida also hates either the sound or smell of cooking- though I think really it’s the smell of meat being cooked, because even down the hallway she’ll sit nervously if we’re making something very-non-vegetarian in the oven lol. My poor baby girl; I can only imagine she’s wondering if she’ll be next (never!)
Liam seems to be aggressive towards (/afraid of?) plastic bags and the sound they make. When I open up a new garbage bag to clean the litter boxes, he sometimes tries to attack it, and he’ll lunge at -and bite- the bag of hay when I’m scooping out a new handful. Not in an “I want the hay now” sort of way, but in a “did he just growl??” sort of way. He also apparently acted aggressively towards my bf the other day when he snapped on a rubber cleaning glove (I wasn’t home at the time).
(Merida also freaked out when we played the “World’s Cutest Frog- Desert Rain Frog” youtube clip; it had been up on the most popular list or whatever at the time, and the bf played it without knowing the high-pitched squeak sound that the frog makes would cause Merida to look around in alarm- we didn’t have Liam at the time so idk what he would think of it)
Bumpy lives in our living room, right beside the entertainment shelving:
my dogs are hyper-aware of noise outside… they aren’t yippy dogs, we live in the country and outside noise is rare. However, they will bark at the occasional barking dog or car that may drive by. So to keep them from barking and getting worked up, we leave our tv on 24/7. This has allowed Bumpy to tune out lots of noise. He isn’t concerned with much, some days the vacuum cleaner annoys him, but most times he just moves out of the way while I vacuum. BUT what he doesn’t like, is the word “George”.
This is entirely my fault of course, because when I first got him I would get my super-excited voice on telling him how much I wanted to love him and squeeze him and call him GEORGE! Ears prick forward and he gets into that high-alert pose, just waiting for me to approach him. I have since then stopped using the word to tease him, also have decided that I’ll no longer try conditioning him to not hate being picked up. He hates it, he TOLERATES it, but he definitely hates it. I leave him be and he is much happier that way.
So… yea… barking dogs, ok, dogs running around the house, ok, vacuum inside his pen while he’s in there, ok, cars, banging on the door, loud sudden noises, no problem. JUST DON’T SAY GEORGE!!
Omigosh, manic_muncher, THAT IS HILARIOUS!
You made my day!
Lola hates it when I whistle!!! She embraces the vaccuum (follows me while it’s on), planes overhead, loud trucks going by, the whipper snipper/lawn mower, but whistling causes her to freeze and run away!! I think she’s hinting at how out of tune I am….
Mine doesn’t care about any noise except for my boyfriend blowing his nose. He sounds like an elephant and it sends my bunny running for cover. He doesn’t even budge when the smoke alarm goes off though.
Thank god my bun isn’t the only who is scared of paper bags! lol. & also the sound of me snapping my fingers, I do that a lot out of habit.
Yesterday my room mate was dumping sand out of his shoe (in my entry way… -.-) and the rabbits thumped at him lol
Paper bags don’t phase them at all, my bunnies love to toss them around and hide in them. I am a vegetarian-go-green-type gal and typically use a bag to put groceries in, but every once in a while I get some paper bags for the bun’s sake, after all – they will get loads of use out of them!!
Everyone should try to use reusable bags. I use the plastic bags as trash bags, but I usually have more than I need of those. The reusable ones are just so much easier to carry lol. In some places, plastic bags are illegal.
Yah. I wish it was illegal everywhere!!!
I also can’t stand plastic bags! I love paper bags and wish that trash bags and stuff were made of biodegradable or compostable materials.
I never use plastic bags! Ever. I occasionally use the paper bags, but plastic bags? No way! There should totally be a different topic for this! In The Lounge or something. Bunnies are great recyclers – we give them paper recyclables and the kids and hubby love making elaborate mazes and new toys for them.
I can’t really think of anything Cinder hasn’t liked, except the sound of me cursing. Last week I was stepping outside to feed Cinder when I rolled my ankle off of the only step in the patio. It’s the fourth time on the SAME ankle! She thumped a few times and was hunched in the little area of her home. Poor thing!
Last week I had something go down the wrong pipe and was coughing for like ten minutes and Bella was thumping for a full half hour!
Lupe is totally fine with vacuums (she’ll actually sneak up on me while I’m vacuuming), music (even musical instruments), thunderstorms, and running water (she likes to sit in the bathroom doorway when I’m in the shower). However she also freaks out if I choke/cough on something or have to clear my throat a lot. She’ll start thumping and I’ll find her sitting up straight, floppy ears forward, eyes wide. I’ll try to comfort her but every time I cough again she looks appalled and stomps, and sometimes will run into her cardboard house. Haha! She even gets alarmed if my roommate coughs or clears his throat loudly from another room. Maybe it’s a sound like a threatening predator would make, huffing or something?
Peanut doesn’t really like any sound that is unexpected – the vacuum, my boyfriends booming laugh, stirring sugar in a tea cup (yes, really!) Any noise my partner makes basically lol, Peanut is much more relaxed when it’s just me at home :p Buttercup is okay with most noises though sometimes she gets pissed if I’m having a coughing fit. She disapproves of that lol. She’s not so scared of the vacuum now, last time we hoovered she actually approached it.
Luna hates the sound of…”silence.” I’m sure she’s hearing something that I can’t – it’ll be quiet and out of nowhere she will get up and thump and run under my bed and thump some more. Though she is not afraid of loud things: vacuum, smoke alarm, thunderstorms, loud music, car horns, dogs barking, power drill.
Pippins HATES our Kirby vacuum, as I suppose most animals do! She’s not as afraid of it as our cats, though. She also becomes very weary when she hears people in the hallway of our apartment complex…she doesn’t really “hate” the sounds but she is definitely alert.
Just realized this is a revived post =P