Nose Pokes – What do they mean?

[BinkyBunny]

So member, lecasler emailed me this great question about nose pokes. (as of now lecasler is unable to start a new thread due to some incompatibility issues that we are still trying to work through – we are going to have another update pretty soon so hopefully that will finally take care of this issue)  

ANYHOO, I thought the nose poke was  great question to further learn from.

Does your bunny give you nose pokes? Not nips, not little sniffs, but actual pokes?  And if so when.

I have been told that these are "greetings" which seems to make sense with my bunny, Jack, since he does this as he passes by me.    But there really isn’t a whole lot of information on it, so it would be interesting to find out if there is another reason for the nose pokes.

Is your bunny a nose poker?

[Lippy]

If I’m sitting on the floor with my legs stretched out OJ will nose poke my feet and then run away. I always assumed that he thought my feet were in the way or in his space and he was telling me to move them. He never nose pokes any other part of me – just my feet (can’t imagine it’s that pleasant for him at the end of the day!! )

[Hedi]

Nose pokes are so cute! Im not special enough to get one but my two buns luv to give my husband nose pokes while hes on the couch watching tv. And if thats not enough to get his attention then they will give his pants a little tug.

Usually he reaches down and sometimes they let him pet them but usually its one pat on the head and they are off to play again!

[osprey]

Curly Sue is a nose poker.  She bonks you with her nose if you are in her way.  She also pushes her head under your hand and moves it out of the way if you are petting her and she is not in the mood.

[wendyzski]

Hee – Pepper does this ALL the time.  I call them "The head-butts of bunny-love!"

For her they mean a couple of things depending on context:

If she is just passing through, it’s a "hey!" sort of drive-by greeting.

If I have friends over and they get poked, or if she pokes more than once, it’s "pay attention to me for a moment!", or "do you have any treats?"

If I am sitting on the floor, and she wants me to move my leg or something that is in her way, it gets head-butted a couple of times, then she will tug clothing once or twice, and then if I’m too dense to get the hint she will nip me.

[dragonjaze]

Yep!! Bronwyn is a nose poker, and I love it! When I am sitting at the computer (which is the majority of the time) I get run-by nose pokes on my legs and ankles. I think it is adorable! Sometimes I can reach down and pet her, sometimes not. I think it is just a way of saying “hi, how are ya, do you remember that I am still here?”

And the whisker tickles are cute as well

[MooBunnay]

Nose pokes in my house almost always mean that I am in the Bunny 500 track, and they cannot speed race until I move whatever it is that they poked!  Juli tried doing a little 500 around my room one time without checking the path and giving me my forwarning poke, and about halfway through the lap she ran directly into my leg….ever since then I get the nose poke   The other time I frequently get the nose poke is when I am cleaning the bunny cage, Kramer will give me a nose poke and tell me to get out of his house!

[jacki fullerton]

Noble is a nose poker. I think he likes to let me know he is there and wants some attention. He does it to guests when they come to visit, he does it to me when he wants me to pet him. He pokes people’s legs and feet when they are sitting down in the living room. He usually pokes and sits there waiting for a pet. He also pokes objects, and will move them if they are light. He pokes his box hiding place to move it near the sun. Yup, he is a real nose poker…..

[Deleted User]

Teddy is very much a nose poker… but there doesnt seem to be much consistency with it… he’l usually do it if im in his way before doing the extreme of nipping to get me out the way lol, or is wondering what im doing. He always does nose poking if im cleaning up in the kitchen crouched down… he also then has his front paws up on me to try and get a look at what im doing.

[2buns4me]

My bun is a nose poker. When ever my boyfriend sits on the floor my bun Daisy will go over and give him a good hard poke. Then if he doesn’t move, she will nip at his toes till he does! LOL. Daisy only pokes my boyfriend, no one else, it’s so funny.

[x liddo bunny x]

mochi is a nose poker!!!! when she wants something she nose pokes my hand in the direction of the thing she wants (usually treats) i put the treats in a cream cheese container (wash it though) and she knows……- -” either that or she doesnt want me to pick her up. when she does that i just pet her and when she is ready i slowly pick her up (she still figets though – -“)

[cookie627]

when i sit against a wall my bunny pokes me in the back. I move so my bunny can pass through. And sometimes he just pokes me for some reason.

[omisanh]

my baby omi is a nose poker too..
i think its really cute because they’re letting you know they are there..
but..mine nips after he nose pokes…
so everytime i feel him on my ankle nose poking me. i move cus im scared he might nip me!!!!
just like now!

[cookie627]

same here!!!!mine nose pokes then nips(sometimes bites)then scratches!!!

[hooty22]

Felony nose pokes me so that I’ll pet him…When we are visiting my parents, he nose pokes my dad because he wants my dad to get up out of his chair so that Felony can stretch out….If dad doesn’t respond to the nose poke, he gets a nibble….

[x liddo bunny x]

my mochi will do this nose poke thing when i put my face close to the ground like a kiss. or when i come to greet her she gives me a kiss becuase she wants a treat. =P

[Spacehopper]

Nose pokes are lovely, and as ominsanh said they are letting you know they are there. It’s quite a worry when they go from doing so, to not. I worried last night that Bri was not well as he hadnt been up on the bed for his cuddles in the night, he was being quite quiet so i got up, popped the light on and got under the bed with him for a bit (shhhhh!!! they’ll lock me away). Seems all worry was not needed, and turns out that i must have just been a heavy sleeper the last week and not noticed his appearance utop the bed. Come daybreak this morning, regular as clockwork, there was the familiar thud next to me, followed by the arm and hand nudging until i relented and got his head in my hand and began scratching his head, and cheeks. I did stop a couple of times and doze, but he was having non of it and kept nudging my fingers apart to wedge his head back in.

[Deleted User]

Awww you take Felony with you when you go visit your parents? Thats soo cute.. i would love to take Teddy out and about with me but i really dont think he’d appreciate it lol.. and the parents are a no go as they have a dog! lol!

[hooty22]

yeah…My parents love him. It’s kind of ridiculous. My mom will sit Felony on my dad’s recliner and Felony will just kick out and relax there for hours…Of course Felony also poops on it and gets angry when we clean it up because the recliner is actually his and not my dad’s. We are such foolish humans in a bunny world.

[poopy]

Posted By Spacehopper on 05/08/2007 5:13 AM
Nose pokes are lovely, and as ominsanh said they are letting you know they are there. It’s quite a worry when they go from doing so, to not. I worried last night that Bri was not well as he hadnt been up on the bed for his cuddles in the night, he was being quite quiet so i got up, popped the light on and got under the bed with him for a bit (shhhhh!!! they’ll lock me away). Seems all worry was not needed, and turns out that i must have just been a heavy sleeper the last week and not noticed his appearance utop the bed. Come daybreak this morning, regular as clockwork, there was the familiar thud next to me, followed by the arm and hand nudging until i relented and got his head in my hand and began scratching his head, and cheeks. I did stop a couple of times and doze, but he was having non of it and kept nudging my fingers apart to wedge his head back in.

common morning ritual at my place as well!

sometimes when i am asleep and consciously having a dream i will mistake medusa walking on top of me to be something in my dream attacking me or shaking me…then i wake up and realize its just medusa giving her morning call

[Author]

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