Obsessed with grooming and licking!

[bunbunbinkie]

My 3/4 month old doe, Rue,  loves nothing more than to just sit and groom my husband and I. She seems happy; plays, eats, binkies, flops and does all the normal, mischievous things a young bun likes to do. But, if given the opportunity she will plop herself on or around us and go to town licking…and licking…and licking! I wasn’t sure if this amount of licking is her showing us affection or like in cats, a possible sign of anxiety? She doesn’t seem to be anxious, but I am am wondering if it is a kind of compulsive behavior or serves as a stress reliever for her?

My previous buns would groom me but would stop after a handful of seconds. When Rue is in “grooming mode” I have to distract her or move her so that she stops grooming. If I had to approximate a time period I would say these grooming sessions last anywhere from 10-20 minutes, with me distracting her multiple times to take a break from the tongue lashing Her favorite spot to groom us is our faces, and when we are on the couch she will perch herself on our chest/shoulder and go to town. I’m not complaining, I love her bunny kisses! I just wanted to check to see if any of you have experienced this type of behavior in bunnies.

Thank you!

Kay and Rue

[Love4Bunny]

Wow, that is a long time, but I can relate. I never let Thor lick my face that long because it seems unrelenting, so I ease myself away from him because it tickles like crazy, with his whiskers and all. Thor loves to lick my face, hands, etc.

When I have to pick Thor up, I’ve noticed he will groom my hands, almost like he is keeping an eye on them at all times (a bit of control, there!), so I would say that that’s probably more worry-driven, and the rest is affection.

You say Rue is just under a month? If that’s the case, perhaps her hormones may be a factor, as I’m guessing she’s unspayed. I have limited experience with unfixed rabbits, so this is just supposition.

Is Rue’s namesake from The Hunger Games? I almost named my girl Primrose Everdeen, but Rue is such a cute name, based on the movie character.

[Mimsy]

Well, if your faces werent’ so dirty…..

j/k

Kinda cute though. I get the 3 second lick if I’m lucky and it seems to just mean…there I did it..now groom me slave or I’ll have dig at you next.

[Q8bunny]

Chewie (who’ll be a year this month) does this too – he licks the couch, my bed, and me daily for extended periods of time. He waits for me to wake up every morning (lounges at my feet in bed) and to come to bed every night (lounges on my pillow) just so we can spend 15 or so minutes with his face smooshed up against my face, nuzzling and kissy kissing. He does not seem anxious at all, and I talked to his extremely bunny-savvy vet about it, and she agrees in thinking that he’s just strongly bonded to me and is showing affection the best way he knows how. The morning/evening sessions are separate from the watching-TV sessions and the playing-on-the-rug sessions and the marking-student-papers sessions. lol

[bunbunbinkie]

Love4bunny, it is interesting that Thor will groom you when he is being picked up, Rue will do that exact thing too, especially if I have to hold her for a few seconds. It’s not the same as the grooming licks she will give when we are on the couch or the floor together. To clarify, Rue is between 3 and 4 months old , I realize that “3/4” months looks like under a month! We didn’t get her name from The Hunger Games, but I thought about that after we named her! She is named after a street near my work where I rescued her called “Rue De Chateaux”!

Mimsy, sounds like you have a diva (or a divo- a male diva!) on your hands, lol. My first bun liked to dig at me to be groomed but was a bit reserved in returning the favor 😉 I wondered if maybe Rue thought we were really, really dirty! haha

Q8bunny, Chewie is a licky bunny, too! Lol! So funny that he waits for you in bed! Rue will lick random things off and on like Chewie does. So sweet that he loves you so much and wants to cuddle. My first two buns were lovey but only sporadically. Rue will jump on my shoulder while we are longing and bury her head in my face/hair/neck and sit there. I love that about her!

[LittlePuffyTail]

My little Bridge Mini-Rex used to be like that too. He would obsessively give kisses until my face was wet and I would have to push him away and he would get all mad and try to come back. He would lick pillows and blankets like that too sometimes.

Enjoy the kisses! Not all bunnies are kissers. My current two never give me kisses. I miss them.

[Author]

Messages