Running fast? Just fun or scary?

[Irina]

I am just finishing bonding Tofu and Butterscotch, 2 males, neutered 4 weeks ago. They moved into their permanent pen yesterday. Things seem to be going well, but I am wondering about a certain behavior. Tofu (who is my bigger, dominant, more active bunny), likes to tear around the cage- going super fast and jumping over Butterscotch. I don’t know if it is intended to, but it freaks Butterscotch out. Is this just Tofu having fun, or is it a show of dominance? I am asking because Butterscotch seems intimidated by Tofu- even though there really wasn’t much aggression during the bonding process or afterwards… So is this a form of aggression!

[Elrohwen]

Sounds like he’s just having fun. It’s a totally normal thing to do. Butterscotch will probably learn to get out of the way in the future and it will be fine.

[bunnluff]

Bunny 500’s it sounds like. Mine do this rarely but used to do it often when they had an outdoor pen. It’s just having fun, not to worry. I actually think it’s hilarious. Sometimes they are accompanied by a binky or 2.
I have 2 girls who have been bonded for nearly the seven years I’ve had them and my dwarf shows a bit of dominance with my bigger bunny. They chase each other around and sometimes there is fur pulling but it’s all fun for them. Yesterday they were actually darting around the living room chasing one another. Aren’t bunnies so entertaining?

[rayray]

Good to know. lol! My bun does this sometimes with me. He’ll come up to me for treats & smell me a little. Then he’ll do a couple yard dash away from me. But come right back for treats again. Weirdo. Now that he’s getting more trusting with me and his new home, his big personality is really coming out. He’s pretty bossy and very nosey.

[Priya]

Mine does it all the time, even skids like a motorbike hahaha. ..he will dart all over the place, then lie down like a very well behaved good boy in his fav. areas. Then get all up all of a sudden and start going wild. I love it

[Dwarf Sparrow]

I’m sure it depends on the personalities of both rabbits, but your description reminded me of this:

“Incidentally, it is considered very insulting to hop quickly by right in front of another rabbit or you without stopping for a moment to offer the polite rabbit greeting of touching noses. Obviously, a rabbit can’t ponder peacefully while someone rushes back and forth in front of its face, and rabbits looking for trouble with other rabbits will do exactly this. You may encounter one consequence of this behavior yourself if you walk right past your rabbit quickly, in which case the rabbit might even charge at you in outrage! You can avoid this by giving an equivalent to touching noses when you walk by: a quick pat on the forehead. Not all rabbits are so easily insulted, though.”

from: http://language.rabbitspeak.com/rabbittalk_insults.html

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