What does licking mean?

[Ana]

I thought it meant affection, but then i read that it is a territorial thing, to show dominance.  Can ti be both?  I have 7 month old lionhead, and just got her SUnday night, so I’m definitely new to the bunny world.

Thanks!

[MarkBun]

Licking really isn’t a territorial/dominance thing. It is more of a “I love you, I accept you as one of the pack” type of thing. If buns are grooming other items besides you or other buns, it is often just a natural habit to want to groom something. If they are licking surfaces that aren’t ‘groomable’ such as wood or metal, it often means that they are lacking some nutrients in their diet and are trying to compensate by getting them elsewhere via licking.

[RabbitPam]

Listen to Markusdark, he knows.
I just thought it meant kisses.

[MooBunnay]

Yep – bunny kisses are to be treasured! I only have one that will actually “submit” to grooming me – the rest just get angry if I try to ask for grooms!

[jerseygirl]

Markusdark – where can I find out more about the diet deficiency thing? I’ve been meaning to post about licking too but have some of questions answered on this thread. Jersey licks the carpet or cushions after I pet her and I think of it as her grooming back. Sometimes I think she’s cleaning her tongue or feeling with her mouth as babies do(???) But – this week she was licking a plastic bin and the fire poker! (???) So I think something else is going on.

[Cassi&Charlie]

Charlie licks the floor after I pat him, I think it’s an inbetween thing as in “I like you but I’m still the boss so I’ll lick the floor not you”. I actually had to fence off the kitchen because he was trying to lick the bin where something had fallen on the outside and he obviously found it delicious. The fire poker? Umm good luck with that, no idea.

[Beka27]

i’ve never been licked… :o(

but she practically LICKS the fur off of Max…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Licking means you are worthy of being cleaned-it’s the highest bunny compliment!

[Binkles]

Haha! Binkles was just like that -opting to groom other things that SMELL like mommy as opposed to mommy herself….except under the cover of night.

She also had a particular very special lamb plushie that she always liked to groom…I sleep with it now.

[loppyloo]

Posted By jerseygirl on 07/22/2008 7:16 PM
Markusdark – where can I find out more about the diet deficiency thing? I’ve been meaning to post about licking too but have some of questions answered on this thread. Jersey licks the carpet or cushions after I pet her and I think of it as her grooming back. Sometimes I think she’s cleaning her tongue or feeling with her mouth as babies do(???) But – this week she was licking a plastic bin and the fire poker! (???) So I think something else is going on.

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Totally messed up on the quote thing and can’t fix it. So the quote is above the line, the reply below it. Sorry  

 

I don’t want to be confrontational at all, but I disagree with the poster who said that bunnies lick some things because they are lacking in some sort of vitamin or mineral. It was long thought that bunnies needed some sort of vitamin supplement or a slat block to augment their diet, but that is not the current thinking. If you bunny is eating a high quality pellet (timothy hay is best because it has less calcium), eating high quality timothy hay or orchard grass and appropriate greens, then there is very little chance that his licking has anything to do with vitamin or mineral deficiency.

Bunnies lick things other than people and other rabbits for all sorts of reasons…as someone said, the frequently lick things that smell like us as a king of “licking by proxy” sort of thing–for a vast variety of reasons they don’t want to lick us directly, so they lick the next best thing.

Bunnies also lick for comfort. Foofy likes to lick a particular pillow if he is mad or upset–it seems to help him to calm down. Buns also lick out of habit.

As for why they lick strange things, I personally think that they sometimes lick things to “explore” them, so see if they want to eat it. And if they keep coming back to something that seems odd, perhaps it is simply because they like the taste or the way it feels on their tounge. I doubt there is any mineral that a bun could get by licking a plastic bin! But I would probably steer her away from the fire poker, especially if it has actually been used.

 

 

 

[jerseygirl]

Thanks for the reply Loopyloo. It does seem she’s exploring with her tongue and it’s quite funny to watch. She just seem to be doing it alot more lately. But they change behaviour all the time don’t they! Jersey puzzles me alot. She’ll like this food then next day not. She goes thru phases of flops and honking, then phases of keeping to herself under the bed and giving me attitude. Guess we’ll always be learning!

[Beka27]

Meadow used to lick Mike’s spot on the couch. a lot. there would be a wet spot about the size of an orange before she was done. silly bunny.

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