why does my bunny make this noise?

[shareen]

whenever i let my bunny out of his cage to play he will be running around hopping about happy and then sometimes he makes this high pitched squeal or screech (sounds like a creeky old door openening)..from what ive read online bunnies do this when thye are hurt or scared…but my bunny is neither..he does it for a few seconds then goes back to playing…what does this mean?

[RabbitPam]

I’ve heard the same thing, so I am worried that he’s done something to hurt himself that you can’t see. could he have injured his leg and then steps on it so it hurts? I would take him to the vet for a check up in case it’s a sprain or break.

[Sarita]

Hmmm….are you sure it’s not a grunt? I have a few rabbits that grunt.

[Andi]

I’m with RabbitPam, as this is not a normal ‘happy’ behaviour.
Though, many, many years ago before I knew much about Rabbits, i did meet a rabbit in a cage in someone hobby farm that sorta ‘squeeked’ and talked unless you were petting and paying attention to him. It was cute then, but now sort of bothers me as i dunno why he did this.

[Deleted User]

This is mysterious. I agree that screeching is usually a distress sound but I suppose there may be exceptions.

[Queensbun]

My bun has made that sound (like a creaky door) on occasion when he’s heard a strange sound coming from my neighbor’s apt. He’ll stop whatever he’s doing, even mid-chew, his ears will perk up and he may then thump, depending on how disturbed he is with the sound. I think it’s more of a warning of possible danger, at least with my bun.

[shareen]

yeah its really weird..he just does it randomly and not everyday ive only bheard him do it 2 time last week and yesterday, he just does it for a few seconds and then goes back to running around and playing, i was thinking maybe its something to do with his breathing or something, he has had a runny eye for a few days, i dont know, but hes definitley not unhappy he runs around playing and binkying about, and eats and poops normally. And hes never made the noise when in his cage only when playing, It doesnt sound like a grunt it sounds like a squeak. I just can’t think of what could of caused him any distress when playing because he has his own room with lots of toys and i was sitting there with him, he was racing around the room then just stopped and made a squeal i went over and picked him up then he stopped. do you think he might have gotten out of breath?

[bunnymum16]

its best to talk to a vet about that.plus you said he has a lil discharge from the eye.something might be bothering him.my bunny squeaked once before when she dipped her paw in ice cold water so i know that that sound means pain or danger.

[RabbitPam]

If he has a runny eye as well he definitely has some health issue going on and needs to be seen by a vet.
If you try to diagnose yourself or with us on line here, it might be a small, treatable issue that gets much worse. Things happen fast with bunnies. I urge you to get him checked.

[CyrilsMummy]

Bunnies do make noises. My bunny grunts and it sounds like a baby pig ha ha!

You should be able to tell if the rabbit is in pain :o)

[shareen]

i took him to the vet and they couldnt find anything physically wrong, the eye thing has gone…i wasnt sure if it was a a squeal or a scream but after finding a video on you tube of a bunny scream it definitley was NOT a scream, (that is a really scary sound)..so the noise he makes is a long high pitched noise, i dont know why he does it randomly, he will just be in his cage and them he’ll make that noise and ill go over and pet him and he stops. I dont know what to do about it, he seems happy and healthy so i dont know why he does it. the only thing i can guess is that its just for attention.

[jerseygirl]

That is really unusual! I’ve not heard the youtube rabbit screams because I don’t want to view those videos. There is one though where a lady calls out “Bunnny” and the rabbits “screams” or sort of does this high yodel sound. It’s odd and pretty funny but I don’t know if it’s a scream exactly. That rabbit doesn’t seem in pain unless it finds it’s owners voice unbearable.

So is the nose he makes loud as well as high pitch? There are noises they can make when becoming hormonal.

btw, I agree CyrilsMummy mine both do a sort or grunt growl. Big scary bunnies!

[MissKris&Koji]

Well at least you got him cleared for problems.

I think you just can’t always interpret the usual meaning of some behavior to be the same for your pet. I mean of course generally it is, but there are exceptions to everything….. weird yodeling bunnies included? (I’m going to go look for that now) On occasion when I pet my bunny and stop, besides his usual hop and give me butt, he will sometimes do the “in pain” tooth purr after hopping a bit away and parking. I was very freaked out at first that there was something bothering him, but after 2 vet visits this month and careful observation the rest of the day I know that is not the case. He’s just… vocal, I guess, and trying to tell me I’m being bad. He would honk at me too when I let him out before I set his pen up. *shrug*

[jerseygirl]

weird yodeling bunnies included? (I’m going to go look for that now)

I was going to put up the link so you didn’t end up watching less favorable vids but I don’t see it on you tube now.
I’ve found it here though: http://www.maniacworld.com/screaming-bunny.html
Viewing it just now, it’s doesn’t sound like yodelling at all. lol Maybe it looks like yodelling? Pre warning: the humans noise is more disturbing then the bunny’s noise.

[mrmac]

yes the humans “bunny call” is much more disturbing! That is quite odd coming out of the little bun!

[shareen]

yeah the video i saw was nothing bad the bunny was making a screaming noise but didnt look to be in pain, i just want to make sure the noise my bunny was making wasnt a “scream” because ive read online thats the noise they make when there really hurt or something, and im glad it not…i didnt know they make noises like that when they are hormonal maybe thats the reason, it may be time to get him fixed.

[shareen]

I like to watch videos on you tube of other peoples bunnies and see their bunnies behavior and different types of bunnies and housing etc but i always read the descriptions first before i click on it because if you type in “white rabbit” on you tube, a lot of meat breeding videos pop up and thats pretty disturbing and disgusting to even think about.

[MissKris&Koji]

Ugh, yeah, good call. While looking for “noises rabbits make” type videos I ran across a lot that by description I could tell were awful. Rabbit fed to snake, this is us showing you this rabbit being slaughtered because we’re anti-meat, etc. I guess people have a right to post whatever they want but I wish youtube had some sort of ratings thing so you could tell at a glance what might be graphic or disturbing.

[RabbitPam]

shareen, any chance of you getting a recording, like on a video, of the noise and posting it here? I think it’s the only way we can hear what it’s like.
If you use a cell phone video for example, the image might not be the best but it would have sound. I’m curious now that we know he’s healthy at least.

[Author]

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