( Some Bunny Behavior)
Rabbits are generally quiet animals, but they are not completely silent. They make plenty of noises from growling to screaming, to communicate how they feel. Here's how to decipher them...
Growling
If your rabbit growls or grunts at you, she's not happy about something. Maybe she's angry that you're poking your hand into her cage, and she doesn't want you in her territory. Growling can be a sign of anger, fear, uncertainty and stress. The better you get to know your bunny, the more you'll discover what her different growls mean.
Crying
Your bunny may cry. Sometimes a bunny will let out a little cry or whimper and thump their back feet. This is interpreted much as you would understand the same noise in puppies or people.
Licking
If your bunny licks your face or your hands, be happy. She's telling you I love you!
Screaming
You never want to hear your bunny scream. A bunny scream is usually shrill. It's a heart-breaking sound, and it generally signifies your bunny is either hurt or dying. You'll want to get her help immediately.
Flopping
Your bunny is on top of the world. She is so happy, she can think of no better way to show her happiness than flopping over, eyes closed, taking some time to relax.
Binkying
You've got one happy bunny on your hands. She's gyrating, dancing, hopping high in the air and shooting across the room at lightening speed. She's so happy she's a bunny and living with you.
Thumping
Your bunny will thump her back legs for a number of reasons including fear, anger and warning you to danger lurking.
The Bunny 500
It's 6 a.m., and the Bunny 500 has taken off again. Your bunny or bunnies are in their room, when all of a sudden, zoom! They race around the room over and over again at top bunny speed, until they're ready to just chill out, munch on some hay, chew the phone book or flop down for a much-needed nap.
Chinning
Your bunny is rubbing her chin all over the furniture, the book you're reading and you. This is just her way of marking her territory. She's saying, hey, this is mine.
Disciplining Your Rabbit
My first reaction when my rabbit would start chewing the furniture, rug, or molding was to firmly say, "No!" and clap my hands. While I thought this would help her understand that her behavior was undesirable, I quickly realized that it wasn't as effective as I'd hoped. Reprimanding the rabbit would simply distract her momentarily. She would either move on to a new activity only to return later, or she would resume the same naughty behavior once she'd decided the noise was gone and all was well again. There did not appear to be an understanding that her behavior caused the clapping and saying "No!", and that she should discontinue that activity completely.
It is not effective to discipline your rabbit after the fact. If you come home to find your bunny resting comfortably and the molding is chewed up, it is not the time to reprimand. She will not understand why you are angry, and it will just stress her out. So while reprimanding your rabbit at the time of the naughty behavior may be slightly effective, it is best to also use the techniques below.
Rewarding Your Rabbit For Good Behavior
Rabbits tend to learn better when they are rewarded for good behavior, rather than when they are disciplined for bad behavior. Determine what your rabbit enjoys most, such as praising, petting, grooming, or small healthy treats. When she chews and digs acceptable items like chew toys, old phonebooks, or her cardboard castle, let her know this is good behavior! This brings us to the next tactic.
Providing Acceptable Items to Chew and Dig
If your rabbit has a continuous supply of timothy hay to eat, some toys to play with, a grass mat to dig on and a cardboard castle to renovate, she will have less of an inclination to chew your furniture and dig up your carpet. Your rabbit needs to chew and dig on a continual basis. This wears down her teeth and claws, which are always growing. Providing safe items to chew will ensure good dental health for your rabbit.
Except in rare cases, you will still need to trim her nails. You cannot declaw a rabbit. Not only is it extremely painful, but rabbits have no pads on their feet and need claws for grip.
Protecting Your Belongings
Even if your bunny is well-behaved, it is best not to tempt her. Keep all wires, important documents, and other cherished belongings out of reach or protected. In terms of protecting your furniture, I've read a few articles that suggest applying Tabasco sauce or Ivory soap (specifically the Ivory brand because others may have harmful chemicals). I did not particularly want my furniture covered in soap or Tabasco sauce, so I have not tried this. However, I have tried putting on a special bitter lime spray that was supposed to keep rabbits away from furniture. This was not effective on my rabbit. In fact, she even licked the spray off.
So, I use a puppy-pen to block off the part of the room that has nice furniture she likes chewing. I keep the rest of my nice furniture in other rooms that she can't access.
(Found on - http://www.myhouserabbit.com/)
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Should I give the rabbit items to chew?
Yes. You can give rabbits pieces of the thing they want to
chew: their own small towel, for example, providing they
aren't ingesting it. This is especially useful when the
attraction is the particular consistency.
Here are some items that are OK for rabbits to chew on:
- apple, willow, aspen branches;
- pine firewood;(not burned)
- cotton towels (Not treated with any chemicals)
- untreated fresh pine lumber attached to cage so it doesn't move--piece of molding, 1"x2"s, or 2"x4"s;
- basket with hay in it--let the bun chew the basket as well as the hay;
- compressed alfalfa cubes
Aren't some woods toxic?
Fruit tree branches, such as, apricot and peach are toxic while attached to the tree but not after they're cut and dried (a month or more). Lisa McSherry and Rusty Fayter, who package The Busy Bunny baskets, share this research. Another tip they offer for your bunny's safety is to keep your purchases of imported baskets limited to willow, the only basket material not sprayed with pesticide.
Does chewing carpet hurt the rabbit?
Yes, if then ingest the fiber. Since swallowing indigestible such as carpet presents a health
hazard to your bunny, follow up excessive chewing incidents with
a petroleum laxative such as Petromalt or Laxatone (sold at pet-
supply stores).
Should I give the rabbit items to dig?
Yes. For digging, build a "tunnel" (top isn't needed, just
bottom, high sides, and end. Cover the bottom with a bit of
carpet or something similar. Bunnies LOVE to dig at the end of
tunnels. (Same thing can be accomplished by putting a board
with carpet tacked on between two pieces of heavy furniture
against the wall...just be sure the board can't move or the bun
will be digging the carpet beneath where the board was meant
to be.
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Rabbits have a language all their own. here are some tips on
interpreting your bunnies hops, kicks and grunts.
- Sniffing — May be annoyed or just talking to you
- Grunts — Usually angry, watch out or you could get bit!
- Shrill scream — Hurt or dying
- Circling your feet — Usually indicates sexual behavior. He/She's in love.
- Spraying — Males that are not neutered will mark female rabbits in this manner as well as their territory. Females will also spray.
- Chinning — Their chin contains scent glands, so they rub their chin on items to indicate that they belong to them. Same as a cat rubbing its forehead on people and objects.
- False pregnancy — Usually just unspayed females may build a nest & pull hair from their chest & stomach to line the nest. They may even stop eating as rabbits do the day before they give birth.
- Bunny hop/dance — A sign of pure joy & happiness!
- Begging — Rabbits are worse than dogs about begging, especially for sweets. Beware of giving the rabbit treats as overweight rabbits are not as healthy as trim rabbits.
- Territory droppings — Droppings that are not in a pile, but are scattered, are signs that this territory belongs to the rabbit. This will often occur upon entering a new environment. If another rabbit lives in the same house this may always be a nuisance.
- Playing — Rabbits like to push or toss objects around. They may also race madly around the house, jump on and off of the couch and act like a kid that's had too much sugar.
- Don't touch my stuff — Rabbits often are displeased when you rearrange their cage as you clean. They are creatures of habit and when they get things just right, they like them to remain that way.
- Stomping — He's frightened, mad or trying to tell you that there's danger (in his opinion).
- Teeth Grinding — Indicates contentment, like a cats purr. Loud grinding can indicate pain.
Litter training your bunny!
order to avoid detection. They use one place, and will go where they can smell that they have gone before. This can be used to help litter train your bunny. Start by putting a litter box where they already seem to want to go. If they urinate outside of the litter box, use napkins to soak it up, and then bury the napkins in the litter box. The smell of the urine in the litter box should help convince them to go there next time. Clean areas you don't want them to use again with vinegar to remove any trace of urine smell. Once they are accustomed to using the litter box, you can gradually move it to where you want. Pine and Cedar shavings can cause liver damage in bunnies and should not be used.Although aspen shavings can be used a better alternative is (cellulose bedding ,care fresh or yesterdays news. Some people find hay works for them just remember to clean wet dirty hay out every day. Never use clay litters or clumping cat litter, as they can be harmful to your bunny!