Questions regarding rabbit behaviors

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Buck Jones

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In my reading over the years, I have developed the impression that rabbits love to chew wires and "danglies" because it is reminiscentof roots hanging from the roof of their burrows in nature. Being the fastidious creatures that they are, rabbits can't resist tidying up, whether it be thetrue roots oftheir past heritage, or the "modern" roots of electrical wires, computer cables, orTV cables in our homes.

Is thereanything in your experience that may suggest rabbits chew wood moldings and furniture because their teeth may ache, as in children teething? I've noticed that as our Missy ages, the destructive chewing has diminished greatly. It just can't be a maturity thing, whereas the absence of aching teeth/gums could account for the change in behavior.

Some animals communicate at decibel levels we cannot fathom.Bats, for example, emit high pitched echo location sounds, some of which are audible to us, others which are not. Elephants produce rumbling in their heads that travels for miles, enabling herds to maintain constant touch with one another, yet, we are unable to hear any of those sounds.

Some of us have shared some uncanny communicative experiences with our buns,and are advocates of "talking" to them as is they truly do understand us. Is their anything in your experience that suggests they maybe making and/or hearing sounds that are not audible to us? Do you think it is possible that they may have the ability tosense to our thoughts, or feelings(electrical energy?) in some physical manner? If so,what experiences/evidencecan you offer in support of that contention?

Curious to read your responses, experiences and thoughts on these matters.

Buck



 
I can tell that this is going to be a wonderfully interesting thread!


"Is there anything inyour experience that may suggest rabbits chew wood mouldings andfurniture because their teeth may ache, as in childrenteething?"

ANSWER. Yes. This has actually been my more prevailing theory than the one I've always heard traditionally presented about the vines. When I was younger (a child) I had the privilege of having two pet bunnies on two separate occasions. They chewed everything in sight! They loved to chew mouldings and furniture down to the nub, and we were not at all successful in preventing them from doing so. They were very, very young bunnies. Sherman is an older bunny (now two years old) and we have absolutely no problems with him chewing furniture or wood mouldings, and he only infrequently chews on cardboard boxes.


"Is their anything inyour experience that suggests they may be making and/or hearing soundsthat are not audible to us?"

ANSWER. My only experience in this area is anecdotal. Many times Sherman has been resting serenely. All of the TVs and radios in the house are off. No one is stirring. All of a sudden he will startle and his ears will perk up to alert status. I don't hear or see anything. Sometimes he will run and hide orrun to investigate. We joke that he's seeing or hearing ghosts!


"Do you think it ispossible that they may have the ability to sense to our thoughts, or feelings (electrical energy) in some physical manner? If so, what experiences/evidence can you offer in support of that contention?

ANSWER. My answerto this is a resounding "yes". I've tested this theory on Sherman. We've talked on the board before about how they can sense the difference between when we are just trying to pet them and when we intend to pick them up. I forget who suggested that when I approach Sherman that I project the image in my mind that I am only going to pet him and then scoop him up quickly when he is caught off guard. I've tried this many times since then and it DEFINITELY works! In fact, if I were to quantify the effectiveness ratio, I'd have to say that it works 98% of the time.
 
Greetings Buck,

Interesting questions you've posed.

I've noticed the same thing with Tucker in his chewing habits. They've definitely calmed down with age. As a baby finds relief in a teething ring, perhaps it's so with rabbits with the process taking longer thanj ust breaking teeth through the skin.

As to their ability to sense our feelings, I do feel that they're able to pick up the 'waves' in the area they're in. In my viewpoint, it's similar to how a radio works. There are waves that are out there that your radio picks up enabling you to 'tune in' to a station.

The thump of their feet would seem to be their key audio communicable ability, other than of course their screams of pain, or their honks/purrs/teeth chucking. In the wild, I would think the key way they communicate with each other would be those thumps. Since their hearing is almost 3x stronger than ours, what is quiet to us is loud to them. Much like what you note about the elephants and our inability to hear their base tones. If there are more noises they make, I surely can't hear it, but they might.

Getting back to them picking up our feelings, I find evidence of it all the time with my rabbit. When I'm in a good mood, as I was today, Tucker's All Trouble. He gets into mischief, won't listen to me if I ask him to do something (like get in the box!), and scoots around here as if I'm just here to serve him. I get little attention from him unless I have food in my hand.

On the flip side of that, when I've been sad about something, he's right by my side. Cuddling me, kissing me, and he's very well behaved. He mellows out quite a bit and follows me like a shadow.

In speaking with BunnyMommy the other day, she was bummed out about something. During that time, Sherman let her pick him up without a fuss. That's not a common occurance in her house, as you'll recall her posts about holding him to give him medicine.

They certainly understand commands. I believe they understand what we're saying to them more than we give them credit for.

I do think that there's something to 'aura' and I think rabbits, having soley to rely on their instincts and their senses to keep them alive, are always 'tuned in' to it. When someone's a happy person, we say they're 'light hearted', when someone is angry and wishes to spread that anger, there is a darkness to them that we can't see, but we can feel. You can feel the weight in the air. I think rabbits can pick upon this long before we can. Their senses are sharper, they never let their guard down, and they react accordingly.

That's my experience/thoughts on the subject. Very interesting post, Buck. I'll definitely be following this one.

-Carolyn
 
Very interesting questions Buck. Mocha is not so bad about chewing anymore, he used to be when he was little. Spice still chews a lot but that could just be his "thing". Perhaps it is a sort of teething thing and some just never grow out of the habit.

Rabbits may be somewhat psychic, able to pick up on people's thoughts. Just try it with a rabbit, think solely on petting them or giving them a treat and watch their curious looks and sometimes they come to you. Or think about picking them up and watch them run away. It could also be more that rabbit's are picking up on slight body language we make when going to do a specific task, that's why thinking about something else could work because you don't show the same body language as when you are concentrating on the task at hand. Rabbit's are very sensitive animals and from what I can tell, they can pick up on our emotions.When you're sad, you display that with body language, etc. and the rabbit can tell. If you're mad they will avoid what they know is bad for the same reason and so on. If you want to pick up a rabbit, perhaps you stand a certain way and the rabbit recognises this as meaning "okthey're going to pick me up so I have to run when they do this." We tense different muscles, and have a different "emotion" when we are going to do certain tasks and pretty much all animals have the ability to pick up on these things.

Laura, Moch, & Spice
 
Ithink bunnies are definitely able to pick up on our thoughts and feelings . For example if I'm down, I'll be lying there and Batman will jump on my chestand lick my nose untilI laugh, then he stretches out on meand makes me pet him :p. Just about every time I'm tired or sad or whatever, he makes it a point to cuddle with me-like he knows I need it.I talk to him as if he was another human constantly; im convinced that he understands me a lot of the time. When my mom told me she was to be sent overseas, I explained it to him and he actually sat there and"listened" until I was finished. He then nudged my hand to pet him and stretched out on the floor with me whileI was napping. Often whenI ask him a question his facial expression changes; he'll look at me like "duh" or cock his one ear up.As to the chewing thing, it makes sense that they would chew things because of discomfort - like teething. Batman has never gnawed on anything-not even electrical wires, soI consider myself lucky. :)
 
Both of mine are still young so they will chew everything and anything. It makes sense though. Now that I think about it my son was the same way when he has teething.

I believe that rabbits to communicate in a way we humans just don'thear. Athena will be in her cage all streched out and cozy. Apollo will be in another room relaxing when all of a sudden he'll jump up. You can tell he's listening to something I can't hear. Then he runs to Athena and lays beside her, beside her cage. Athena does the same thing when it's Apollo in his cage. Like BunnyMommy, I too have noticed that Athena and Apollo will jump up and either flee to their cage or run around around investing.

I definitely believe our rabbits know what we think and feel. I read the post BunnyMommy is referring to. I too tried it with Athena and it works. Before that trying to pick her up was a marathon. Now she's in my arms before she realizes what happened. I've also tried something new with her. I picture myself giving her a yogurt drop. It doesn't matter where she is or what she's doing. She will stand straight up and beg for it. Every single time.

Last week, I had to take my husband to the hospital. I was really worried about him. Athena jumped up into my lap and laid there. She kept nudging me to pet her. She also licked my hand and arm. All of this was a first. I hugged her and cried into her fur and talked to her. She never tried to get away. She knew just what I needed. Two weeks ago my son broke his thumb. Apollo would not leave his side from the time we got back from the hospital til Jeremy went to bed. Apollo even went upstairs and laid down in front of his bedroom door.

I want to thank you Buck for a very interesting topic.

Tina
 
Hi Buck

I don't know if this would count.

But I had one rabbit called Capar that when I had amigraine I gave him a cuddle then the migraine would go very shortly,Ifound this out when I had a migraine he seemed to know that I had oneand he acted differently.

I had another rabbit called Snuggles,I was asleep onenight and was dreaming, in the dream there was a thump from Snugglesand a black human like shadow run from one side of the bedroom to theother side.This WOKE me up ASAP seeing that.On waking up Snugglesthumped her foot and a black human like shadow just like in the dreamran from one side to the other side of my bedroom.

Let's just say I got the bunny and exited the like therewas no tommow.And from then on I neverwentto sleepunless there is a bunny in the room.

I kiss the rabbit's on their head's and they responedwith a little grinding of their teeth not a violent grinding and I alsodon't laugh I Coo to them,like that of Doves.this is followed by thekissing match.lol They do seem tounderstand.

Lynn xxx
 
Speaking of migraines my little Bunty knows when Iget home she usually hops all ove me and kisses. When I have a migraineshe lays her little head on my neck and growls if somebun tries to geton the sofa or bed. Being with her does seem to calm the symptoms

Can anyone explain this behavior?

Bunty is the greatest littler box bun. Everyday she stalks my husbandand as soon as his mind isn't on her she will run up and pee on him andhop away and looks so pleased with herself. He will even pretend to beasleep so she can sneak attack him and he runs her and she seems to belaughing. We were told it would end after she was spayed and that is 3years ago and still does it.




 
I read somewhere (can't remember where) thatrabbits like to chew on things because it is their way of 'exploringthe world' so to speak since they can't pick things up like we do toexamine them, they examine through sight, smell & taste. Thatcould explain why it diminishes as the rabbit gets older, by that timethey have already done their 'exploring'. I have no idea how accuratethat is or if there's anything scientific to back that claim up but Ido remember reading it somewhere. I did notice a decrease inchewing with Oreo as she got older, she use to devour the wood chewsticks I'd give her in a day or so, now she just chews on themoccasionally.

As for rabbits sensing our feelings, I think that definately happenswith all animals they have that 6th sense kinda thing like parents dowhere they can sense when something is wrong with their children. Aspets, they are constantly observing&watchingus, even if we don't realize they are doing it, butthey have a general idea of what our day to day behaviors are and cansense a change in that kind of pattern. I know when I was really upsetlast week because my bf & I had planned to get together formemorial day weekend through the next week & some stuff came upnow where it's not going to happen, Oreo picked up that I was reallyupset and gave me lots of kisses, lots more then usual kinda like shewas saying 'aww don't be upset it'll be ok, you still have me!".

When I have her out to play & she's happy & I'm happy,she will be a little brat and nudge me with her nose to get out of theway or pull on my pant legs lol, but if I'm not in a good mood or onthe upset side, she'll just cuddle next to me & put her frontpaws on my leg & look up at me. She also picked up when I wasreally stressed during my last semester at university and didn't giveme a hard time going back in her cage lol I think theydefinately know what kind of mood we are in and how we are feeling..even better then we do ;)

~pam
 
Buck Jones wrote:
Inmy reading over the years, I have developed the impression that rabbitslove to chew wires and "danglies" because it is reminiscentof roots hanging from the roof of their burrows in Nature.Being the fastidious creatures that they are, rabbits can't resisttidying up, whether it be the true roots of theirpast heritage, or the "modern" roots of electrical wires, computercables, orTV cables in our homes.Is there anythingin your experience that may suggest rabbits chew wood moldings andfurniture because their teeth may ache, as in childrenteething? I've noticed that as our Missy ages, thedestructive chewing has diminished greatly. It just can't bea maturity thing, whereas the absence of aching teeth/gums couldaccount for the change in behavior.
Some of us have shared some uncanny communicative experiences with ourbuns,and are advocates of "talking" to them as is they trulydo understand us. Is their anything in your experience thatsuggests they maybe making and/or hearing sounds that are notaudible to us? Do you think it is possible thatthey may have the ability tosense to our thoughts, orfeelings(electrical energy?)in some physical manner? If so,what experiences/evidencecan you offer in support of thatcontention?

Curious to read your responses, experiences and thoughts on these matters.

Buck
I very much believe that there are extra sences at work, and with thoseears why wouldn't they hear something we can't :)I think what you arefeeling is sent out through your body and animals are very good atfeeling and reading that.

When i am feeling a certain way the rabbits tend to respond to medifferently depending on how I feel, and when I have tried to "project"a different feeling than what was was feeling they seem torespond to that projection.

As to the chewing, and you know my lot is plentyful in numbers, I havesome who basically never chew, some who are moderate and others whohave to chew, Chew CHEW!!! ranging a varaity of ages, but someof the big chewers are a few years old, thankfully it's notall of them:p Maybe as babies and their bodies growing sofast, maybe their teeth grow that much faster hence the extra chewing,maybe it is a sign of exploring and since they haven't hands they usemouths. maybe it's a way of making something theirs, or maybe it is acombo of everything possible.

I had wanted to post in this message last night but my PC froze andbooted me, then I couldn't recall the name of the message, ahh finallyfound it LOL


 

Gabby: "I think that what you are feeling is sent out through your body and animals are very good at feeling and reading that."

I believe the same thing. As they say, 'dogs can smell fear'. Perhapsthe chemicals released are something animals pick up sooner than wecan. I would think that would be the case because an animal picks up ondanger or a sound much quicker than we do.

Everything that has a heartbeat has electricity. Electricity is whatkeeps the heart pumping. Who's to say that electricity within isn'tsomething animals can see, smell, or even hear?


-Carolyn
 
Great posts folks! what fantastic experienceseveryone has had, and many more to come ;)As far as chewinggoes, when my two first came home my partner told me not worry aboutthe electrical cords-since they did not bother withthem-----------> that lasted less than a month and thenEVERYTHING was bunnyproofed! I canrelate to the wooden stickexample, since a nightly "treat" used to be a ice-cream/Popsicles stickbut their curiosity has 'outgrown' that phase now.

Jezebel will do the same as Sherman, and be fully content and sprawledand all of a sudden she has a startled look on her face and runs overto Jade for re-assurance? not sure on that-what ever did she hear?Something we obviously can not.

Feeling particularly goofy one night, I decided to play chase withJezebel. Since they are not allowed in the bedroom, and the door isoften closed due to air conditioning it is THE MOST SINGULARLY SOUGHTAFTER room in the house to get into, bah and the old saying is"curiosity killed the cat?" I would like to make a new one....perhapscuriosity killed the cat, but even more curiosity brought THE bunnyback! That night, Jez knew I was in a playful mood. She hidbehind her cage, and as soon as I turned the door handle she wouldgallop (have you ever seen a rabbit gallop?) right behind me, I wouldin turn run around the corner in the bedroom where she couldn'tseeme, she skidded to a stop right at the entrance to thebedroom and WAITED for me to chase her back to her hiding spot by thecage. This went on until I was pooped and she just sat there andsmiled..yes, I think she smiles :)
 
Chewing...Well Megan has never chewed on wires orcords, she has always chewed on baseboards, desks and now she likes toeat the recliner ? If she see's a string hanging off my shirt she oftentries to rip it off. So maybe they do it because of the whole "root"thing.

As for noises you can't hear...a lot of the times when I talk to Megan,she starts moving her mouth, and it really looks like she's talkingback to me, but I can't hear anything. If I say "Hey Meg, give mommykisses" she'll stand up and put her head up to the top of the cage sothat I can kiss her cute little white nose. As for noises I can hear,she grunts when she's not in the mood to be picked up, and she squeekswhen she's either scared, or just out and about running around andhaving fun. I wish animals could talk though. It'd be real cute!
 
Mr Bean will get up at my face and his mouth ismoving not chewing and it is like he is trying to speak. My husbandsays he hates the Mr Bean song I sing to him. He even put his paw on mychin and had eye contact. He is very young maybe 16 weeks
 
Well, i'm brand new to the bunny world.But I can pretty much cuncure with the more experienced bunny folkshere in the short time that I have had Baby.

I have noticed that in addition to her exploring and chewing oneverything. She will sniff the walls and when she comes to anelectrical outlet, she is very aware that it is there. Shedoesn't mess with the outlet, but she definately lingers around it fora few minutes. I had wondered if she sinces some type ofelectricity, and wondered if that were a connection to wanting to chewwires. I once had a dog that I sware could since when we werein for very bad stormy weather. He would run in circlesoutside until we came inside.

With regard to their sensing our feelings and thoughts, I definatelybelieve they do as with most animals that are around us for extenededtime. I was upset over something the other night. Ididn't really want to talk to anyone about it, yet Baby seemed verydetermined to lay by my side. I just layed there and pettedher. I think she knew it made me feel better.:D
 
Do-do is my thunderstorm predictor and we had aminor quake once and the dogs who never destroyed anything would likegrowl and bite in the carpet and 12 hours later there was a quake.Animals are so amazing
 
As for the hearing more than us, I can definatelysay that Henry can. On Sunday, we were sitting out in theback garden and had him outside in his pen. He stopped andstayed perfectly still for over a minute... we thought he was justlistening to a bird, but lo' and behold 2 mins later we see two ears,two eyes and a nose peeping over the step halfway down thegarden. An extremely fat cat was just hunkered down watchingHenry. We quickly shood the big beastie away but Henrymust've sensed that the cat was nearby before we even saw it.

And he chews all the time... especially cables, but it's mostly whenthey get in his way. He'll lift them and move them (he doesthis with his hay too) and if they don't get out of his way, he'll chewthrough them. I'm hoping this wears out with his new chewabletoys!
 
What about the remote controls my guysseem to be able to find them and chew off the buttons as soon as weforget to put them up. They even have stuffed remotesthat mine like
 
Other input of sensitivenature. Do not read if you are sensitive to hearing about abun pass away. Hsve you ever just KNOW something about your bun?

Sad but true stories. My bun Mittens I ran down to check on him one dayafter work, and with all my buns he was the only one on my mind. tofind him laying down on his side, picked him up and he was ill, he hada seisure and died in my arms. (brain tumor)

Aurora, I came home told hubby Aurora was gone, he says how do you knowyou haven't even gone to see them yet, I said I just know she is goneand laying in her litter box. She was, and her litter box washer fav place on earth thats why she choose it. She had a stroke.

Dorian, ran down stairs to check him early in the am, (I'm not amorning person) He had 1 heart beat and died. He had a undectabledefective heart condition.

Ivy, my most recent late night saturday into sunday(mothers day) shewas feeling ill, I did what could be done for her and brought her tothe lvrm with me and i lay on the floor with her she was nestled insome towels. she wanted tosnuggle into my arm. Idosed for 5-10 mins, I was on the phone with a friend (night owl whowas keeping me company while i lay with Ivy) and yes I dosed on thephone she said my name and my eyes shot open and i said "she's dead"she says what are you dreaming? then I checked her and she had gonejust as I had said that.2 possibilities on her death. Stillwaiting on results, But i have a good idea what it was.

Very strange weird and sad.

On another note I checked on a bun at 3am for no reasn otherthen I felt i should, and she had sliced her leg open, quitebadly, this was about 3 years ago. she is quite well today asI tended her right that moment and she hadn't time to looseblood. She had cut herself leaping off the top her coveredlitter box and slicing her leg on a metal guard that was protecting awall but had come a bit loose.

all very fresh in my mind.

yes I have had good experiences as well. but the bad ones seem to stick in the head so much longer.
 
Dear Buck,

After reading your post entitled "ESP", I decided to respond in thisthread because I think we're getting back to the same principle.Correct me if I'm wrong about that.

You mentioned Missy going up to the area where the wires were. I'vebeen fascinated learning in the past few weeks about just how keen arabbit's sensory system is. I'd have to go back to the book that I'mreading and give you the exact biological references. I couldn'timagine having a sensory system so loud and clear. Eyesight that wouldcover the distnace theirs do. Who's to say Missy couldn't smell or hearthe electric currents passing through? I don't know what that could'vebeen. Perhaps she was just trying to get to the place she wasn'tsupposed to be in.

I posted a month or so ago about asking for stories of our petsrescuing us or warning us of danger. There were more than a couple ofpeople who's animals saved their life or the life of a loved one. Therewere some great stories in that thread as well.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and questions with us. :dude:

-Carolyn
 

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