Calling those with deaf bunnies...

Hey guys!

I'm creating a thread in the Library about hearing-impaired bunnies, and was wondering if ya'll could give me some input...

So, ya'll with hearing-impaired buns, can you let me know the following, and anything else you can think to add?

- What is life like with a deaf bunny?

- What things differently do you have to do with them vs hearing buns?

- Any tips on identifying if your bunny is hearing-impaired?

- Any tips on how to make a deaf bunny's life fun?

- Give me your daily routine...

And anything else you can think of to give me!

So, write me your experiences, guys!

Hugs to all!

Rosie*

I want to know too!! I bet it would be hard for a bunny since so much of their life is based off of their ears!

Hi Rosie,

We have two buns here that are totally deaf. Both are Holland Lops and suffered from nasty ear infections that were not treated. We really don't do anything different for them. Their hearing is mainly to detect predators....and I really hope we don't have any of those in the house. But seriously, it doesn't seem to bother either one of them. We happen to know both of them are deaf because we can see the damage to the ear drums. But in the real world, neither responds to any loud noise. And they don't respond to a warning thump from any of the other rabbits. Since all the hearing rabbits respond, that is a huge indication that both are deaf. Just like our blind buns...they have adapted and done so quite well. Unless we told someone they were deaf, most people would never know. They run and play and do all the other things that hearing buns do. It just seems to be a non-issue with them.

Randy

Gotta keep this one goin...want more than just Randy's advice, guys!!

(Not to imply that I don't value your advice, Randy...you're awesome! )

Bumpity bump bump...

:bump

My first rabbit was deaf, and it took a while to realise, but she had real aggression issues, i think because i came up from behind to pick her up without knowing, but she never got better when i realised. We only found out because she would run up to lawn mower and other noisy things without being scared, so this is something you have to watch out for because their hearing isn't there to tell them to be scared. I find to make movements rather than sounds to show your intentions is good, rather than saying food, or cuddle time, have a certain signal so they know what is coming. Apart from that, i think their life can be more interesting because they will explore thingd that hearing rabbits are afraid of usually.

That's a really neat observation...and I think you're right...

Thank you for sharing!

grumpybabies wrote:

i think their life can be more interesting because they will explore thingd that hearing rabbits are afraid of usually.

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I don't have a deaf bunny anymore, but I did.

It took us a long time to realize it, but eventually it 'clicked' when we noticed she wanted to chew the vacuum, not run away from it. It made us think about other things, like how sometimes we would startle her. Or how yelping to get her to stop biting our feet really didn't do anything.

I did acouple ofthings to help her feel safe and comfortable. If she was playing in a room and I was going in, I would flick the lights twice.

Anytime before I ever touched her, I would blow on her. This helped a lot. She was cuddly bunny, and when I would blow on her she would get all comfy into her 'love me' position.

Finally, we would never chase her if we could avoid it (and not that we are in the habit of chasing and scaring bunnies). This helped stop her from being aggressive towards us.

Life wasn't really anymore difficult having her. It was easier. She didn't get scared if the dog barked, and was generally laid back.

Wow, that's great information, kahlin! Thank you!

Hi everyone. I am fostering a baby bun about 5 months old. He is a rex, his hearing seemed fine prior to a fight he had with one of his brothers or his neutering (both happened about a day apart). But now it definitely seems like his hearing is impaired. Can the hearing be damaged from either of those things? Also, he doesn't respond to noise, (clapping, whistling, pellets clanking etc) but is terrified of the vacuum? Anyone else have this problem? Thank you!

sleepy8727 said:

Hi everyone. I am fostering a baby bun about 5 months old. He is a rex, his hearing seemed fine prior to a fight he had with one of his brothers or his neutering (both happened about a day apart). But now it definitely seems like his hearing is impaired. Can the hearing be damaged from either of those things? Also, he doesn't respond to noise, (clapping, whistling, pellets clanking etc) but is terrified of the vacuum? Anyone else have this problem? Thank you!

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It could be either of those things. He probably is scared of the vacuum because it is very big and he can see it. He doesn't see you clap or whistle like he would see the vacuum moving around. I have not had a deaf rabbit before so I don't think I can be much help, but I hope someone else can help!

hey! i have a deaf bun! luna's is a result of her colouring (BEW).

- as i have two bunnies (they are bondmates) life is pretty good! my rabbits are kept in an outdoor shed with a hutch inside and an outdoor garden attached, with a net on top of it.

- to get her attention, i usually tap in front of her or gently touch her, or stand directly in her field of view as to ensure she knows i am there. i am always lenient when she runs away too, not chasing her.

- i only noticed she was hearing/sight impaired when she literally shadowed her bondmate constantly, touching her nose to her butt as to ensure she didn't get lost/get stuck. she also loves dark corners, as i'm assuming any bright lights that she can see might scare her. she loves the comfort of the hutch den! i noticed her sight might be impacted when she was hiding her eyes with her ears (she's a lop) and couldn't see treats in front of her, at which point i direct her towards them.

- as the usual bell toys and rattles don't really work on her, i found a treat that she absolutely adores (dried apple, in this case) and make little packages of them, mixed with others, so that she has something to play with. she can't exactly be trained (other than litter-wise, which she already is) so i try to make her life the best possible, making sure i don't scare her. she doesn't like being touched, but will accept it if it is me, or i am feeding her, or if she is in a particularly excited mood.

- my daily routine generally consists of feeding them early morning (7am-9am) and then opening the shed door for the garden access during the day. in summer, this stays open for 10+ hours to give them sunlight and air, while in winter, this closes at 4pm or when it begins to turn dark. then j go to college/work and my mother keeps an eye on them. when i get home, if its summer, i will spend a few hourz out there with them, sunbathing and teaching them to come to me. in winter, i fetch them some veggies, lots of hay and fill their water bowl and close the door for the night. once or twice a week, i clean out their whole shed and litter trays, adding fresh litter and disinfecting the trays.

life with a deaf bun ain't so different than life with a hearing bun, as mine are quite close and never separated, even if the deaf bun annoys the other with lots of following and chasing, and bumping into her butt because she doesn't see her bondmate stop!

sleepy8727 said:

Hi everyone. I am fostering a baby bun about 5 months old. He is a rex, his hearing seemed fine prior to a fight he had with one of his brothers or his neutering (both happened about a day apart). But now it definitely seems like his hearing is impaired. Can the hearing be damaged from either of those things? Also, he doesn't respond to noise, (clapping, whistling, pellets clanking etc) but is terrified of the vacuum? Anyone else have this problem? Thank you!

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@sleepy8727 Try and turn the vacuum on in a different room and don't move it around. Just let the sound go. Then if he's scared, he might just have bad hearing and if he isn't scared, then he might be deaf

Delilah is deaf—she came to us mostly deaf in the first place, and the only reason we noticed was that unlike Lahi, saying her name didn’t get a response. It was my habit to, if they were doing something they shouldn’t, to say their name and clap once, which would cause them to momentarily freeze and turn to look at me. This saved me a couple times when I spotted them about to chew something dangerous or if I needed them to drop something (Lahi found a chocolate Easter egg once!!)

But that never worked for her. Waving my arms around was always the most effective way of getting her attention, and that’s what really made it click.

This year she got some bad inner ear abscesses and had bilateral ear surgery, and I’m pretty sure that’s destroyed whatever hearing she had left. The apartment we’re living in has the fire alarm going off ALL THE TIME, which had me constantly worried about the stress that would have on poor elderly Lahi. But Delilah doesn’t even flinch, doesn’t even seem to notice it.

She’s always been incredibly affectionate—her first owner got bored of her, and so she came to me with the strong belief that the best way to get the love she needed was to THROW HERSELF at anyone and everyone, sort of like how orphaned children who spend too much time in a group home with no primary attachment figure have zero fear of strangers. Combined with being deaf, this meant that she actually liked being taken out in public to meet people, which was pretty cool. I’ve thought many times she would make a good therapy animal at nursing homes and such, because she just loves people.

Now, as to why they’re still afraid of things—because she doesn’t have hearing to warn her, and as a lop her ears obscure some of her vision, she does startle when things sneak up on her. And my mum has been trying to insist to me that Delilah can hear because she reacted to the fridge turning on.

But rabbits are also pretty sensitive to vibrations, and probably also electrical charges in the air. Car rides aren’t just stressful for sound, same as being picked up. What’s stressful is the movement.