Bunny interpreters....anyone? Anyone?

[Yo]

I've got a couple questions but I'll post them separately, but here's the first scenario.

Mr. McGregor runs about like he's enjoying life and every once in awhile he thumps. He's having a great time with his ball, being a circus bunny, so I don't interpret his thump as anger. However, I was looking up some info from some links on this site and I found this]http://language.rabbitspeak.com/]this[/url]:

A rabbit that is very scared or nervous may "thump" a hind leg, slapping it hard against the ground. This isn't just a warning to other rabbits, but to you, too. Note that rabbits sometime also thump to indicate anger, or even just to say "pay attention," but it should be pretty easy to distinguish these by the context.

So, perhaps he isn't angry but is wanting me to 'pay attention'...to what? To his antics? :coolness:

The background on him is this: we've only had him going on 3 months. He's adjusted well, not neutered, and does well with our Maltese. However, this thumping has been happening more often. We don't mind it but Masen the Maltese really got freaked out tonight. Mr. M did it about 3-5 times in an hour while we're all watching t.v. He was a happy-go-lucky bunny but this set Masen on edge, to the point of shuddering and sticking to me like gum on a shoe! Never has happened before.

I was wondering if Masen 'understood' Mr. McGregor and we didn't. But I don't know what Mr. M was communicating!

Any interpreters here? :?

thanks ever so much if you can help!!!

 

[Yo]

this is Masen. (I couldn't post the picture on the original post)

 

[ZRabbits]

Sounds like your bunny is letting his feelings be known. I've found after 3 months my bunnies have really settled in and feel more confident in their surroundings. So you see certain attitudes start to show themselves.

Your bunny is enjoying life but he's letting Masen know he's in control where he is.

It's all animal dynamics. Sorry that Masen feels that way, but your bunny is showing him who's boss.

And also the age, if I'm correct, would mean your bunny is also entering teenage months. Which are crazy. They test you and every other person and animal around them. I know it sounds funny, but that's the way rabbits are.

Hope this helps a bit. I doubt there's an issue. Just animal dynamics at work.

K

 

[Yo]

thanks for the heads up!

what are some of the ways he might test us and Masen? What does that look like, beyond thumping? Oh, would the biting go under that testing?

I was wondering, since he isn't neutered, could all those actions be 'symptoms' of his frustration with life, not having a real mate to mate? (the blue ball can only do so much, I'm sure )

 

[ZRabbits]

Yo wrote:

thanks for the heads up!

what are some of the ways he might test us and Masen? What does that look like, beyond thumping? Oh, would the biting go under that testing?

I was wondering, since he isn't neutered, could all those actions be 'symptoms' of his frustration with life, not having a real mate to mate? (the blue ball can only do so much, I'm sure )

Biting, thumping, boxing, charging, are all ways that bunnies try to test. It's basically, leave me along, I'm the boss. Well, lol, in the Z-Tribe all my bunnies tried this and they all realize me and my husband are the boss. Didn't happen over night but with consistent reprimand it does help.

And yes, bunnies get frustrated. Hormones surge through their bodies which then gets them jumpy, nervous, cranky and brings on dominance. Once you remove those hormones through neutering/spaying, it does help some bunnies calm down and allows them to explore other things in life. A rabbit's job is to procreate. It's hardwired. Take that away, and then bunnies can learn other things. The drive is gone. Now I say some, because there are bunnies that are just nervous, shy, or just plain mean, no matter what you do.

K

 

[Yo]

thanks so much!

 

[MagPie]

I also want to add that some times a thump isn't always bad. Some times when Harvey gets really excited he'll start racing around my apartment and just thump because he can. He will also thump sometimes when he's about to jump up on something. This usually happens when he's racing around and in a good mood.

I also get thumps when he's annoyed I'm cleaning up his mess haha.

 

[MikeScone]

Rabbits also have very acute hearing, so McGregor may be reacting to some sound he can hear, but you can't. It might be the TV set, or something around the house or outside. Scone MacBunny reacted to the ice falling in the freezer sometimes.

I've had Natasha Rabbitova run into my room in the middle of the night and thump until I tell her everything's OK - sometimes I've heard a coyote or owl before she does it, but more often than not, I can't tell what triggered her.