Ear Discrimination

[goneforbaroque]

I am in the process of bonding Arthur (3ish Dwarf) with Morgan (3+ish Lop). Things are going ok. Not amazing but no major fighting. They're living in mirrored pens and they switch pens every day. No territory droppings. They go on dates (car rides) and sometimes hang out in neutral territory. But I'm running into the same issue in every situation. Arthur is going after Morgan's ears. They are floppy, which he hasn't encountered before. He will lick down until the very tip then he will nip her. It happens almost every time (though sometimes he grooms the top of her head or her back and leaves her ears alone). She can't relax around him and won't groom him back and I am afraid to let him groom her. Do rabbits discriminate against different types of ears?! How on earth do I even go about dealing with this? Any experience/suggestions?!

 

[MiniLopHop]

I'm going to take a guess at what is going on. Lops still speak lagamorph, but with a thick accent since their ears are down. I'm guessing that Arthur is having a hard time understanding Morgan when she "talks" since so much of what is said between rabbits is in the ears. If Morgan has very little control over her ears she may have a very thick accent indeed (think of someone speaking English that is from another country and hasn't been here long).

He may be nipping her ears because he is expecting a response to his grooming and not getting it. I have a mini rex, mini lop pair, but luckily Becky has a lot of control over her ears and is very expressive. He will groom her as a proper surf does, and she signals that she's pleased with his offering by moving her ears forward a little. So, if Morgan can't do that, perhaps Arthur is frustrated and thinking he's being rebuffed?

Sorry, but I have no idea what you can do about it. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

[LakeCondo]

Wow, I didn't know this could be an issue.

 

[Samara]

MiniLopHop wrote:

I'm going to take a guess at what is going on. Lops still speak lagamorph, but with a thick accent since their ears are down. I'm guessing that Arthur is having a hard time understanding Morgan when she "talks" since so much of what is said between rabbits is in the ears. If Morgan has very little control over her ears she may have a very thick accent indeed (think of someone speaking English that is from another country and hasn't been here long).

He may be nipping her ears because he is expecting a response to his grooming and not getting it. I have a mini rex, mini lop pair, but luckily Becky has a lot of control over her ears and is very expressive. He will groom her as a proper surf does, and she signals that she's pleased with his offering by moving her ears forward a little. So, if Morgan can't do that, perhaps Arthur is frustrated and thinking he's being rebuffed?

Sorry, but I have no idea what you can do about it. Good luck and let us know what happens.

^That. Is the best response ever. And I totally agree with it! Molly has up ears and Gubble has down ears; they have tussles every now and again when Molly grooms him and he just sits there. It has to be all in the ears.

 

[goneforbaroque]

Sigh. Guess I'd better learn to speak Lop...anyone have a translation dictionary?!

 

[Samara]

The things we go through for our pets...

 

[MiniLopHop]

Lop is much more subtle than uppy eared rabbits. I had a rather funny conversation with my husband when Gary and Becky first met. Picture the two rabbits with a NIC panel fence between them meeting for the first time.

Me: Oh, Becky is curious and interested in him
Husband: really? how can you tell?
Me: look at her ears, she swung her ears forward and she's sniffing faster with her neck stretched out a bit more.
Husband: (looking confused) she is?
Me: yeah totally, her ears are a good 3 or 4 cm more forward than normal.
Husband: ummm, ok. I will take your word for it.

LOL it's there, just very subtle. You have to watch you bun a lot and know their normal positionings. With Becky her head tils more when she is tired, which is particular to her.

 

[Samara]

Sometimes I wonder if my Molly is a bit socially retarded. I mean that in a respectful way; I don't have much history on her other than a handwritten pedigree. I tried finding the rabbitries on the ped but they don't seem to exist now.

Molly has some curious rabbit behavior when it comes to ears just like your Becky and her sleepy head tilt. Molly keeps her ears back a lot. She has a perpetual scowl. The only time her ears go up or forward are when I shake the treat jar.