How to discourage rabbit jumping??

[Happy Hollands]

Hello, I have a 6-week-old Holland Lop who is showing signs of jumping already. She can easily scale a 14-in tall playpen I put them in while I clean their cage, whereas her siblings (and even her mom) don't even bother trying to get out. I have intentions on keeping her, but the custom built cage I have available is 2.5 ft tall. Some of you may say this is too short of a cage, but since she is a smaller dwarf rabbit I've never had the issue with them jumping this height before. What is the best way to discourage jumping, and stop it while she is young so this does not become a habit?

So far, whenever she shows signs of jumping, I firmly say "NO" and gently push her head down to the floor, or move her away from the edge of the pen and distract her.

I obviously do not want her to hurt herself, and it seems she mainly wants to get out to play with my older free roam bunny, and to get attention from me. Please, any and all suggestions are welcome! I really hope this problem does not continue if it is discouraged at a young age. I do not want this jumping behavior to continue to her cage and not just the playpen. I really do not want this to compromise her outdoor exercise time, too. Thank you!

 

[OreoTheMiniLop]

Honestly, there is no way to stop this behavior. You might just have to change his/her playpen to be 3 feet tall. Some rabbits can jump over that so maybe 4 feet tall.

 

[Happy Hollands]

Honestly, there is no way to stop this behavior. You might just have to change his/her playpen to be 3 feet tall. Some rabbits can jump over that so maybe 4 feet tall.

Yes I understand, sometimes rabbits are just born to jump. However, I was hoping to find some information from people who have experienced jumping issues in the past and who have discouraged their rabbits from doing it often. We'll see how she turns out, hopefully there's a way to help her and stop her from jumping seeing as she's still a baby, I was hoping I could help her behavior but maybe not. Thank you!

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

There isn’t really a way to stop her from jumping. Getting a taller pen will help a lot. You can probably put cardboard against the sides of the pen or put a bed sheet over it, in case she is climbing rather than hopping. Is she trying to escape because she’s bored? If so, getting her some new things to explore might help. But yeah, it’ll be hard to deter a rabbit from jumping

 

[Happy Hollands]

There isn’t really a way to stop her from jumping. Getting a taller pen will help a lot. You can probably put cardboard against the sides of the pen or put a bed sheet over it, in case she is climbing rather than hopping. Is she trying to escape because she’s bored? If so, getting her some new things to explore might help. But yeah, it’ll be hard to deter a rabbit from jumping

okay! The short pen is just something I use while I clean their cage, I am sure the adult rabbits could hop out if they wanted to but they are pretty well trained.
She is definitely jumping out as opposed to climbing, sometimes she will stand on a toy or use the food container to get leverage to jump up and over. When I was researching earlier I did notice a lot of people mentioned they could jump out because they are bored, however, the pen is full of enrichment toys and food / hay! Sometimes I almost worry if they have too many toys lol wish it was that though, that would be an easy fix!

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

Sounds like she’s just got a bit of character! If you only use the little pen when you’re cleaning, it might be annoying but I’m sure it’ll be fine, unless she can hurt herself.

 

[Happy Hollands]

Sounds like she’s just got a bit of character! If you only use the little pen when you’re cleaning, it might be annoying but I’m sure it’ll be fine, unless she can hurt herself.

Thank you! Yes she does, but she is so beautiful I cannot resist and I am going to keep her
She is seriously one of the sweetest bunnies I have had to date, she reminds me of the puppy because (even at her young age) she comes when she is called and loves to give kisses! Absolutely adores her attention... probably the reason why she keeps jumping! Here's a picture of her

 

[OreoTheMiniLop]

Aww! I hope you can figure out a way to solve the jumping problem!

 

[Happy Hollands]

Aww! I hope you can figure out a way to solve the jumping problem!

Thank you, I hope so too! I don't want it to be the reason I can't keep her though.

 

[Blue eyes]

She's adorable!

No. Rabbits aren't going to be trained to stop a behavior they want to do. Some people may have limited success in stopping a particular behavior while the human is there watching. But as soon as a back is turned, a rabbit will do whatever they well please. They simply are not inclined to try to "please" us as, say, a dog will.

BTW, smaller rabbits tend to be able to jump higher than larger rabbits because they have less weight to lift. I've read the record jump is around 39."

Jumping over a 14" pen (which should be a piece of cake for any rabbit) doesn't mean she'll be able to hop over a 29" wall. She may not do that at all. You'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

Thank you! Yes she does, but she is so beautiful I cannot resist and I am going to keep her
She is seriously one of the sweetest bunnies I have had to date, she reminds me of the puppy because (even at her young age) she comes when she is called and loves to give kisses! Absolutely adores her attention... probably the reason why she keeps jumping! Here's a picture of her

View attachment 48464

She’s so cute!!

 

[OreoTheMiniLop]

You could cover the top.

 

[Happy Hollands]

She's adorable!

No. Rabbits aren't going to be trained to stop a behavior they want to do. Some people may have limited success in stopping a particular behavior while the human is there watching. But as soon as a back is turned, a rabbit will do whatever they well please. They simply are not inclined to try to "please" us as, say, a dog will.

BTW, smaller rabbits tend to be able to jump higher than larger rabbits because they have less weight to lift. I've read the record jump is around 39."

Jumping over a 14" pen (which should be a piece of cake for any rabbit) doesn't mean she'll be able to hop over a 29" wall. She may not do that at all. You'll just have to wait and see.

thank you for this helpful information! that's a very good point that she could simply be jumping over a smaller pen and not a bigger one. thank you so so much!

 

[JBun]

One thing you can do if climbing becomes involved, is if you zip tie cardboard or poster board at the top part of the pen panels, this can help prevent climbing over the top.

 

[sunflowerdbb123]

She/he is absolutely beautiful. I would definitely keep this bunny. This is a pic of Lola my bunny. X

 

[Happy Hollands]

She/he is absolutely beautiful. I would definitely keep this bunny. This is a pic of Lola my bunny. X

Thank you Lola is beautiful, love the name too!
I bred this litter specifically for the reason to keep a girl blue eyed white, I am so happy there were 2 for me to choose from! Her name is going to be Moxie - it really flows with my other pet bunnys' name, Missy. She will *hopefully* be a free roam pet (with the occasional breeding in the far future).

 

[Fuz]

You could also cover the pen with a thin material, such as organza or some other light weight fabric. Choose a color that will match their space. And hold it up with some colorful pegs. They look pretty cute as well! You can find inspiration online.
Also when she jumps, and she will, she won't hurt her pretty head on the soft material

 

[Oreo and bella]

Awe she is so cute she looks like my Bella