Petting rabbit

[cornflakes]

Hello, it has been awhile since my last visit/post.

I'm taking care of a couple new rabbits now. One of them is the mom rabbit who is about 3 years old. The other is the daughter rabbit who is about 1 years old now. I noticed that whenever I pet the mom rabbit (esp. during her pregnancy), she sits downs and lets me pet her. Whenever I run my hands on her left side, she pushes her body towards the left side (into my hands where I'm petting her) and then when I switch over to the right side, she shifts her body to the right side (pushing her body into my hand). It seems to me that this is an indication that a) she likes it/feels comfortable or refreshing like someone scratching an itch) or b) it's just a body reaction much like the way cats always seem to raise their bottoms up when you pet them down their backs to their tails.

Does anyone know what this body language means? I'm just curious about it. It seems funny cuz now the daughter rabbit reacts the same way when I pet her. Before, she never let me pet her...she'd run away or be too scared. Now she also sits and pushes her body to whichever side my hand is petting her and they look behind them as I'm petting them.

 

[bellaterra214]

It's totally normal. You might even hear her grind her teeth which means you are doing a very good job on the bunny massage.

 

[JBun]

Hi :wave: Good to see you back here.

Some of my rabbits will lean into where I'm scratching them, especially when rubbing their cheeks. But just a few of my buns will do this, not all. I just take it as an indication that the bun really likes me rubbing or petting them there.

I would think that the daughter just picked up the same behavior by learning it from her mom. Not sure about why they are looking behind while you are petting, unless you are petting their hind end. Most rabbits like their head stroked, but not all like their back or rump petted, so they may just be keeping track of what you are doing back there.

 

[HototMama]

my girls do that when they are ready for a boy