Do you Speak Rabbit?

Despite not being very vocal creatures, rabbits do communicate through a raft of body language and signals. Here is a basic guide to what your pet might be 'saying' to you.

Sniffing
All rabbits have a very strong sense of smell and are therefore constantly sniffing the air as a way of looking out for danger and deducing what's around them.

Nudging
If your rabbit nudges you, then this is a form of greeting. It also indicates that your rabbit wants your attention. It can, however, be done more aggressively. If your female rabbit is going through a phantom pregnancy (more common throughout the spring and summer) she can become very protective over her hutch, so what started off as a friendly nudge can turn into a positive shove out of her domain!

Licking
If your rabbit licks you , it is deemed to be a sign of friendship and is therefore quite a compliment. Rabbits also lick each other as a means of cleaning.

Bunny Hop
Rabbits hop for joy so this is a sign of happiness. Although they should 'hop with happiness' all the time, early in the year, the start of spring and the first days of sunshine are when the really high jumps happen.

Playing
When rabbits play they tend to leap, jump and push objects around - this indicates that they are having fun. Give them a plastic flowerpot and they will throw it around for ages. The more stimulation they gain through toys the better.

Begging
Like their canine (and to a lesser degree feline) counterparts, rabbits will beg for food - beware about feeding your rabbit too much as overweight rabbits are prone to health problems.

Squeaking
Rabbits sometimes squeak when they are grooming themselves - this is perfectly normal.

Statues
When they are frightened, rabbits will lie very, very still (flat to the ground, ears laid along their back). When they do this, they are trying to avoid being seen. They will not move again until they feel it's safe to do so. Another statue position, mainly seen outside a hutch, is when the rabbit sits upright on its hind legs surveying everything, ears pricked, ready for action if anything is amiss.

Chinning
Sometimes a rabbit will rub its chin on its surroundings - this is due to the fact that the chin contains scent glands and it is a way in which a rabbit can leave its mark on its territory. (It is not dissimilar to a cat running its forehead on objects and people.) The territory can be anything - its hutch, run furniture or your leg! If you have a male un-neutered rabbit, it is not uncommon for him to claim the lady of the house as his partner and defend her from other males whether rabbit or human.

Carrying Straw
A femal rabbit will carry straw in her mouth when she is building a nest and this could indicate pregnancy - a vet will be able to confirm if your rabbit is pregnant. A phantom pregnancy, however, is one of the main causes for straw carrying. The femal rabbit completely believes that she is pregnant and will act accordingly (as mentioned in the 'nudging' section of this article). She will also pull out fur from her underbelly to line the nest and possibly become more 'hormonal' and aggressive. A normal rabbit should experience three to four phantom pregnancies a year. Depending on behaviour and occurrence, neutering may be the only answer.

Thumping or Stamping
Rabbits thump or stamp either both or one of their back feet - the noise they emit can be very loud and is associated with fear. Thumping or stamping is a means of warning others of danger. Dominant rabbits will also thump in order to gain attention. Thumping can be slightly different to stamping. General thumping can be heard in places that are home to more than one rabbit as a form of 'chatting', whether it's because they've smelt something new or seen a bird/plane overhead. Stamping is an alarm that has a sharper sound and acts as a warning to other rabbits.

Teeth Grinding
Gentle grinding means your rabbit is relaxed and content (rather like when cats purr). Loud grinding (which sounds like glass being crunched together) is a sign of pain. Remember that rabbits are prey animals that are designed to hide pain, so if you can hear loud grinding the problem may be more serious than you realise and you need to react quickly and take the rabbit straight to the vet.

Hissing, Growling, Grunting or Muttering
These are signs of anger and indicate aggression and usually mean that your rabbit is about to attack i.e. bite. These signs result from your rabbit feeling threatened, hormonal, ill or territorial.

Spraying
Male and femal rabbits will do this unpleasant activity in order to mark their territory. Un-neutered males will also spray female rabbits to signal to others that she is his 'property'. If you have a new rabbit or a new hutch, the rabbit will usually scatter its droppings around to mark its territory until it feels more confident and then it will choose a toilet area.

Screaming
Your rabbit will only scream if it has been caught by a predator or is in severe pain. If this ever happens, you need to take your rabbit to the vet as soon as possible.

Postures
Lying with legs out straight behind them means that they are completely relaxed. If the rabbit lies on its side, this indicates that it's deeply asleep and you may also see signs of it dreaming. Sitting in a hunched position sometimes means that the rabbit is feeling unwell.The more you study your rabbit the more you will know what behaviour is normal.

Digging
A female rabbit is usually the one who will wreck your garden by digging. She will dig to enable her to make a nest underground. It is perfectly natural behaviour for her but not great for the lawn! There is no way of stopping her other than to concrete the area. A male rabbit is more likely to scrape the top off the grass or plants in order to get to the cool earth as he finds this a comfortabl place in which to lie.

Head Swaying
If you have an albino rabbit (pure white with pink eyes) you may notice that is sways its head from side to side when completely relaxed. There is nothing wrong with this. The general theory is that pink-eyed rabbits have an imbalance due to poor eyesight and hearing, which leads them to appear as though they are listening to their own personal radio.

Reproduced courtesy of Pet Focus Magazine