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How do you know your rabbit is happy?

DDD

Mama Doe
Just a general question. how do you know that your rabbit is happy? Im not worried about mine, so dont panic!! Just wondering!
 
I was thinking the exact same question yesterday - rabbits and piggies - how do you know if they're happy? :shock: I concluded that you base it on your own experience of life, and transfer your own feelings onto them. So if you're miserable alone, you imagine your rabbit is; if you get bored with routine you imagine your rabbit is, etc.

There really is no way to tell, unless you can read their mind, or they learn to talk. What one person sees as a chilled out, relaxed bunny, someone else will see as a bored, depressed bunny. It's obvious if they're in pain, but not obvious if they are unhappy.

Can they even be unhappy? Surely unhappiness requires imagination, as you have to think 'oh I wish this was different, I want ....' - they don't have any imagination to do that, and are more likely to settle for what they have I think.
 
Can they even be unhappy? Surely unhappiness requires imagination, as you have to think 'oh I wish this was different, I want ....' - they don't have any imagination to do that, and are more likely to settle for what they have I think.

I'm sure a neglected rabbit shut in a 3ft hutch on his own would know what unhappiness is.
 
I think you can tell how happy a rabbit it from how it acts and whether it binkies or flops at all. If a rabbit wasn't happy I doubt it would want to do anything, much like we don't if we're feeling unhappy.

I do think rabbits can feel unhappy though, you can tell by just looking at them; they often look just sad and don't want to do anything with themselves. If a rabbit was neglected they're going to be unhappy with their life and would know what unhappiness was. It's like there was this beautiful cat at the cat rescue who had been continuously bred and she was so sad even though she was out of the situation. She didn't want to eat because she just wanted to give up. It was so heatbreaking to know that humans had done that to her :( She knew what unhappiness was.
 
I'm sure a neglected rabbit shut in a 3ft hutch on his own would know what unhappiness is.

I'm not so sure they would unless they'd experienced different before but once they were moved to a larger space I'm sure they'd feel happier if that makes sense

I sometimes look at my rabbits and think they don't look happy as we recognise happiness. Mine rarely binky, in fact I've never seen Pippa binky, but does that mean she's unhappy? I don't know. They have space, food, hay and companionship so by rights they should be 'happy' or rather 'contented' but I'm sure not they are. It does worry me but what else can you give them? I think all my rabbits would be happier freeranging but obviously I don't do that.
 
I honestly think you can tell when your own rabbits are happy, assuming youve had them long enough to know their personality.

I've never seen 2 rabbits happier than my last pair, they constantly looked content, binkied and flopped, you could just see happiness ooze out of them. Bob (my recent adoptee is awaiting a wife) is not a happy bunny, well not in the run on his own all day, in the evening he lays on the back of the sofa, legs stretched out and 'asks' to be stroked, I can tell he's happy then, he chatters his teeth and looks like he's smiling.:lol:

I honestly think rabbits are at their happiest with a partner they love (not just tolerate) and the rest of the time they just plod along.
 
Binky is like a happy jump... twist in the air sort of thing..



The video above shows my bunny flopping out :lol:
 
Binky is like a happy jump... twist in the air sort of thing..



The video above shows my bunny flopping out :lol:


Thanks for explaining!!! they do a lot of binkying, no flopping like that yet but they are still quite nervous so whenever they hear a noise, they stop what they are doing. at the mo my two are in their run, and are destroying the cardboard box i gave them to hide in and generally making a mess!!! i think they are happy
 
I'm not so sure they would unless they'd experienced different before but once they were moved to a larger space I'm sure they'd feel happier if that makes sense

I sometimes look at my rabbits and think they don't look happy as we recognise happiness. Mine rarely binky, in fact I've never seen Pippa binky, but does that mean she's unhappy? I don't know. They have space, food, hay and companionship so by rights they should be 'happy' or rather 'contented' but I'm sure not they are. It does worry me but what else can you give them? I think all my rabbits would be happier freeranging but obviously I don't do that.

I think their natural instincts would mean they were frustrated and unhappy at being trapped in a 3ft box.

I can tell when Audrey is feeling particularily happy- she binkies and then does her draught excluder expression where she fully stretches out, and I know that means she is relaxed. And she grinds her teeth and shuts her eyes when I rub her head. She probably is bored a lot of the time as I cannot adopt a friend for her, but I think there's a difference between boredom and unhappiness.
 
I'm not so sure they would unless they'd experienced different before but once they were moved to a larger space I'm sure they'd feel happier if that makes sense

I sometimes look at my rabbits and think they don't look happy as we recognise happiness. Mine rarely binky, in fact I've never seen Pippa binky, but does that mean she's unhappy? I don't know. They have space, food, hay and companionship so by rights they should be 'happy' or rather 'contented' but I'm sure not they are. It does worry me but what else can you give them? I think all my rabbits would be happier freeranging but obviously I don't do that.

I agree - they are likely to be ill and in pain if they are that neglected, in which case what you see as 'unhappiness' will be pain - but I don't think they will be unhappy or frustrated once they know the routine as they tend to just accept it.

I don't believe binkies are 'happiness' so much as high spirits brought on by a large area which stimulates their instinct to run from predators - binkies in my opinion are designed to avoid fox jaws :)
 
So do you think it's therefore acceptable to keep a rabbit in a 3ft box? I personally don't think rabbits thrive on routine.

Most people say there are two types of Binky- happy ones and predator avoidance.

The happiest rabbit expression is commonly called a "binky." It's impossible to mistake for anything else, and the first time you see one you will probably wonder if the poor thing is having a convulsion. When a rabbit binkies, it jumps into the air and twists its head and body in opposite directions (sometimes twice) before falling back to the ground. This can be done while standing in one place, or while running, which is really weird looking, and is sometimes called the "happy bunny dance." A rabbit can even turn 180o in midair. All this is a rabbit's way of telling you straight out that it is happy and overall pleased with you and its life. Some rabbits binky a lot and some hardly at all, even if they are being treated well. Everyone has their own temperment.

http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html
 
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Unhappiness behaviour:

An unhappy rabbit will usually lay its ears back with the openings down, and turn itself either to the side or toward you nervously. The farther back the ears fall, the more unhappiness is indicated. This differs from other ear-back signals, which require that the rabbit firmly face toward you (anger), crouch or turn sideways with ear openings turned sideways (fear), or pointedly turn its back (insult).

A more mild signal of unhappiness (or even some anger) is having one ear facing backward and one forward, or one ear down and one up. These usually indicate a rabbit that is less than happy, but sometimes for only vaguely defined reasons. A little grooming or a raisin gift can often turn that frown upside down. A more serious sulk is indicated by ears tilted far back, or (even worse) tilted back and facing down, all done while lying facing you (or facing to the side; not directly away from you, which is an outright insult) in a meatloaf position. This is a seriously sad rabbit, and you should take some time to think about what might be wrong. It might even be sick, so check the litterbox for evidence.

Note that rabbits often sleep lying with their ears laid back in a fashion very similar to the "sulking" signal and with their eyes narrowed but not closed. They always have particular places they sleep, though, so you probably won't confuse the two.

A nervous or frightened rabbit will face its ears backward and lower them, but with the openings facing sideways rather than back, and often will point its ears a bit out to the side rather than straight back. If you reach for your rabbit and it lowers its head and ears, spreading its ears or tilting both ears to one side rather than keeping them pointed straight back, it is scared. This is usually accompanied with a stance that leaves the rabbit ready to flee, and may include ducking the head. Mild nervousness may be sometimes shown by stance alone. A scared rabbit will not stand aggressively as if it's about to charge you, like an angry one will, although otherwise the signals can be a bit related (as are fear and anger).

A rabbit that is dismayed, confused, or trying but not succeeding in communicating with you will sometimes wince. In a wince, one eye gets closed, and the whole forehead moves toward that eye. It's over in just a second. It looks something like a wink, but it's a signal of mild unhappiness. When you first try using some of the signals described here, you may get winced at, generally because your body language is not consistent with the signal you're giving or something about the context is just not right. If your rabbit winces when you try to communicate, you probably need to work more on your conversational skills. However, most rabbits should eventually learn to understand you once they get used to your incredibly bad accent.

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.

A rabbit that is scared but can't run, or one that is nervous, may chatter its mouth (the way humans do when they're cold). Chattering teeth or loud tooth grinding (not the soft kind heard sometimes during grooming) can also indicate a rabbit in pain, so you should do some checking for indication that it's sick.

Some rabbits will mutter nervously to themselves. This sound is usually a little higher pitched than the happy mumbling of a rabbit being groomed, and sounds very different from a rabbit grunting as it eats or grunt-growling at you when it's angry. I've been told, though, that some rabbits just always are muttering to themselves, and in such cases doesn't necessarily indicate nervousness, but is probably just comfortable social mumbling. In fact, female rabbits may "coo" while nursing their pups. The context of the situation should make the meaning pretty clear.

When a rabbit is frustrated with being locked in its cage it may loudly toss things around or otherwise "rattle the bars." This is meant to get your attention, of course, and typically is a request to be allowed out.

Finally, a rabbit in terror or in severe, acute pain may scream. I'm told it is a terrible sound, but, fortunately, I've never heard this vocalization. I sincerely hope you never hear it either.

http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html
 
when mine are unhappy/stressed out/sick they dont eat...
so I guess I assume mine on whether they are eating or not - I can tell when they are just in a random mood cos they decide to strip wall paper and eat carpet :oops:
and when they are happy they just behave in their normal routine.
 
I actually saw a happy rabbit in P@H yesterday :shock: it looked very content for a change.
 
Rubens is so funny when he's happy, he'll binky around his run then flop onto his side then wriggle about on his back with his tounge out moving his head round in circles, it always makes us laugh, he looks completely bonkers when he does it!
 
Rubens is so funny when he's happy, he'll binky around his run then flop onto his side then wriggle about on his back with his tounge out moving his head round in circles, it always makes us laugh, he looks completely bonkers when he does it!

ahhh im no rabbit physcolagist but that sound like happy bun to me!:lol:
 
Here's my BB's happy binky


I think after you've had your rabbit a while you can start to tell what sort of mood they're in, and you can read their actions.
IMO a happy bunny is one that relaxes easily and often, is confident to come out of it's home for exercise or attention, and has the interaction of humans/other rabbits/other species.
Most of my rabbits have a mad dash when they first come out into the garden, zigzagging and flicking their heads, but they binky from happiness:D
 
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