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Do you play games with your rabbits?

Grasshopper

Young Bun
Looking for inspiration for new ways to interact with my bun. he gets lots of snuzzles and I put his excel in a ball which dispenses food as he rolls it around. I roll it back to him when it gets stuck in corners...

When I was first looking in to getting a bun I read about people playing chase or hide and seek with their rabbits. Mine only seems to be interested in food related games, although he will come and throw the dustpan and brush around when I'm tidying up his room.

Any ideas what else I can try? Sometimes he just seems to be a bit bored of getting stroked and pushes my hand away. I'm sure he'd like me to spend more time doing stuff with him but the only other thing I can think of is helping him pick out his favourite bits of hay!

Any ideas?
 
my bunnies use a push with the head to say 'er, you can rub that nose harder, thanks!' or 'your attention is wandering slave - rub!'

i'm not available to play with buns most of the time - that's sad but its how it is. that's why i have two. they fall out a bit, but at least each has the other as a rabbity companion.

you could try mirroring his behaviour. that's quite fun. washing your ears and nose, kicking up your feet as you hop away. i'm not joking - i do these things! oh dear. and now everyone knows!
 
I stamped at him yesterday when he nipped my leg for not getting his food fast enough! I've tried nose twitching but he just looks totally bemused;)

I work from home now, so nearly always around, unfortunately I'm part time at the moment. Would like to get him bonded when I get something full time again o pay all those bills, although when we adopted him he'd already had a couple of attempts and they thought he'd be ok on his own.

He has a nudge that kind of lifts his head up and tips my hand off - I took it to mean 'hands off' as sometimes he walks away too and occasionally shakes his head.

Going to try the ear washing thing- might be less ambiguous than nose twitching, thanks.
 
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I both play with mine & spend a lot of time on the floor with him. He's obsessively tidy, so 1 "game" is to sort out my papers chucking them in piles on the floor. "Buck" tidying really comes to the fore. I Just have to watch out that nothing important like a driving license goes on the floor. He also loves joining in digging holes when I move plants in the garden. He even "waters" his holes for me after watching me use a can. He also likes to join in when I tidy out a floor level cupboard. I've a helpful little soul, haven't I?
His game of chasing a piece of string is so non - rabbit behaviour I have no idea why he started it. Similarly he plays 3 games with me & a strip of material. (I was shortening a hem & he took an interest in the off cut)
Not the most helpful post except perhaps to let your bun join in with your life.
 
When Amber was on her own we used to play 'chase':oops::oops::oops:
I used to tap her on the bum and she'd race round and chase my hand or binky high up in the air. Great fun to watch although at first i thought she had a sore back or something!
 
Rabbit Pile On
My son finds it difficult to relate to the rabbits sometimes so we play a sort of game at feeding time. My son lies really still on the floor and we cover him in pellets. Open the rabbit shed and shake the tin. The rabbits pile on top of my son who lies really still laughing.
Not really a game I guess but a nice way for a younger child to bond with the buns.
 
Rabbit Pile On
My son finds it difficult to relate to the rabbits sometimes so we play a sort of game at feeding time. My son lies really still on the floor and we cover him in pellets. Open the rabbit shed and shake the tin. The rabbits pile on top of my son who lies really still laughing.
Not really a game I guess but a nice way for a younger child to bond with the buns.

Wow, sounds like fun. I'm going to have a go at this:lol:
 
Try getting some willow sticks. If you hold a stick in front of the bun they either try to move the stick out of the way by pulling it or they chew through it. You can keep doing this lots of times, I think they find it interesting.
 
Heres one...
Sit your rabbit still on a table, and get down to his height so your face to face. Move sideways a little, seen as rabbits can't see straight foward. Then start wiggling your nose or lip at the same pace as the rabbits, eventually they will copy you. If you start moving your nose/lip faster, so should they.

Yes, I'm a saddo too :wave: :lol:
 
Joey likes to play, i run my hand along the ground towards him like a spider and he fake lunges at me then does huge binkies and comes back for more :lol:
 
my bunnies use a push with the head to say 'er, you can rub that nose harder, thanks!' or 'your attention is wandering slave - rub!'

i'm not available to play with buns most of the time - that's sad but its how it is. that's why i have two. they fall out a bit, but at least each has the other as a rabbity companion.

you could try mirroring his behaviour. that's quite fun. washing your ears and nose, kicking up your feet as you hop away. i'm not joking - i do these things! oh dear. and now everyone knows!

Wonderful!!!!!!! Im gonna do that....my o/h says I need a check up from the neck up...just gonna prove it!!!!!!:p:p:lol::lol:
(not that i dont think its a good idea...I love it but only when in private and hes not with me...hed bust a gut laughing!!)
 
Try getting some willow sticks. If you hold a stick in front of the bun they either try to move the stick out of the way by pulling it or they chew through it. You can keep doing this lots of times, I think they find it interesting.

I do this with Mrs Bun!!
 
Really interesting to hear what other bunny people get up to!
Thanks everyone.:)

I grew up with cats, and it seemed easy to find games for them. Since being converted to rabbits have been feeling a bit rubbish about not knowing how to appeal to their silly side!

Think I've discovered a tidyness streak in mine (starts chewing things when the flat gets too messy!) so will definitely try paper 'sorting'.

Having a major interest in food, I've been a bit reluctant to let him loose in the borders as he seems to see it as a big buffet! But I'm sure he'd love digging with me. Hmm, will have to see if i can work that one out.

Anyone else? Facinated to hear some more stories
 
Oh yeh i use a willow ball to play with dreamer.... not sure if he's playing or getting cross with me... he throws it at me :shock:


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Heres one...
Sit your rabbit still on a table, and get down to his height so your face to face. Move sideways a little, seen as rabbits can't see straight foward. Then start wiggling your nose or lip at the same pace as the rabbits, eventually they will copy you. If you start moving your nose/lip faster, so should they.

Yes, I'm a saddo too :wave: :lol:

This is a really friendly bonding one for bunnies. You can have "wrinkly nose conversations". If I start to slow down, it relaxes mine, & he'll even start to tooth purr.
Lovely suggestion Demismith.
ETA mine doesn't like heights so I do it on the floor.
 
Daisy seems to love it when I kneel on the floor with her and talk to her in an excited, happy sing song voice - i say 'who's a binky bunny then' a few times and she'll often binky round me and jump up at me :lol: If I kneel on all fours she jumps on my back sometimes too, sort of like bunny leapfrog :oops: :lol:

Jester used to just watch us with a 'they're both mad' expression on his face, but recently he's started joining in too :love:
 
Oh yeh i use a willow ball to play with dreamer.... not sure if he's playing or getting cross with me... he throws it at me :shock:



that's brilliant! :lol:Never seen mine pick stuff up with his paws like that!

Just had exciting afternoon chasing bun round garden border trying to stop him from eating it all. Looked to me like he was having a great time, not hugely amused by me following him round but think he enjoyed trying to outsmart me! Now thinking of a bit of garden re-design...!
 
Bella invented this little game where she creeps up behind me (usually when I try to sweep the floor in her room),nips my bum (because she knows how much it annoys me :roll:) and runs off binkying. Depending on my mood,I either ignore this until she stops (which sometimes takes a while :lol:) or try to catch her,which she finds extremely amusing seeing as she's about 10 times faster than me. :lol::roll: If I stop chasing her once I've started she'll keep nipping me until I continue :lol: She's a determined young lady!:roll:
Boris did this game a lot when he was younger as well but he's more into toilet tubes now,I throw them at him and he throws them back at me. That's about the only game he likes :lol: Except stealing my food and nibbling my wallpaper! Oh and trying to get to places he's not allowed in!
 
Oh yeh i use a willow ball to play with dreamer.... not sure if he's playing or getting cross with me... he throws it at me :shock:



that's brilliant! :lol:Never seen mine pick stuff up with his paws like that!

Just had exciting afternoon chasing bun round garden border trying to stop him from eating it all. Looked to me like he was having a great time, not hugely amused by me following him round but think he enjoyed trying to outsmart me! Now thinking of a bit of garden re-design...!

That is very much like mine when he was a baby. I also think that they are so "social" they learn how to provoke a reaction out of us. If you have a lot of time - which few people are fortunate enough to have, it's possible to watch his behaviour & get a communication system going, about what he wants.
BUT if you bond VERY closely & become his companion "rabbit", he may eventually get very distressed indeed if you leave him for more than a 24 hours. It's a much bigger commitment than cats & dogs. That is why a companion rabbit, is so recommended for the long term future.

I found it difficult to start to "think rabbit", because I did not realize how intelligent they are, & what great highly individual personalities they have. I missed so much communication at the beginning cos my expectation was so low.

May I wish you both every happiness getting to know each other & having lots of fun together!
Judy & Thumper.
 
Oh yes Mischa and I play 'who can get the litter tray contents in and out of the litter tray the fastest' :roll::lol:
 
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