Your Experiences With Deaf Bunnies

I'm intrigued. Before November, I'd never had a deaf bunny before. As of today, I've realised that, I don't just have the one, but two. :shock:

New boy Erasmus (tricolour boy) is deaf, and made me question whether the same could be said for Arce (agouti butterfly girl) and Iris (blue butterfly girl). Did some testing on the girls, and Arce jumped every time I made a loud noise. Iris just kept doing whatever it was she was doing. So yeah, I think it's the case. Ras has 2 hearing girls he's being bonded to now, and of course, Iris has Arce.

The two totally deaf bunnies seem to have some similar characteristics. Both can be a bit humpy with their partners, both are/want to be the dominant bun, both get a little food aggressive. Both can be a bit nippy.

I just want to know what everyone else's experiences are like.

All of my deaf Rabbit have been extremely laid back. None were nippy or nervy As with any Rabbit relationship some wanted to be dominant, some were not bothered one way or the other and some were submissive. All of them were/are Lops and they were a variety of colours, several were REWs

Lops can be hearing impaired if they have large plugs of wax/gunk in their ear canals so it may be worth getting Erasmus's ears checked (assuming you dont have an otoscope yourself) and that it has not already been done

Boo is my first lop & my first deaf bunny. It was only after a customer talked of her deaf bunny I put together all the pieces & realised she was too. I have to say 18 months down the line I still shout "Boo" when she is being a rotter, I don't think I'll ever learn.

Boo as I mentioned in my other thread is the most confident & adventurous rabbit I have ever met. She is very able in getting her own way & seems to know exactly what she wants. She is my bossiest bun (I still think Joey is top bun but he doesn't take advantage of his standing) but possibly not the most dominant. She is never nippy & very careful in using her teeth (Mouse on the other hand will have your fingers off if it means she gets her treat quicker). I have to physically wake Boo if she is snoozing when its food time.

I think bonding was harder because of it. The downside is Boo spooks quite easily. Free ranging the house she is fine & spooks only occassionally if you enter the room too abruptly when she is zoning out / scanning (she also has visual issues). In the garden it was more of a worry, she would spook a fair bit then & I was always worried she'd run in to a wall or similar. Of course spooky Boo may be that way more because of her eyesight, hearing or a combination of the 2.

Thanks, Jane and j&b. I did think it was coincidence that both my deaf buns are hyper dominant, but it's always good to have confirmation.

I still talk to the bunnies regardless of their hearing - or lack thereof. Today, I told Ras that his ears are huge and useless. It may be a good thing he CAN'T hear in that case.

tlcwrites said:

Thanks, Jane and j&b. I did think it was coincidence that both my deaf buns are hyper dominant, but it's always good to have confirmation.

I still talk to the bunnies regardless of their hearing - or lack thereof. Today, I told Ras that his ears are huge and useless. It may be a good thing he CAN'T hear in that case.

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Ah but we don't always hear with our ears, do we?

Boots is either very hard of hearing or completely deaf. His eyesight is not fantastic either. His sense of smell is incredible though, he can smell a banana being peeled from 2 rooms away :lol: he normally feels me coming into his room with the vibrations I think, but I've had a lot of scary moments when I've found him laid out in a very convincing DBF in the middle of the room :shock:

He is very laid back and a complete cuddle bunny. He is a single house bunny.

Mimzy is fully deaf, and with me he is relatively relaxed as long as I'm not messing with him for meds or a bum bath, etc. But he is very humpy with the other two. To the point that he nips. I'm not certain if this is due to his deafness (as he's also blind and very arthritic) or if he's just getting hyper cranky at his advanced age. As such, I can't feel good about trying to rebond him with either Pip or Fiver.

I gently blow air on his face if I want to let him know I am nearby. It seems to help him to telegraph my approach. My OH was also able to operate a chainsaw just outside my bedroom window at our old house without him jumping, so noisy days like July 4th that are heralded with fireworks are no sweat for him.

MightyMax said:

Ah but we don't always hear with our ears, do we?

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I like your point or should I say points?
If I might leave the subtle point which includes deafening silences! & return to bunnies, they are very good at "hearing" with their feet - vibration.