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Rabbits grooming in the heat

O

Omi

Wise Old Thumper
It's a sad fact that neither of my two rabbits are very free with giving their grooms and licks to their partner and it's not a sight you often see. So I find it especially interesting that for at least the last three afternoons both rabbits have been giving their partner enthusiastic and lengthy full body licks :) I haven't noticed how long it's been on the other days, but today it's been going on for at least 45 minutes and is still continuing. It's remarkable just how thorough they each are in covering the whole body :)

I think it's lovely to see, but I am wondering quite why they choose to do it on hot and humid days like this. Tui, in particular, is shedding soft white fur quite freely and I would have thought one of the last things you'd want when it's so hot would be a mouthful of fur :)
 
Omi said:
It's a sad fact that neither of my two rabbits are very free with giving their grooms and licks to their partner and it's not a sight you often see. So I find it especially interesting that for at least the last three afternoons both rabbits have been giving their partner enthusiastic and lengthy full body licks :) I haven't noticed how long it's been on the other days, but today it's been going on for at least 45 minutes and is still continuing. It's remarkable just how thorough they each are in covering the whole body :)

I think it's lovely to see, but I am wondering quite why they choose to do it on hot and humid days like this. Tui, in particular, is shedding soft white fur quite freely and I would have thought one of the last things you'd want when it's so hot would be a mouthful of fur :)
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That's so weird, mine do that normally, but in this heat there's none of that going on [emoji38] just lots of laying around [emoji38][emoji38] maybe your buns find it cools them down? :)

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aww, there's no sight quite so lovely. Well Mouse has nobun to groom her these days (you can tell) but theres nothing she enjoyed more than lying in fron of a roaring fire having full length grooms from Rudey whilst she groomed herself :lol: (dewlap & paws). J&B in a couple don't hardly groom each other & thats not changed in the heat. It does amaze me how they still lie so tightly together.

I hope we get more replies about grooming in the heat as its really quite interesting
 
I have noticed this with Dennis today. He is really following Maple around and tending to her moult. Generally they have quite time away from each other around lunchtime but he is joint to her hip today


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No grooms going on here! Not unless you count the random lick on the nose that Britney gave Phillip earlier to try and wake him up :lol:

joey&boo said:
It does amaze me how they still lie so tightly together.
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B&W are doing this still, I can't understand it in this heat! Phillip is sensible and lies on the cool tiles on his own at the moment but the two girls insist on lying together. The only time I've seen them lie separately this week is when we put a frozen water bottle in the room and Whitney was so terrified of it that she wouldn't lie near Britney until we removed it!
 
nap91 said:
No grooms going on here! Not unless you count the random lick on the nose that Britney gave Phillip earlier to try and wake him up [emoji38]



B&W are doing this still, I can't understand it in this heat! Phillip is sensible and lies on the cool tiles on his own at the moment but the two girls insist on lying together. The only time I've seen them lie separately this week is when we put a frozen water bottle in the room and Whitney was so terrified of it that she wouldn't lie near Britney until we removed it!
Click to expand...

Apricot and Penelope always lay together right up against each other, even in the heat too [emoji38]

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loobers25 said:
I have noticed this with Dennis today. He is really following Maple around and tending to her moult. Generally they have quite time away from each other around lunchtime but he is joint to her hip today


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Click to expand...

It appears then that my two are very much in the minority apart from Dennis :) Maple doesn't return the favour?

Tui is certainly moulting, but then she has been all Summer long. And Tethra isn't moulting at the moment.
 
Omi said:
It appears then that my two are very much in the minority apart from Dennis :) Maple doesn't return the favour?

Tui is certainly moulting, but then she has been all Summer long. And Tethra isn't moulting at the moment.
Click to expand...

No that’s why Dennis is such a scruffbag - I do the grooming!


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Well they've been given and have eaten an extra large portion of forage for their tea, including some Bramble leaves. Just to make sure they haven't overdone things ;)

Argh, rabbits, if it's not one thing to worry about it's another :)
 
Omi said:
Well they've been given and have eaten an extra large portion of forage for their tea, including some Bramble leaves. Just to make sure they haven't overdone things ;)

Argh, rabbits, if it's not one thing to worry about it's another :)
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I am giving extra wet forage too just incase


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I've just been sat at my local pub having a refreshing beer because of the hot humid conditions & observing all the wildies in the fields. although they are all near(ish) each other they don't get very close. if one hops over in the direction of another the other one hops away, nm any grooming.
I would love to see what they get up to when in their burrows.
 
Omi said:
It's a sad fact that neither of my two rabbits are very free with giving their grooms and licks to their partner and it's not a sight you often see. So I find it especially interesting that for at least the last three afternoons both rabbits have been giving their partner enthusiastic and lengthy full body licks :) I haven't noticed how long it's been on the other days, but today it's been going on for at least 45 minutes and is still continuing. It's remarkable just how thorough they each are in covering the whole body :)

I think it's lovely to see, but I am wondering quite why they choose to do it on hot and humid days like this. Tui, in particular, is shedding soft white fur quite freely and I would have thought one of the last things you'd want when it's so hot would be a mouthful of fur :)
Click to expand...

Maybe they are fish not rabbits and get amorous when the temperature rises? :lol:
 
mikek said:
I've just been sat at my local pub having a refreshing beer because of the hot humid conditions & observing all the wildies in the fields. although they are all near(ish) each other they don't get very close. if one hops over in the direction of another the other one hops away, nm any grooming.
I would love to see what they get up to when in their burrows.
Click to expand...

Yes, now you mention it I don't think I've ever seen wildies groom each other:? I do think that what they get up to when in their burrows is private though :lol:
 
Omi said:
Yes, now you mention it I don't think I've ever seen wildies groom each other:? I do think that what they get up to when in their burrows is private though :lol:
Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I have just been searching on yt to see if there are any in-burrow vids. there are no wildie ones that I can find.
I suspect we don't actually know a lot about wild rabbits. there is 1 vid where they have poured concrete down a old burrow, let it set, then excavated it. a rabbit 'expert' was showing where paws had been excavating the burrow but from my experience I suspect rather than it being paw marks it was teeth marks. when I have observed rabbits burrowing they have done most of the digging with their teeth and just use paws for pushing soil once it is loosened.
 
Cuthbert&Dillon said:
Maybe they are fish not rabbits and get amorous when the temperature rises? :lol:
Click to expand...
LMAO XD

mikek said:
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I have just been searching on yt to see if there are any in-burrow vids. there are no wildie ones that I can find.
I suspect we don't actually know a lot about wild rabbits. there is 1 vid where they have poured concrete down a old burrow, let it set, then excavated it. a rabbit 'expert' was showing where paws had been excavating the burrow but from my experience I suspect rather than it being paw marks it was teeth marks. when I have observed rabbits burrowing they have done most of the digging with their teeth and just use paws for pushing soil once it is loosened.
Click to expand...
They certainly use their teeth to get through roots, and mine tend to use their front paws&claws to get through the top surface, then pull out grass with their teeth, then carry on with paws. Back feet rarely used, it's 90% front feet.

You lot who have close bunnies, you've reminded me that Aboleth and Lopsy would be right next to each other on the hottest days, but Chibbs and Lopsy are always apart, sometimes as far apart as possible (we say they've fallen out or had a row :lol:), I haven't seen them both on the windowsill when it's been above 20C since it got hot and humid. But Lopsy seems to like Chibbs more (he shows off to her loads more :lol:).
 
Well it's no longer hot, so any thoughts that the behaviour was prompted by the warm weather must have been wrong. The grooming continues and whilst it is so sweet to observe, changes in behaviour should be questionned right?

Surprisingly it is Tui who is doing the most of the grooming, although both rabbits are doing a lot. It would be really nice to be able to put this down to Tui developing a more loving nature towards Tethra, but with rabbits I suspect it might be a bit more complex than that. She was even at it whilst Tethra was trying to eat a few Apple sticks at 7am this morning!
 
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