Behaviour Comparison

Hi folks

Ive been lucky enough (as some of you will know from my previous post) to successfully hand rear a leveret from about a day old unti he is now about 6 weeks. The only down side (not for me I might add!) is that he has become very affecionate and very tame.

I was curious to compare his behaviour to that of house rabbits, if you have any comments, Id really love to hear from you.

He very much loves his goats milk - infact he still takes it from a bottle and seems to thoroughly enjoy it, he stamps and runs up and down his pen when it comes near his time to have it. He also seems to know when he wants out to play - he isnt destructive and isnt at all messy, seeming to prefer to wait until he gets back in his pen, friends of ours have a house bunny (dwarf lop) called Peaches (she is - literally peach and champagne coloured!) and she is very messy when she is out playing, she will wreck anything she gets a chance to and rules the house She will pee on the couch and leaves a trail of droppings everywhere.

His favourite pastime of an evening is to sit on my lap and eat wholemeal toast, he doesnt like rabbit food adn seems to prefer dry hay and grass, fresh wild greens (hawthorn, chickweed, dandelions, clover, grass) and dry oats to either pellets or a very very expensive bunny mix Ive tried him with.

Im really enjoying his company and hope to have some pics for you all to see as Im hoping to replace my digi camera soon.

wow - would love to see some pics!
I have 2 housebunnies - one of them is destructive and likes to shred wallpaper and carpet (but not too badly) and the other likes to poo/wee everywhere! :lol: I think the behaviour of a house rabbit is entirely down to their personalities
It sounds like you have a very well behaved boy there - for now!!! :lol:

CottonMather said:

wow - would love to see some pics!
I have 2 housebunnies - one of them is destructive and likes to shred wallpaper and carpet (but not too badly) and the other likes to poo/wee everywhere! :lol: I think the behaviour of a house rabbit is entirely down to their personalities
It sounds like you have a very well behaved boy there - for now!!! :lol:

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Thanks!

The other thing he does - and ive never heard of a rabbit doing it - if I put my head down to him, he gives "kisses" he will literally put his paws on my face and almost almost have his head in my mouth!! He tries to lick my lips! He doesnt bite or nip but just noses me.....Its not for food as he will do it after he has 3/4 of a bottle of milk - and his toast.

Its all a learning curve for me and its really enjoyable!

Sounds adorable ! Piccies please !

Hiya,

Do you mean leveret as in hare or do you have a baby rabbit? The obvious difference if you've had him that young is a hare is born with fur and eyes open where as a rabbit is born virtually hairless and their eyes open about day 10.

I've been hand rearing a wild rabbit too, he's 10 weeks old on Wednesday

He's very tame and affectionate. He's off the milk now but when he was he would rattle the cage bars at feeding time, then when I'd take him out and put him down he'd run across the room til I tapped the bowl then come hounding back and jump on my lap to eat. After finishing he'd settle down on me for 20-30 minutes for a nap.

He's very licky too, and will hold his head still or rest it on my hand and so I can rub his nose and ears.

When he's running about he's very active, jumping about and tearing up and down the room. He'll come back if you call (or wave some food about).

He's litter trained in his cage and I take his tray out when he's running around (he spends about 50% of the time free in the kitchen). He wee's in his tray but does leave poops scattered in a slightly wider pattern. Today it looks like he was marking the perimetre and their all in a straight line :lol:

His behaviour is very like that of a domestic rabbit. The only difference is that he's quicker to run and hide if something startles him. But he's straight back out if you call him or rattle some food and he realises it's just you.

Tam