Talking bunny?

[Sky-O]

I follow quite a lot of dogs and cats who use sound buttons to communicate. The cats, in particular, are amazing (mostly because I’d never have expected they would).

‘What about Bunny’ is one of my favourites-. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084851116422

Let’s Go Rip- https://www.facebook.com/letsgoripley

Ducat- https://www.facebook.com/justducat

And I’ve seen another couple of cat ones but can’t find them.

What do you think about bunnies? My buns definitely know and understand words. Do you reckon bunnies (maybe extra smart bunnies, probably young bunnies), could learn to communicate this way? Do they have the skills? (I’m thinking they would boop with their noses?). I can also imagine the incessant ‘food. Now’

I had one bunny, many years ago, that was incredibly clever, and you could watch her problem solve. I like to imagine she could have got some of it.

 

[joey&boo]

well Boobly is out of the equation for obvious reasons. TBH I'm not sure how much Eddy (or my bunnies historically) understand words but i think they get sounds/ intonation over words. All of them are able to communicate lot of their needs just through behaviours they show me. Mouseypie was brilliant at it

 

[Lord Trellis]

When my bunnies hear the sound of hay being pulled from the container or if they hear the slightest rustle of the bunny nugget bag they all get excited. I can rustle a regular bag but it doesn't have any effect so they know specific sounds. They also have a good sense of time.

LambChop goes crazy over food, he comes running at me like a bull in a china shop then he digs the nuggets out of his food bowl all over the floor and he would find ways of tipping over his water bowl so everything is wet. I had to fix down his water bowl but he jumps in to it now anyway. He has always got his water bottle so he can still drink when he needs too. He is never happy until his food is all over the floor and he does the same with the hay. He will pull it all out of the hay rack first before he eats it.

 

[Craig 1965]

I’m with you sky-o. The only amendment I’d personally add is perhaps not so much the understanding of words, more of how they are delivered. Tone for example. A child learns words from the tone of delivery so the word no is one of the first a child likes to use - probably cause they hear it so much:lol:
I think it’s also facial expression and body language too. I’m not sure about how my Flo does with words but Bertie is certainly up on them. I’m always fascinated by bunnies behaviour - their non vocal world is filled with complex communication.

 

[Omi]

We have always used 'SupSup' as a means of alerting any of our bunnies to the arrival of food. Most have very quickly realised what it meant. It works in any part of their accommodation.

But with Tui, one of our current bunnies, I have done more detailed experiments. She has never once failed to respond to SupSup and will come running to me, even if I am outside at the end of the accommodation and she is in the shed, which means she hasn't seen the food. I have delivered SupSup with different tones, with no difference in her reaction. I have inserted it into the middle of a sentence and she has identified it and come to me. I have called her name, said things like 'C'mon, food' and she ignores me. So, I am very confident that it is purely the word that she identifies with food.

Her bonded partner, Froe, is a not-so-good-hearing lop. He does not react to the word at all. But he knows to react and run to me with Tui, if she reacts

 

[bunny momma]

My lionheads know the word 'pellets' and their sound. My netherland dwarf and mini rex are also smart.

 

[KarenM]

I love watching the talking button videos!

But I also wonder how much of it the animal actually understands & how much of it is the human assigning a meaning that isn't necessarily what the dog/cat intended. Talking about the more complicated sentences they're using here really.

I absolutely think that dogs/cats can learn the basic concept that pushing a particular button results in a certain consequence though..... ie. operant conditioning. "Hungry" means you get food. "Play" means you get a toy. And I would imagine that goes for rabbits too.

So who's going to try this and report back?

 

[Lord Trellis]

Lucky has been getting really nippy and grumpy lately...

 

[Zoobec]

I’ve not experienced it with rabbits, but Yoshi our dog understands quite a lot of words to the point he can pick them out of a sentence not even directed at him! He understands

Out
Walk
Dinner
Carrot
Biscuit
Yoshi
Here
Wait
Lie down
Spin
Roll over
Sit
Heel
Get it
Find it
Ball
Do you want ….. sets him off with his head tilting from side to side guessing what the next word might be!

 

[KarenM]

Awww, I love when they do the head tilt!

What about Chaser, the border collie who knew the names of something like 1,000 different toys. I'd struggle to remember them myself. [emoji38]

 

[Zoobec]

Awww, I love when they do the head tilt!

What about Chaser, the border collie who knew the names of something like 1,000 different toys. I'd struggle to remember them myself. [emoji38]

Me too !
That’s amazing

 

[Graciee]

I’ve not experienced it with rabbits, but Yoshi our dog understands quite a lot of words to the point he can pick them out of a sentence not even directed at him! He understands

Out
Walk
Dinner
Carrot
Biscuit
Yoshi
Here
Wait
Lie down
Spin
Roll over
Sit
Heel
Get it
Find it
Ball
Do you want ….. sets him off with his head tilting from side to side guessing what the next word might be!

Ahhh I miss head tilts! Freddie never does them much

He obviously knows loads of words and stuff tho being a dog, but my rabbits 100% know a few words including their individual names, I'm sure of it.. Same with the pigs, if I say Percy, I get Percy, Agnes don't bother [emoji38] we've tested this a lot too. They all know the treat noise too ofc. The worst bit though is the pigs (mostly Agnes, she's an extremely loud wheeker) she wheeks any time I open the fridge, which the rabbits have now learnt means food [emoji38] so if she starts wheeking every bun and Percy is up begging [emoji38][emoji38][emoji38]

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

 

[Lord Trellis]

When I had the baby bunnies they used to topple over when they had an itch and tried to scratch it.

 

[keletkezes]

Chibbs knows enough that she'll ONLY come out of hiding not only when I've gone inside lifted the door handle (PVC multiway locks) but she absolutely has to hear the keys lock the door before she ventures out. I can rattle the pellets for them to come to the right area at night but it doesn't always matter. I think Chibbs gets it but just doesn't care, she's just not food oriented! Aboleth got it, came in, and if Lopsy wasn't there, went and got him :lol: Lopsy and Barrie, nope, the boys in this household just aren't very smart :lol: (yes the OH does know I say that about him ;P).

So, I could see Chibbs having the capacity to learn something like this, Aboleth maybe, but our boys, no

 

[Sky-O]

I am loving your posts. My current two are far too Dopey to manage smithing, but they definitely have their own associations to words.