please someone help with stamping feet

I am really hoping someone can help me.
My ne conti giant who i got last weekend stamps his feet throughout the night,hes bangs are really close together and really really load,its been happening every night throughout the week,we have a tiny garden and everyone can hear it and its waking them all up.I have a 6 yr old and he cannot keep being woken up throughout the night as he has school and everyone has work,its so bad i think i may have to sell him as we cannot go on like this everyday.
Does anyone know why he does it,there is never anything there when i check and my other buns dont bang?

he hasn't been with you long so will probably be scared and still getting used to his new home.

are the hutches covered at night? maybe a fox has been visiting the garden?? or cat/dog??

i read about ways to reduce the noise of thumping sounds on here but i can't remember what they did sorry, not much help.

i would just think he is very scared in his new environment and may settle given time.

He is doing normal rabbit behaviour. Because he is a conti he is much more powerful so will be alot more noisey when he stamps. What accomodation is he in?

Buns stamp to warn off preditors but mine will also do it if they are bored or they want my attention.

Your accomodation needs to be big enough, and he needs to feel secure in it. Does he live alone? Another bun to keep him company may help.

Please dont sell him if you do decide not to keep him. You have no idea where he will end up or how he will be looked after.

My ex-Honeybunny Truffles stamped a lot when I first got him, but now he never does. Living with his wifey bun may help...

hes in a 6foot cage for now untill i get my coop,hes still small so its not a space issue,hes a very very very nervy bunny.i have him out in our room in for a few hours aday to get him use to us so its not because hes not fussed enough,hes covered up at night.he has ear mites that hes being treated for at the moment.when i got himhe was together with his brother,but there had been some fighting as his brother had bites marks on his ears,i couldnt take both of them as i had nowhere to house his brother if they started fighting again.

Awww I would say he is nervous too, hopefully it might settle down a bit over time. Do you respond when he thumps and check on him and reassure him? The other thing you could try is feeding him just before bedtime (yours) and giving him something to do like a treat ball/toilet roll cardboard holder stuffed with hay. You could try adding a pile of fresh hay and sprinkle some Burgess Apple bits into it aswell so he has to forage to find them. I agree about him needing to be covered up aswell allowing for air circulation aswell. A week is a really short time I think for him to have got used to you and his new home and if he was paired with another for company I would be looking to get him a partner again asap which will calm him aswell, it must be daunting to have been with another bun and suddenly taken away to a new home, he is nervous I think. Poor little fella hope he settles down but, surely if you aren't able to keep him you should return him the rescue?

i really really dont want to let him go,i think i will get him netered,this may sound silly but do you think a teddy of some kind in his cage would comfort him a little untill he calms down?

kelly1 said:

i really really dont want to let him go,i think i will get him netered,this may sound silly but do you think a teddy of some kind in his cage would comfort him a little untill he calms down?

Click to expand...

Possibly as long as he isn't likely to chew it especially the eyes, nose etc give it to him warm from the radiator aswell, try it and the other things I mentioned above to keep him busy and see what happens tonight, I know if you chop up some of his favorite herbs and greens and the apple bits and sprinkle/mix them into some nice fresh hay that would keep him busy for a while trying to pick out the yummy bits. My outdoor girlie thumps sometimes and I do get up and come and check her and reassure her then she is OK, I wonder sometimes if she is just checking I can hear her :lol:

Is he being kept outdoors? If so you shouldn't really be bringing him inside during the day as the temperature difference will be too much.

You could put some kind of flooring down in his hutch to soften the noise.

it's a defensive/warning thing in my experience. They use it to either warn other rabbits of danger (like you say, it is loud, but i think the main thing is the noise travels thru the ground very well), or perhaps to frightened something away.
perhaps there's a cat or summat approaching the hutch?

I suspect the neutering will help. Dorset George stamps at me to say he's annoyed, ever since I've made him sleep in a hutch overnight (he used to free-range - the garden is big and secure but I was still nervous about it). I've finally got him to go into his hutch at night (it took hours of chasing him at nights in the snow to get him to do it) but he always stamps at me a couple of times once he's in there to show he's annoyed. I think stamping can have an element of aggression as well as fear and neutering would help with that....:?

Does he have a box or something to hide in if he feels scared? rabbits need to have a bolt hole if they feel threatened.
I agree that neutering him and getting a confident, laid-back girlfriend would help too. You can expect some stamping whilst the bonding takes place but this will need to be done indoors so you can keep an eye on them anyway.
In the meantime lots of thick soft bedding such as blankets or towels under a layer of hay will help to muffle the sound xx

If you scroll down on this page there is a bunny-friendly cuddly toy...

http://www.vagavalley.co.uk/bunnysupplies/pink-romantic.htm