Happy Bunny: How Rabbits Express Themselves

Rabbits aren't simple animals who just sit, wash, eat and sleep. When you spend time with a bunny who lives indoors you'll soon learn that they have a complex network of expressions and feelings.

The BINKY:

The 'binky' is a sign of an immensely happy bunny and once you establish a routine you should quickly find out what makes your pet tick. It's characterised by a split-second vertical jump into the air and a twist of the body. Sometimes a happy but lazy bunny will twist his head around but not jump. It might look alarming but he's just a 'happy bunny'. For instance, our rabbit gets very excited when we get up early (before 9am) and sit with him. Or when we rearrange the furniture in the room that his cage is in. Bunnies absolutely love to feel included in things so if you can do your paperwork shredding on the floor to let him play with or get up early to do some spring cleaning you should have a ball of fluff twisting, turning and leaping through the air in no time.

The BLUMP:

Unlike 'binky' which is known universally by most house rabbit owners, 'blump' is a word that my friend and I made up to describe when a rabbit stops, twists his head and flops down on his side with legs out straight. While it looks like a dramatic and sudden death, this is actually another sign of happiness and is nothing to be alarmed about. Remember rabbits don't close their eyes to sleep, so seeing their eyeballs is normal too. Blumps don't often last too long as rabbits like to stay alert but as you can see below it's a time for bunny to get a quick kip ready for all that hard work washing, eating and binkying.

SMOOTHING and RUCKING

Rabbits LOVE to organise stuff. Woe betide anyone who leaves a jumper on the floor as Achilles will be straight on it, digging in it, nibbling and smoothing it out with his paws to make it into a comfy nest. If you see (or hear) your bunny scrabbling in a corner it's them trying to expand their 'burrow' (or your house) and seeing as they usually live in soil underground it's probably quite hard for them to understand why they can't dig through it. Try getting some 'excelpet' spray to prevent them messing up the carpet.