Odd Behavior Please Help!

[CookingPam777]

I have one bunny that is young to young get get pregnant or anything. She has been nudging a couple other rabbits bottoms like goats do to their kids to get them to drink. She has really favored 1 sick one. She will do the nudging thing and clean this one very well all the time. Is she just very social or is she trying to be a mother to these rabbits? I find it odd she has picked the sick one. The sick one has a runny nose which I am unsure what to do for it. Got ideas? I am afraid my healthy girl will get it with how friendly she is being towards it.

I have a bunny that goes absolutely nuts! Jumping around the cage playfully and then he sits there and out of the clear blue sky just start leaping and jumping everywhere. You can tell he is having fun but he is just full of himself. Today I figured it was from the molasses water. But he does it every other day to. Maybe I am wrong but I thought rabbits just sit in cages not playful at all. I was also shocked at how high a rabbit can leap. I am afraid he is gonna hurt himself one day. The cage is not that big to be doing all that in hehehe.

Also I have a Buck named Randy who spills his food every morning and its a heavy bowl. Why is he doing this? He does not eat a lot and spills most of his food very costly to me.

When I had a ton of rabbits in the one cage they all pottyed in their house. Isn't that a little weird? Were they all potty trained? Even now I rarely see any poop outside of their house. Wouldn't these make easy to train house pets to roam around and go in a litter box?

Well those are all the odd behaviors around here if you have any answers to any of these I would much appreciate it!

[MaggieJ]

Originally Posted by CookingPam777

I have one bunny that is young to young get get pregnant or anything. She has been nudging a couple other rabbits bottoms like goats do to their kids to get them to drink. She has really favored 1 sick one. She will do the nudging thing and clean this one very well all the time. Is she just very social or is she trying to be a mother to these rabbits? I find it odd she has picked the sick one. The sick one has a runny nose which I am unsure what to do for it. Got ideas? I am afraid my healthy girl will get it with how friendly she is being towards it.

You should take the sick one out of there and keep it separate. Is the mucous from its nose clear? If it is anything else - white, yellow, greenish - the rabbit could have a respiratory infection. ALL the other rabbits could get sick too.

I have a bunny that goes absolutely nuts! Jumping around the cage playfully and then he sits there and out of the clear blue sky just start leaping and jumping everywhere. You can tell he is having fun but he is just full of himself. Today I figured it was from the molasses water. But he does it every other day to. Maybe I am wrong but I thought rabbits just sit in cages not playful at all. I was also shocked at how high a rabbit can leap. I am afraid he is gonna hurt himself one day. The cage is not that big to be doing all that in hehehe.

He may be bored or he may just have a lot of energy and high spirits. Occasionally a rabbit will hurt itself, but I don't see any way to prevent it. Extra exercise in a larger pen may help - give him a chance to tire himself out.

Also I have a Buck named Randy who spills his food every morning and its a heavy bowl. Why is he doing this? He does not eat a lot and spills most of his food very costly to me.

Randy sounds to me like a rabbit in a snit. He is demonstrating his disapproval by dumping the dish. Try giving him much less at a time. If he eats it, give him a bit more. That way you won't waste so much.

When I had a ton of rabbits in the one cage they all pottyed in their house. Isn't that a little weird? Were they all potty trained? Even now I rarely see any poop outside of their house. Wouldn't these make easy to train house pets to roam around and go in a litter box?

Most rabbits will choose one spot to potty. They tend to like it to be a back corner of the cage or, as you have found, inside their house. Yes, you can use this behaviour to help litter-box train them, but be very careful when choosing a litter. Many kitty litters are not safe for rabbits.

Well those are all the odd behaviors around here if you have any answers to any of these I would much appreciate it!

Pam, I don't mean to be critical, but I think you and the buns would be happier if you learned more about their behaviour and care. If you read regularly on this forum you will learn a lot. You could also explore some of the websites in the "useful rabbit links" sticky thread.

One website in particular will help you to learn what it means when a rabbit does some particular behaviour - like Randy spilling his food. The site is called the Language of Lagomorphs, but don't let the title put you off. I'm quite sure that you will find it both fascinating and funny... and it will teach you a lot too. You obviously have a lot of interest in your bunnies and you observe well... this will help you to understand what you are seeing.

http://language.rabbitspeak.com/rabbittalk.html

[CookingPam777]

Your not critical just helpful. I have been reading up on rabbits but I can't always say I understand what they mean about some things. I do follow this forum closely though. That is how I learned what little I do know.

[MaggieJ]

It takes time to understand it all... in any new venture. Feel free to ask for explanations if you don't understand what we mean by some term we use. We were all at that point once... and we'll be glad to help you with the learning curve.

[Pony]

Originally Posted by MaggieJ

It takes time to understand it all... in any new venture. Feel free to ask for explanations if you don't understand what we mean by some term we use. We were all at that point once... and we'll be glad to help you with the learning curve.

Maggie is so right. And she is SO helpful.

I used to be a terrible worrywart about the rabbits, but Maggie and all the other folks here on the rabbit forum have been absolutely great! This is, by far, the nicest bunch of rabbit addicts you'll ever come across.

[CookingPam777]

You didn't mention what you thought about the first ones behavior. So what do you think?

[Pony]

Originally Posted by CookingPam777

You didn't mention what you thought about the first ones behavior. So what do you think?

I think she's just doing the rabbit thing. Grooming littermates, humping littermates (male or female), looking for something interesting to do.

When my buns are bored, I give them fresh sticks from the apple trees. I don't give twigs, but cut up the smaller branches into 5" segments. The kits get the ones with smaller diameters, adults get larger ones.

Another way to entertain them is to hang their greens from the top of the cages. I kind of poke the greens in from the top, and it's great fun to watch them stand on their hind legs to access the greens. If I have a lot of long-leaved grasses, I hang them so it looks like Bunny Jungle in the cage. The rabbits really love it, and it keeps them occupied.

Happy food is tasty food, as Cyndi Muller often says.

[Pony]

Almost forgot something about Randy Rabbit.

Some of my juniors were turning over their food dishes. Nick brought out some small clamps, and he attached the bowls to the side of the cage. Works great!

[CookingPam777]

I don't think she is bored. She is very friendly and outgoing. She takes really good care of the sick one never does any thing gross.