How do you know when a bunny is happy?
They show you when they are happy… it’s unmistakable. They will dance, lick, hop, chin items, binky, flick their ears, shake their head, and run around really fast.
Binkies
Bunnies will run around and jump in the air, and as they do their back end will twist out and they kick their back legs. This is a binky. Binkies are pure happiness.
Some bunnies binky more than others, that does not mean one bunny is happier than another, it means they have different personalities.
Experiments have been done on rabbits where a rabbit renowned for binkying has been bonded with a rabbit known to not binky. After a while the non-binky rabbit started to binky, copying the binky-bun. Binkies are contagious like yawns or laughing.
Dancing
Bunnies dance when there is excitement in the room. They will run around your feet, hop and sprint. They will also do a high jump where they are standing.
Bunnies dance to music, if you play the same music regularly they get used to it and will remember the beat. Especially if you sing to it. After a while, they will show their enjoyment of the music and zoomy around and binky.
Bouncing
Bunnies love running around and jumping. Bunnies will show happiness when they jump vertically in the air, about twice-three times their height, and land back down where they took off from. This is called a bounce.
Bounces don’t happen often, but when they do, it’s worth noting. Unlike zoomies or binkies, bounces are to expend energy from the food they have just eaten.
Imagine a bunny like a spring, after a while they just have to release energy in fast bursts, especially if they have been eating high energy foods. If they bounce too much, limit their intake of their food for a hour or so, just so the energy doesn’t build up and they can’t expend it.
Ear Flicks and Head Shakes
A happy bunny will flap their ears from side to side while they run around. It is showing that they are being playful.
Head shakes are for a similar purpose, but to help the bunny expend more energy.
Both of these actions are super cute.
Snuggles
Bunnies love cuddles, but you have to learn how your particular bunny likes it. Not all bunnies like being picked up and cuddled. Some like it when you are at ground level and they can climb on you.
Snuggles are a great way to bond with your rabbit.
If you know your bunny doesn’t like being picked up, but you have no choice, wrap it in a soft towel or polar fleece blanket like a burrito. That way it feels secure. Most bunnies don’t like having their legs free-falling, so if their feet are resting against a surface, even a soft blanket, they won’t struggle. They may even decide that they like being in a burrito, and allow you to pick them up that way instead.
Chinning
Bunnies have scent glands under their chin, that only they can smell. If your bunny is rubbing its chin on you or objects, it is leaving a message to other bunnies, it’s like the bunny-telegram. It tells other animals that “[insert name] was here!”.
Cheek and Nose Rubbing
Gently rubbing your nose on your bunny’s cheek tells it that you accept it. Some bunnies don’t particularly like it in the start, and may move away because you are too close. If you are patient, your bunny will accept you, too. Some bunnies will rub their nose against your cheek to show their appreciation of you.
Bunnies noses are very sensitive, and if you are allowed to press your nose against your bunny’s, that is the prime “I accept you”.
Forehead Resting
Rabbits rest their foreheads together as an apology. It is an important behaviour to have in your bunny language arsenal. If your bunny is grumpy at you for something, get down on their level and gently push your forehead against theirs. That says to it that you are sorry.