Settling in a new house or environment is demanding for anyone, and for our cutest bundles of fluffy joy it can be even more stressful. As prey animals, rabbits are incredibly sensitive to any change in their environment, but following certain steps can help reduce their anxiety.
We arrived home in Pune with our adorable long-eared friends and took care to make our inherently delicate members acclimatize to the new place slowly and quietly.
The Steps for ‘Operation-Happy and Calm Bunny’ in the New Place-
Keeping the bunnies in their carrier for some time– After the draining travel experience, our furry friends preferred to curl up for some time in their safe-haven, ‘the carrier’. Once they had enough time to calm down and rest for a while, their inquisitive nature kicked in, and the explorers were ready to venture out of their cozy corner.
Providing a safe Bunny zone– We had already brought with us the spacious cage they were already familiar with. We placed the cage at a distance where they could feel our comfortable presence around. It was going to be a permanent dedicated space for them to feel at home.
Once the furballs sniffed and marked their safe space of familiarity in their cage and its belongings, we went about our routine letting them wander around and get acquainted with the area on their own.
Giving them time and space– It is always advisable to be patient with bunnies in a new environment, giving them enough time and space to get acclimated to the new place. We did exactly that, and in no time, we were greeted with their usual frolic, nose-twitch, and binkies as they adapted well to the new place, new city, and same old us!
Rabbits are more than just cute fluffy eye-candy, and they have their peculiar ways of letting you know how much they love you!
Learning to Talk Rabbit
Those licks and nibbles– Bunnies show affection by grooming. They will nuzzle, lick, gently nibble at you, all this to show how much they love you and care for you.
Nose-nudges– Sometimes they just want to play with you, want to be stroked, pet and cuddled, demanding head-rubs or simply making their presence felt, by nudging at your legs and hands with their soft noses.
Plopping, lying down in ease and chilling– This is how your bunny lets you know they completely trust your presence, their environment and is happy to just lie around relaxed.
Binkying– A happy bunny binkies! Binky is when rabbits take a running lap, leap in the air, and twist their bodies kicking their feet. It is a spectacle and makes even the grumpiest of person to laugh out loud. Binkying is the dramatic expression of joy and excitement from rabbits. Sometimes bunnies attempt half-binky which doesn’t indicate their half-happiness. They are as happy, but simply decide to express in a different stunt.
Purring and teeth-grinding– This is yet another joyful experience of being a rabbit-owner. While you head-rub your bunny, stroke, and pet them, you can feel their purring and gentle teeth-grinding that indicates your rabbit’s happiness and contentment.
To be noted– A loud teeth-grinding or teeth-grinding accompanied with some other symptoms like a rabbit sitting tensed and hunched, or refusing to move or eat, showing aggression, can be a sign of health issue.
Digging– This is mostly their way of getting attention. Rabbits also dig simply out of curiosity, boredom, or to prep a comfortable spot to lounge in. Sometimes it may just be trying to establish dominance.
Chinning– Rabbits rub their chin, which has special scent glands, on various objects to mark their territory and express that it is ‘mine’.
Thumping– Rabbits thump loudly with their hind limbs whenever they sense danger. Thumping is also their expression of displeasure at times.
Growling– Rabbits make growling and grunting noises whenever they want to be just left alone, or they are trying to show disapproval of their territory being invaded.
Screaming– Rabbits are generally quiet animals and seldom make any noise. If you hear your rabbit scream, it indicates your rabbit is in excruciating pain or greatly alarmed. Screaming only happens rarely in a rabbit’s lifetime. If ever your rabbit screams, try to keep it close to you, comfort, and look for any injury.
Rabbits can understand some human instructions and though they may not be as interactive as cats or dogs, they are as adorable as any other pets.
“Rabbits speak, but to only those who listen”
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Aww. ..these bunnies are lovely! I liked what you say,”Rabits speak but to only those who listen!”
Thankyou so much Aditi 🤗💕
So basically I’m a bunny. I will jump when I’m happy, flop when I’m tired and hug when I’m feeling needy 😀 It must be quite the challenge to raise pets. I don’t know how people do it!
😄😄 yes Suchita, it is a bit challenging with pets. But once their love grows on you, caring for them comes easily. Thankyou so much for reading 😊
Whenever I am capable of bringing a pet I would surely chance upon rabbits. You have so aptly given all the details of rabbits.
Thankyou so much Sweta 🤗
Awwww this is so cute!
Thankyou 😊
Your bunnies are so adorable! Great read
Thankyou 😊
We are getting a hamster to take care of while our friends are away. Lets see how we handle that because after having dogs for so many years, not sure how we will feel about a bunny or hamster. Your bunny is cute though.
Thankyou Cindy! I must admit, having lived with dog as pet, you would find any other pet a little disappointing.
However, hoping that temporary change lets you all have some fun with the hamsters.
Thankyou so much for dropping by!
Awww! they are soo adorable! I never thought before how much things and changes could affect these tiny creatures and so much goes into getting them comfortable in a new environment. This is a very helpful and thoughtful post, Jyoti. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thankyou so much Nitisha 😊🤗
Aww so cute they are..you know dear with your posts I am learning a lot about different aspects of having and caring rabbit as pet. today’s post was super helpful. thanks for sharing.
Thanks a ton Surbhi! I am so glad you found it helpful 😊
Aww look at these adorable babies. Im so glad I stopped by ; i got to know so much about rabbits & their behavioural characteristics. Great post
Thankyou so much Vashi 😊
Glad you dropped by!
That is a lot of “bunny” information…:) I am sure it will benefit many a “bunny lover”!! 🙂
Thanks 😊
How cute! Another amazing new Infos to know more about rabbits. It is going to be extremely helpful for me whenever I get my pair of bunnies again!
Thankyou Archana! Glad you found it helpful 😊
Though rabbits seemed cute, I was always a bit unsure about having them as pets. Your post describes a lot of these details of how to manage them well. And now, I guess they aren’t that difficult or I would say much easier than I thought to handle :). And they seem quite lovable too.
Thankyou so much 😊 so glad you found it helpful!
Sometimes i feel like ‘binkying’ myself! 🙂
It’s really to learn about the bunnies. So much i didn’t know about them, like their expressive little ways.
By the way do they run freely around the house or is it just inside their cage?
Thankyou so much Radhika 🤗
I would love to see your binky 🤩😊
These are free-roam bunnies. They go to their cage for food, water and litter.
Every bunny owner should check this, this is a detailed post with experience
Thankyou Dixita 😊
awww, the bunny pica are so adorable
Thankyou Lavanya!
I am so glad I bumped into your post. We were thinking of adopting bunnies and this post answer all our queries. Thanks for sharing about your experience.
Thankyou so much 😊 Am really glad you found it helpful.
Wow. This is like growing bunnies 101. I have never had them as pets but if I do, I’ll definitely read this all over again. 🙂
Awww that’s so sweet of you Shweta 🤗
Thankyou so much!
This is such a helpful post! they are the cutest bunnies and taking care of them like we would any other member of the family is so important.
True Ishieta, Thankyou so much for reading and appreciating 😊
Aww they are super cute. I’ve them when I was small. My friend Alexa
Thankyou!
This is so sweet! You’re definitely a very caring pet-parent.
And I can’t help but draw parallels to managing major life changes for kids too… establishing a safe space, understanding un-said emotions, and more than anything – listening!
Thankyou so much Nupur 😊🤗
And I completely agree with the parallels you have drawn. Pets are so much like babies.
Am absolutely livin’ this bunny series. The various stunts they do are well -explained. A cracker of a series.
Thankyou so much Srishti 🤗🙏
Kudos to you Jyoti for putting together such an organized post. At the same time there is a lovely tenderness in your writing, so resonating with the soft and furry bunnies.
Thankyou so much, Sonia, for reading and appreciating 😊😊
We had rabbits as pet too for a while, and this post makes me nostalgic. My daughter loves bunnies. Lovely post, Jyoti 🙂 #MyFriendAlexa #TinaReads
Thankyou so much Tina 😊 I am glad this post brought back some cherished memories for you.
You are such a sweet bunny mommy and am sure you understand everything they say. Looks like am very similar to a bunny! Feels so good reading about them.
Thankyou so much Rashi, for such lovely comments 🤗
Thankyou for visiting.
It’s so endearing to read about your pets.
Thankyou Sinjana!
Haha, that was so cute to read – operation happy and calm bunny.
Your posts are a complete guide to bunny care. You should make it a book for easy reference for all bunny pets. Your posts are helping me gain more knowledge about bunnies and thanks for sharing so much fun info about bunny care, bunny zone, and even bunny talking. . #PraGunReads #MyFriendAlexa #Blogchatter
Thankyou so much Pragun, your lovely comments are very encouraging 😊🤗
Am so glad you liked the post. Greatly thankful to you for reading and appreciating dear.
Enjoyed reading about bunnies & how one should take care of them.
They are so cute.
Thankyou so much Jenifer 😊