Last night I was having my evening snack of banana with peanut butter. Bunnicula, a rather shy rabbit that has been in the house hold for just a couple months, caught whiff of the yummy smell. She cautiously came across the room, nose twitching. I handed her a small chunk and she ran off to eat her bounty. A moment later she leapt straight into the air with foot wiggles. My husband was perplexed, what's that?

That was Bunnicula's first binky in our home!

It got me to thinking about the various ways my rabbits have to say they are happy. The boys (Gary, Houdini, and Panda) all do the more typical running binky with crazy twists and turns, each with their own signature moves. The girls have more variation. Apparently Bunnicula prefers to jump from a stand still. Sophie is our big girl and she does a high hop with a head twist. Becky is special needs with mobility issues, but she will do a head twist with a full body shiver.

Don't forget the tooth purring, nose bonking, and kisses.

When Sophie came to our home over the summer she was not a people bun. Houdini had just lost his first bunwife and was in a deeply grieving state. We let him pick whom ever he fancied at the rescue. He picked Sophie. She loved him but hated us. She had good reason to distrust people. Her first "owners" were children who would pull her ears and tossed her away when she got to big. Then she was put in a small cage with little human interaction other than being tossed pellets.  I practice pet massage, so even though it was only a minute at first, she got a gentle therapeutic touch for the first time of her life. She would flinch if I touched her ears, but I just kept with daily short massages. Now I like to think she looks forward to this interaction. She will sit on my lap for an hour or more while I stroke, kneed, and massage her whole body. She likes to lay her head down in the crook of my elbow and tooth purr, eyes closed, legs outstretched so I can get her paws. What girl doesn't like her feet rubbed? While it is more of a sleepy contentment with life, I have to admit I love seeing this quiet expression of joy just as much as the more exuberant displays.

 

How does your rabbit let you know they are happy?

What a heartwarming story . I'm so glad that Sophie found her way into your family!

This is a beautiful story! Having a bun that is not fan of people is hard but rather rewarding when they show their love. My boy Pan did not liked to be touched for a very long time. The way he showed his love was to binky around my feet and then sit between my feet shaking his head. If I would try and pet him he would run away. It took him a long time to trust me petting him but now he loves body messages.
My girl on the other hand is a fan of binky from the stand still and running around in circles as fast as she can. After all her laps she will flop down and start purring like crazy the moment you start to pet her.

This is a beautiful story! Having a bun that is not fan of people is hard but rather rewarding when they show their love. My boy Pan did not liked to be touched for a very long time. The way he showed his love was to binky around my feet and then sit between my feet shaking his head. If I would try and pet him he would run away. It took him a long time to trust me petting him but now he loves body messages.
My girl on the other hand is a fan of binky from the stand still and running around in circles as fast as she can. After all her laps she will flop down and start purring like crazy the moment you start to pet her.

Foo purred for the first time last night! She'll run laps and end at our feet and binky, or when I get home she will run over and run around my feet and follow me, or stand up with her paws on me til I pet her.

I remember years ago, my first Bun who I named Bunnie...lol she was grumpy little girl, and could be aggressive....she would rarely let me touch her...about a week before she passed she actually laid down and let me pet her and "groom" her with my nose. It was so sweet. I felt like finally, she feels at home. It was one of the greatest moments of my life...

Bud used to do bunny zooms and binky but now in his older age he doesn't do that very often...but he will sit for a very long time and let me pet him and occasionally if I was really well behaved that day (lol) he would groom me... He always does circles around my legs...and has started doing it with my daughter..

Halo, being a really big bun that she was...she would do the silly binkies with just a head twist. I was always afraid she would land wrong and hurt herself.

All of the above!! Dances, binkies, running - my favorite is the flopping. I think my heart stops whenever I see one, it's too much! But wait... Bunny massages? Is there a specific way to massage a bunny? I need to learn!!

My buns won't let me massage them anywhere, but their heads. They loveeee jaws massages though!! I just take a finger and work it in circles with light pressure on their cheeks and they hunker down and start tooth purring My easy going bun likes being rubbed everywhere, but he only likes an actual massage on his forehead or cheeks

Both of my bunns love their cheeks rubbed. They could sit for hours, I'm sure, if I would let them. Dizzie binkies quite a bit. Cupcake doesnt very often, but when she does, its one of the greatest feelings in the world for me! I remember the first time I saw Dizzie binky. I had never seen a rabbit do it before and i laughed for so long after seeing it finally. its the cutest thing! she jumps up and kinda twists in the air. sometimes i call her wiggles because she does the cutest little wiggles when she is excited. Cupcake does a lot of the sideways hops. And of course, the zooming!! i sweat they are going to wear a hole right in my carpets! (but i love it when they do it, so i wouldnt mind!!)

Wow, that story just warmed my heart!

Hannah shows she's happy by doing bunny 500s from the living room to the dining room (aka the bunny room) and back. She's pretty expressive, so it's not hard to tell when she's happy, anxious, or annoyed with us.

Otto is harder to read - he's a very quiet and lazy guy. They've been closed off from the living room lately as we got a new puppy and can't spend as much time supervising them in the living room (Hannah gets into things when we're not around). Last night we spent time with them in there and Otto did the littlest binky, straight up into the air. Since he rarely binkies, it really made me smile! Mostly he shows he's happy by finding his spot in the middle of the room and lying there with his feet kicked out behind him.

That is a beautiful story  

Pippa loves to race around the room and binky.  When she hears plastic bags (meaning she's getting veggies) she races into her cage if she's out and hops up and down the levels, then sits by the front.  She pokes her nose through the bars and shakes them and tries to climb up the walls sometimes too.  Such an impatient bun when it comes to treats!

She loves getting pets from me (not my boyfriend! haha).  I love seeing her flop when she's out having playtime.  Today she did something that completely made my day though.  When she's out she likes sitting under the desk chair while I'm on the computer, which of course makes me paranoid about where she is.  Sometimes she flops against her cage nearby, but today she flopped underneath the chair! Squee!!! 

Aww what a cute picture!!! It really is quite funny some of the places they stick they're little faces when they flop or are lounging, so many look so uncomfortable!

This is such a beautiful story!

Our girl bun was VERY skittish when we got her but since her spay she has really opened up with us. I don't think I've ever had a happier moment than when she climbed into my lap the first time and started nudging me with her nose and then she LOVES to dig us... but it's the lightest, daintiest little dig ever so I just let her go.

All of our buns however DEFINITELY let us know their expressions and feelings whether we wanna know or not, HAHAHAH. Anger, excited, happiness, scared... boy do they show us everything. All of mine are VERY active though and are constantly binkying about and throwing their bodies everywhere. My favorite may have to be the playtime flops -- when they've been out for soo long that even MY LITTLE BRATS need to break for a minute. Big, total floppy flops! LOVE THEM.