Often it can be hard to tell just what your rabbit is feeling by looking at its body movements. With time, you will begin to understand how your rabbit behaves, but here is a guide to help you understand some of the basic rabbit "emotions."
Sniffing — May be annoyed or just talking to you
Grunts — Usually angry, watch out or you could get bitten!
Shrill scream — Hurt or dying
Circling your feet — If accompanied by low grunting noises, indicates sexual behavior.
Spraying — Rabbits spray to mark their territory. Males account for the majority of spraying, although females spray as well.
Chinning — Their chin contains scent glands, so they rub their chin on items to indicate that they belong to them. Same as a cat rubbing its forehead on people and objects.
False pregnancy — Unspayed females may act as if they are pregnant by building a nest & pulling hair from their chest & stomach to line the nest. They may even start producing milk and stop eating as rabbits do shortly before giving birth.
Bunny hop/dance — A sign of pure joy & happiness!
Begging — Rabbits are worse than dogs about begging, especially for sweets. Beware of giving the rabbit treats as overweight rabbits are not as healthy as trim rabbits. See here for information on treats for rabbits.
Territory droppings — Droppings that are not in a pile, but are scattered, are signs that this territory belongs to the rabbit. This will often occur upon entering a new environment. If another rabbit lives in the same house this may always be a nuisance.
Playing — Rabbits like to push or toss objects around. They may also race madly around the house, jump on and off of the couch and act like a child that's had too much sugar.
Don't touch my stuff — Rabbits often are displeased when you rearrange their cage as you clean. They are creatures of habit and when they get things just right, they like them to remain that way. Territorial females will also take offense at your very presence, and may growl or even charge you.
Stomping — He's frightened, angry or trying to tell you that there's danger (in his opinion). Read more about rabbit stomping here.
Some of the information on this page was used with permission from the House Rabbit Society.
