Introduction
I bet most of you consider rabbits to be quiet animals that don’t often make much noise—you couldn’t be further from the truth! Like humans, rabbits communicate through a variety of emotional sounds and body language, and if you focus really hard, you might even be able to understand what it’s trying to tell you. In this article, I want to explain the reason why is my rabbit grunting.
When a rabbit grunts, it’s because it feels threatened and wants you to keep your distance. At this point, it could be dangerous to directly interact with your rabbit because it can do anything from pushing you away to even nipping at you if you try to get close. There are many ways to help alleviate this situation—let’s get started with the details.
Why is My Rabbit Grunting?
The first question you want to ask yourself is, “Why is my rabbit grunting?” Rabbits are incredibly intelligent creatures; they use their vocals to express their feelings and create this rabbit noise in a lot of situations. In fact, there’s a whole group of people studying and categorizing the many sounds that rabbits make. There can be a multitude of reasons why your rabbit is grunting. I’ve found that a lot of messages your rabbit is trying to portray to you may vary if it’s combined with other sounds. The following is a list of all the possible reasons why a rabbit might grunt.
1. Rabbits Grunt When They Are Angry
For a rabbit owner, this is probably going to be one of the most common reasons why rabbits grunt, and this distinct sound is really easy to identify. Grunting is one of these peculiar sounds, and it’s sometimes what you’ll hear from a rabbit when it’s angry. Now, rabbits can be angry for several reasons—they could be hungry, they could be scared or threatened, and they can even feel uncomfortable with you moving its things around.
Grunting may perhaps be one of the more popular sounds you will hear from a rabbit if it’s trying to communicate with you. As the rabbit becomes even more upset, its actions may even escalate into scratching and biting. It’s important to get to the bottom of every grunting situation so that you can relieve your rabbit from the stress. In any case, I recommend paying close attention to your rabbit and trying to understand why it’s angry.
2. Rabbits Grunt When They Feel Threatened
When a rabbit feels threatened or scared, it will grunt out loud. One instance where you may really hear this is when you get really close to your rabbit for the first time. If you were to go to a pet store and decide to adopt a rabbit, your first few days with this rabbit as a stranger would probably be filled with grunting. Remember, rabbits are prey animals, so in an unfamiliar situation—especially if they are held by someone they don’t know—this could be a sign that they feel scared and want to get away.
On the other hand, your rabbit might just be grumbling because it wants to go back into its cage. It takes time to develop a relationship with your rabbit. Always keep your hands open and pet your rabbit from behind the cage as much as possible in preparation to hold it. The process of gaining a rabbit’s trust is similar to that of gaining the trust of a human; you have to take it slow and prove that you are not a threat. You can also read “how to bond with aggressive rabbit”.
3. Rabbits Grunt When They Feel Territorial
The other time when you will often hear a rabbit grunt is when it feels threatened or scared about being in a certain place. This may be because the rabbit doesn’t like its home or cage, porcelain surfaces, or even its food bowl. Or it might not like that someone’s close by or taking up his space. You could have even introduced a new rabbit friend, and this could also make your rabbit grunt.
Again, rabbits are wild creatures, and naturally, they can be territorial. In fact, they can mark objects around them with their scent to show ownership, and if you happen to take their things away, you might actually hear a grunt or two. Another situation where you might hear a grunting sound from your rabbit is when it’s eating. Many rabbits grunt at other animals that crowd over too close to them, but this behavior can also manifest when they are eating.
4. Grunting While Performing the Mating Ritual
Here’s an outlier to the whole “grunting is a negative behavior among rabbits.” It appears that grunting has been witnessed during a rabbit’s formal mating ritual, so it can be said that grunting can be a sign of sexual desire as well. Rabbits have been shown to use a combination of honking along with grunting while performing the mating ritual with their significant others. These signs bear with them the action of circling as well—circling is one of the main parts of a rabbit’s courting behavior.
5. Lessen the Grunts by Getting Your Rabbit Neutered or Spayed
There are a few reasons why you would want your rabbits spayed or neutered. The first one would obviously be to stop them from making more babies—more babies would create a much higher need for care, and if you can’t provide that type of care, you might have to find some way to give them away. But rabbits are creatures of habit. The second reason might be equally as good; spaying and neutering your pets helps lower their aggressive behaviors. This process eliminates the female and male sex hormones, which not only prevents more babies but also calms your rabbits down. You’ll less likely see grunting if your pets are spayed or neutered. You’ll have a rabbit that’s less likely to bite and nip, more likely to make friends, and a more loving pet.
Conclusion
Owning a rabbit is sometimes like taking care of a baby; sometimes you’ll really not know what they want. Rabbits will make sounds that you’ve never really heard before. It’s your job to decipher exactly what they mean, and with time, you’ll learn to understand your rabbit friend on a whole other level.
Well, that’s it! Hopefully, this article has been helpful. If I miss anything or any suggestion, please write in the comment box.