Thumping

Alright, so my big rabbit is driving me up the wall. I'm getting close to the point where I just don't want him anymore, because I cannot figure out why he's being like this.

He thumps. All the time. He thumps when he's angry, bored, hungry, tired... He thumps when he wants a treat, or wants out of his cage. He thumps, I'd say, about 10 - 20 times an hour. Loud thumps. There's nothing that could be scaring him and causing him to thump this often. I make sure he's got food, water, hay. Make sure his cage is clean. Get him out to run around as often as possible. As far as I can tell, there's no real reason for him to be doing this.

Since I feel I've exhausted my possible causes, I've started squirting him with water when he thumps, hoping that this will deter him. It hasn't helped yet. He simply waits til I'm laying down to thump, so I can't get up fast enough to squirt him. I'm so irritated by his behaviour that I'm ready to find him another home, but I don't want to give up on him. Other than the thumping, he's a pretty good rabbit. I just can't handle his thumping anymore, and I need to either figure out why he's doing this, or give him to someone who can house him somewhere other than their bedroom.

Has he ever been bred? Maybe he is "feeling his oats"?

MamaSheepdog":gz60l1b9 said:

Has he ever been bred? Maybe he is "feeling his oats"?

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I have never heard it put that way before. :lol: :lol: :lol: ... But you are right. It sounds he needs a girlfriend.

Maybe it is Bunny Morse Code... "help, i am being held prisoner....." or "helloo.......bunny all alone in here....." ???

Random Rabbit":34z3b913 said:

Maybe it is Bunny Morse Code... "help, i am being held prisoner....." or "helloo.......bunny all alone in here....." ???

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Could be. Now he has figured out how to get your FULL attention.

Karen

Thumping is usually an attention getter but it can also be a "thing" bored rabbits do. Have to tried toys of all sorts? have you tried bedding that will absorb the thumping noise?

Not bred, and not even any testicles yet! I did read that on a website last night, that it can be calling for a mate, but the only place I saw it mentioned was a yahoo answer, so I didn't really believe it. I'm thinking he needs to have balls before the vet can remove them?

I loathe the idea of putting something throughout the entire cage, as he has awesome litter box habits, and I am worried about him losing them if I spread something throughout the cage. Also, he thumps in his litter box, and the noise doesn't get cancelled out at all. Maybe I'll throw down a thick layer of the crummy hay and see if that helps.

He does have toys. Right now he's working on an empty fruit basket, and I've braided and dried long grass into toys for him. Short pieces of apple branch that he can toss around, and balled up newspaper as well. Have hung things from the top of his cage, but he didn't pay much attention, so mainly I give him things to throw. He does get probably 6ish hours out of his cage. I feel bad, because I've cut the lionheads way back on their play time, in hopes that this silly bugger would run himself into exhaustion, but it doesn't seem to be helping.

Well, will try more toys, and layering his cage with a thick layer of hay. No girlfriend for him, large breed rabbits just don't sell around here, and his growth is too slow to make him a meat breeder. He's about 6mths old with no testicles dropped, and weighing in around 6.5lbs. The only doe here is my 4lb lionhead doe, and I don't think it'd be safe for her to have his kits.

has he thumped since he was a baby? or when did the thumping start?

My guess if he started as a baby it's not going to stop or change, but if it's become a more recent thing I'd be wondering if it's a maturity issue.

It's a more recent thing, I think. I couldn't put an exact date on when he started doing it, because initially it was just one thump here or there, and I could excuse it. Now, though, it's all the freaking time. I know it's wrong, but I just want to ring his neck sometimes... Especially when he starts doing it just as I'm getting ready to sleep.

I know that I shouldn't... but lately I've been giving him the biggest fattest carrot I can find right before bed, so he's occupied until I fall asleep. I'm a heavy sleeper, so once I'm asleep it doesn't bother me, but he makes it nearly impossible to fall asleep. Sometimes I think it just amuses him to see me jump when he thumps just as I'm dozing off.

I think if the more toys and the layer of hay doesn't help, I'm going to have to move him on. I don't feel right about shouting at him, and I'm sure the amount of water I'm spraying him with to deter the matter isn't healthy. I'm also feeling guilty about the lionheads getting next to no play time because of him.

Bad Habit":2wn3x59l said:

He's about 6mths old with no testicles dropped, and weighing in around 6.5lbs

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Then i think a him is a her. I think you should double check that.
And have you thought about putting him outside. Make him a hutch. He will be fine.

Mary Ann's Rabbitry":7lvxxk1r said:

Bad Habit":7lvxxk1r said:

He's about 6mths old with no testicles dropped, and weighing in around 6.5lbs

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Then i think a him is a her. I think you should double check that.
And have you thought about putting him outside. Make him a hutch. He will be fine.

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That is what I was thinking...are you SURE it is a buck?

Random Rabbit":1gnv4c44 said:

Maybe it is Bunny Morse Code... "help, i am being held prisoner....."

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:rotfl:

Thank heavens the coffee was still brewing when I read that, or things could have gotten very ugly here at the keyboard!

Oh, I've been over this and over this, lol. Him is a him. Defo a penis in there. Age is an estimate, I got him at the beginning of August, skin and bones, and was told "oh, he's somewhere around 3 or 4 months". He's the unknown mix, but Flemish Giant is strongly suspected as at least one parent. He is definitely about 6.5lbs(haven't weighed him in 3 days), and has gained 4lbs since he came here 6 wks ago.

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but now I have to go check again... I'm going to smell like rabbit at this job interview, and I blame all of you making me doubt my penis-identifying abilities!!

Bad Habit":27msixe8 said:

Oh, I've been over this and over this, lol. Him is a him. Defo a penis in there. Age is an estimate, I got him at the beginning of August, skin and bones, and was told "oh, he's somewhere around 3 or 4 months". He's the unknown mix, but Flemish Giant is strongly suspected as at least one parent. He is definitely about 6.5lbs(haven't weighed him in 3 days), and has gained 4lbs since he came here 6 wks ago.

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but now I have to go check again... I'm going to smell like rabbit at this job interview, and I blame all of you making me doubt my penis-identifying abilities!!

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2.5lbs is what my Calis weigh at 5weeks....I don't think he is as old as you were told. :roll: Which means he is likely only about 12wks old or so at the most, especially is he has Flemish in his background. I bet you will see testes in a month or two.

OAF - the only thing... He was underweight, skin and bones when I got him. Bigger than the lionheads, but weighed less. When I first handled him, I put him away as fast as possible because it felt like he was going to break from even the most gentle handling . And desperate for food. Like, hanging out of the cage trying to stretch and reach the kibbles when I was filling his dish. I don't care if he's younger than I though, don't get me wrong. I doubt I'll ever know how old he really is, as I couldn't get any information about the breeder from the girl who dropped him off here. I did read somewhere that rabbits drop their testes when they are 85 - 90% of their final healthy body weight... Or maybe size.

I just don't know. I need a bunny psychic to come figure out how old he is, what breed he is, and why the heck he's thumping.

Anyone available for hire?

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Never mind. He's done. Signed his own eviction notice by biting and striking me and then spraying me in the face when I went to take out his water bowl to wash it. I will put up with a lot from my pets, but I'm fed up with his garbage. He's been moved to the bathroom, where there is no carpeting, so easier to clean up. As soon as I find someone willing to take him for whatever purpose, he's gone.

Bad Habit":3244dyz4 said:

Never mind. He's done. Signed his own eviction notice by biting and striking me and then spraying me in the face when I went to take out his water bowl to wash it. I will put up with a lot from my pets, but I'm fed up with his garbage. He's been moved to the bathroom, where there is no carpeting, so easier to clean up. As soon as I find someone willing to take him for whatever purpose, he's gone.

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funny, my otter doe just did that to me (minus the pee) and I culled her on the spot. She's in the doggie fridge right now. incidentally, she's the one that peed on me last week, while I was sitting near her cage. maybe it wasn't an accident after all.

I feel bad sending him on his way, but I can't do this. He was supposed to be just an easy pet, since I don't really have a ton of room for big rabbits. If I had the nerve, I'd just cull him myself, but can't bring myself to kill anything.

biting and striking me and then spraying me in the face

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THAT is a maturing bunny...all the signs there of one. The fact that his testes haven't dropped is a no never mind. But definitely a maturing bunny who needs to be put into his place. Unfortunately that which could do so most effectively might also damage him (another buck).

Works wonders with my young guys if they are acting up...if I put them next to a mature buck OR even just into their cage it's like...oh...wake up brain, I'm not the only one on the block here. Settles 'em right down.

Well, if I don't find him a home in a week, he's going to someone to butcher. I'm not risking my other rabbits because of this juice bag. Lesson learned, I am a one-buck home. I guess I just got lucky with Dobby, because he never went through any of this behaviour, he's an absolute doll.

Bad Habit":1o8cadwf said:

Well, if I don't find him a home in a week, he's going to someone to butcher. I'm not risking my other rabbits because of this juice bag. Lesson learned, I am a one-buck home. I guess I just got lucky with Dobby, because he never went through any of this behaviour, he's an absolute doll.

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So, You have two bucks ??? Perhaps it is a Dominance thing..."MY thump is bigger than Your thump" .....