Disclosure: We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
Rabbit binkies are one of those mysterious things that we’d all love to find out the answers to. What exactly triggers it? What are bunnies thinking when they are binky? For experienced pet rabbit owners, they’re very familiar with this habit but for new bunny owners, this might cause alarm. Don’t worry, nothing is wrong with your rabbit, it’s like the bunny version of dog zoomies.
Nothing is cuter than when pet rabbits start binkying. Watching the jumps and twists of a full-on binky will both fill you with joy and melt your heart. I love it when my pet rabbit does this so I decided to create this article just for this peculiar yet adorable habit alone.
Bunny Jumping And Twisting – It’s A Rabbit Binkie
A rabbit binky is when a bunny jumps and twists at the same time, often repeatedly with twists in both directions. Sometimes a bunny will even do a complete flip when binkying. Bunny binkies are a common behavior when a rabbit is happy and feels safe. There are two kinds of binkies, full and half-binky.
The Two Kinds Of Rabbit Binkies
There are two kinds of bunny binkies. While most people recognize the full bunny binky, they might misinterpret a half binky.
1. The Full Bunny Binky
A full bunny binky is when a bunny jumps with all four feet off of the ground and twists while in midair. Some rabbit’s binky might even include twists from side to side while in midair. This is a behavior that rabbits display when they are super happy and in a safe space where they have no fear of predators.
The full bunny binkies can happen in successions and when it does it creates such a wonderful sight. Imagine your bunnies binkying many times, that’s one adorable acrobatic display.
Also, since this move is a sign of a happy and satisfied bunny then nothing is more satisfying than knowing that you are doing something right as a pet owner. We might not be able to understand our pets with words but our pets have adorable ways to show us their appreciation. Truly, happy bunnies make for happy humans.
2. The Half Binky
There is another kind of binky called the “Half binky”, “Ear Flick” or “Head Flick”. Half-binkies are done mainly by just twisting or tilting the head sideways and flicking their ears without the jumping displayed in a full binky.
This is a special binky because this is a behavior that you can easily memic and even learn to share with your bunny. If you don’t understand, just imagine this.
If you see your bunny doing a half binky, try to quickly drop your head to the side and back, add a tiny twist to your head, and watch to see if your bunny follows your movements. If he does then you’ve just unlocked one of the most coveted levels of bunny and human connections.
Just don’t get crazy and hurt your neck, you’ll never match the joy of your bunny’s longer ears flopping during a half binky.
A half-binky also needs to be distinguished from the nervous wobble that the rabbits do. A nervous head twitch has a faster movement of ears and the rabbit is slightly reared by lifting their front feet off the ground.
Reasons Bunnies Binky
Rabbits communicate via body language. Jumping has always been a rabbit trait. This jumping behavior for rabbits has helped their wild cousins escape predators in the wild so it’s no wonder why they also jump when they’re happy.
Rabbits binky when they feel healthy, happy, safe, and comfortable in their environment. A Binkying bunny is a sign of a super happy bunny, though there are some specific reasons that your bunny might be binkying today.
The Play Binky
Rabbits are very social animals. They will jump and hop whenever they are playing with their playmates.
Whenever animals play they jump and rough house. A rabbit binkying is a body language that tells their playmate that they are having good fun and that they are not hurt.
If you are your bunny’s primary playmate, they’ll binky around you to encourage you to keep playing.
The Excitement Binky
Have you ever jumped for joy when you hear the UPS man carrying your long-awaited Amazon package? I have and our rabbits experience the same excitement.
Rabbits can get excited when they smell their favorite treats, play with their favorite chew toys, or even see their favorite humans. Treats and toys are usually high-value rewards used for training animals so expect your rabbit to be extremely excited about these.
Pent-Up Energy Binky
Remember that cabin fever that you get after being locked inside for days on end during a winter storm? Then you finally see the sun and you go a little nuts playing in the snow or shoveling the neighbor’s sidewalk. That’s pent-up energy and your rabbit experiences the same thing.
If your bunny has been alone all day, they have probably been pretty bored and will be overflowing with pint-up energy and some crazy binkying is a great way to release that energy.
Also, know that rabbits are crepuscular which means they are most active during dawn and dusk, so if you’d like to watch the binky show brought to you by your very own rabbit then be on the alert during these times of the day.
Attention Seeking Binky
Animals’ behavior is highly influenced by conditioning and if you give your bunny a treat whenever they respond to their names or do tricks then it is most likely they will respond again when they hear that word.
The same applies to binkying, if your rabbit sees that you pay attention to them whenever they binky then it is most likely that they will do this behavior just to get your attention. Isn’t that heartwarming? Your rabbit loves you and would love to spend some time together and will act the fool to get your attention.
Do All Rabbits Binky
Not all rabbits binky. Some rabbit’s personality is simply more reserved and they wouldn’t every consider binkying where anyone could see them. However, if your bunny never binkies you should first eliminate other causes for the lack of this joyful play before assuming it’s just personality.
Conditions That Might Cause A Rabbit Not To Binky
- Fear
- Stress
- Illness
- Physcal Pain
If your rabbit doesn’t seem to have any of these issues, then you probably just have a bunny whose personality doesn’t tend toward binkying.
Don’t be sad though, instead be happy that your rabbit isn’t suffering from any of the above issues. And then remember that rabbit binkies are not the definitive definition of a happy bunny.
Some bunnies prefer to flop which is also a sign of a relaxed and happy rabbit, while other rabbits might like to jump on your lap for some cuddle time or some might just like staying close to you.
While some rabbit breeds are more affectionate than others, every individual bunny has its own personality and demonstrates its affection differently. Some of them show it by binkies, some might show it by zoomies, some by pets, some by cuddles but one thing is for sure, if your pet rabbits love you they will let you know.
Tips Make Your Bunny Binky More
You don’t need to wait for dusk and dawn for your rabbit to binky, you can help trigger these happy gestures. If a rabbit likes to do a half binky then you can try mimicking the behavior and see if your bunny will follow.
If your bunny is a full binky kind of bunny, there are some ways to make your rabbit binky more often:
Play With Your Rabbit
If you play with your bunny there is a huge chance that you’ll see a binky. Rabbits are very social animals so they love it when they get to socialize with their person and have some playtime.
Get Their Favorite Things
Is your rabbit’s favorite thing treats or chew toys? Get those things out and watch as your bunnies fill up with excitement.
Maybe shake that chew toy and treat jar a little bit. Excitement is a reason for a rabbit binky so getting those things out might just earn you a well-deserved binky
Binky Training
This needs patience and time.
Rabbits are extremely intelligent creatures. If you can train them to jump through hoops then you can train them to do a binky on command.
You need to have a plan for this, maybe start recognizing when your rabbits are most likely to do a binky and build on from there. This could be frustrating but I’m sure that once accomplished this will also be extremely rewarding.
Do Wild Rabbits Binky?
Wild rabbits do binky just like domestic rabbits. When a wild rabbit is filled with carefree joy, they are driven to jump and twist. However, seeing a wild rabbit binky is uncommon because they are only going to do this when they feel entirely safe. Just your presence will make most wild rabbits feel threatened.
However, sometimes people do see wild bunnies binky, and at least a few times they’ve had a video camera handy. Below is a video of a wild rabbit living his best binky life.
However, sometimes when you see a wild rabbit jumping and twisting he might not be binkying at all.
Wild rabbits sometimes exhibit binky-like moves in the wild as a defense mechanism. A jumping rabbit is harder to catch than a stationary rabbit, which sometimes leads a wild rabbit to run in a zigzag pattern with random jumps to confuse any pursuing predators.
++++++
Do your bunnies binky? Or do they show their happiness in other quirky ways? Tell us in the comments below!
~Stacey