Why do rabbits thump in their hutch?

I’m an issue where my male bunny, Chip is thumping his hind legs over night for long periods of time. Usually between 02:00 and 07:30

The neighbour has even complained about it, and threatened to contact the council for a noise order. I don’t want to have to give Chip away, so I need a way of calming him down and keeping him from thumping. He often does it quite powerfully making rather loud thuds in his wooden hutch, I can’t plonk him outside as the door catches aren’t suitable for fitting locks over, and I know full well some mischeavous child will walk post and just pull the bolt on.

Any ideas urgently needed and appreciated!

parsnipbun
18-09-2015, 10:37 AM

Is Chip a house bunny or outdoor bunny (sorry it was a bit unclear — you mention puitting him outside but then say he is in a wooden hutch).

Buns thump if they are afraid or unhappy (though the latter is less likely for extended periods of time) so it sounds like Chip is either afraid of something at night or very unhappy.

If he is outdoors it may be a neighbours cat or a fox is roaming round the gardens at that time — and this would certainly make him thump. The other option is if either outside or inside he is very unhappy at those periods — which might be due to loneliness or frutsration at not being able to get out and run for example — which they would notice more at night. Obviously if outside he cannot run around the garden at night — but does he have a large enough hutch and run combination that he has access to at all times?

Also — is he neutered? and I am assuming from your post he is on his own — which would also make him more afraid/frustrated/

Behavioural problems are often solveable but may take some time and consideration of things like companions, size and placement of accommodation, indoor or out, etc etc.

If he is thumping for that long then it is going to affect his health as well soon — as he will be very stressed.

parsnipbun
18-09-2015, 10:39 AM

Having re -read this I think he may be indoors and suspect that he needs to be able to have a larger space at nights when they would naturally do most of their running round — and of course a friend. Can you give him a room to be in at night?

Our housebuns have access to the whole house, but I know others have a room for them so they can be active at night. He may be very bored and frustrated.

Sarahbun
18-09-2015, 10:40 AM

Easier said than done I know, but you need to work out what’s causing him to want to thump. Is there anything that he might be able to see at that time — perhaps through a window, it could be something flying past — bats/ owls? Thicker curtains might stop him from being able to see whatever it is?

Alternatively it could be noise. I guess it’s unlikely that it would be your central heating at that time. Could you soundproof his hutch with blankets or fleeces so that Chip can’t hear the sound?

Could you put something inside his hutch to muffle the thumping until you’ve been able to figure out what’s causing him to thump?

You could always sit in the same room overnight and that might give you a clue and you’ll be able to see if there was anything that set off his thumping.

parsnipbun
18-09-2015, 10:57 AM

We recently had the same problem by the way from a rescue bun we took in — fortunately not problem with neighbours as we are in middle of nowhere — but now he has been neutered and joined a group of other buns to have fun with and has a shared large summerhouse/ chalet to run around in all night and exercise in large run area in day he no longer thumps at all.

tonibun
18-09-2015, 12:34 PM

As already posted he is thumping as he can hear/smell a foc close by, or a cat in the garden. If you have a shed you could put him in, either permanently or just overnight, he should feel more secure and stop thumping.

Leftie
18-09-2015, 01:34 PM

It’s an indoor rabbit. I’ve got a few days before the Council get involved and seek a resolution their way (which I can guarantee will not be fun). Overnight it is kept in its hutch (http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/small-pet/rabbit-hutches-and-runs/outdoor-rabbit/bluebell-hideaway-%28in-store%29) in the house. Which is a fairly big one for just a single Rabbit. He has also spent a lot of today thumping.
The aim is to get him neutered as soon as feasible, however he just had his first injections and Vet said need to wait for that to settle in, once neutered I was to get another rabbit. However if there is even the remote chance of this not being fixed within a few days, I will have to seek a new home for the rabbit, it’s thumping sounds like me punching the walls every 30-60 seconds and the neighbour is getting more and more uppity about it. As much as I love the new rabbit, I can’t afford to lose my tenancy over it, I hope you understand that.

The only noises I could hear overnight last night, were that of a couple talking in one of the flats above. That happens and it will happen, the walls are quite thin and you can hear each other talking heavily or sneezing. However, that noise was not present for most of today where he was still thumping. So perhaps he’s unhappy about something?

Is there anything I can put on the bottom of the hutch, that’ll either discourage it or greatly mute the output noise it makes?
I’m currently waiting for the rabbit to venture out of the hutch so I can do a full clean out and see if that cheers it up a bit.

Babsie
18-09-2015, 02:10 PM

I think the problem is almost certainly lack of space. Rabbits should never be confined to a hutch, day or night, but need a run to be attached permanently so they can exercise when they want to. There are some very good ideas in the housing section, where you will see what people have done with their indoor set-ups. Yes, he will almost certainly be happier when he has a neutered female as a companion, but I think the matter of space is the first thing to be addressed. Good luck — do tell us how you get on.

Leftie
18-09-2015, 02:14 PM

Well the first thing for me to do now is go back to Pets at Home, they said the hutch I had bought was more than big enough, and the animal would only need 4ish hours per day of excercise (more being preferable), but otherwise this cage provided more than enough required for one rabbit (and even two would do fine in there) at other times.
This is certainly not proving to be an enjoyable experience, really need to find quickly what I can do to rectify the situation with a budget of zero (rest is tied into saving for the neutering and other bunny later on).

Babsie
18-09-2015, 02:23 PM

I’m sorry — you are not the only person to be given less than adequate advice from a pet shop. They are in the business of selling stuff — a good example is their sale of sticky sweet treats on sticks etc, which are in fact so bad for rabbits. I would check the info they gave you about food, too A good place for you to look is the RWAF — it is they who give the advice about size of hutch, run and exercise.

I am sorry you have had such a poor start. Rabbits really do make lovely — although expensive — pets. From the way you talk about him it doesn’t sound a though you are getting any pleasure from him; I hope this changes when you get everything sorted out, so you see pleasure rather than problems.

Leftie
18-09-2015, 02:40 PM

Considering there is a good chance i’ll be thrown out the house if I cannot get this rabbit co-operating in a relatively short area of time, I think I am within my rights to see this as a very stressful and unpleasurable experience. I live with a council who allow pets, however as soon as they begin to cause nuisance, they come down like a ton of bricks. I certainly didn’t foresee this thumping issue, perhaps I should have.

The hutch is this one, and is actually relatively big: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/small-pet/rabbit-hutches-and-runs/outdoor-rabbit/bluebell-hideaway-%28in-store%29 — Dimensions being H112.50 x W152 x D61cm

I’ve got the rabbit out and exploring the flat currently, so I can get in the cage and see if there is a missed area of cleaning he’s objecting to. Otherwise, i’ve no idea what the problem is, the entire cage is filled with hay and the pellets buried underneath the hay to encourage foraging (I thought that’d be more fun than just putting them in a bowl for it), so its not like its out of food and its water is topped up every evening and its never once run dry (two bottles in the cage).

I may see what I can do to partition off a large area of the flat for overnight roaming with everyday items around the house and see if that improves the situation tonight before having to take more drastic action.

Babsie
18-09-2015, 02:46 PM

Yes, I understand that you feel within your rights to see it as a very stressful and unpleasurable experience.

Yes, I can see that you have bought what you were advised was the correct hutch. Unfortunately, however, as I pointed out, your rabbit needs to be able to exercise all the time, which means attaching a run. Take a look at that RWAF site and it will tell you about meaurements.

I am sure that if you did that, Chip would be happier . and therefore so would you and your neighbours.

Pets mum
18-09-2015, 02:53 PM

Leftie
18-09-2015, 03:17 PM

Hi really hope you can find a solution to this, and both your bun and you can start enjoying each other’s company. Just a thought, but you could take a look at puppy panels (Amazon do these relatively cheaply) which you can configure to your space. Good luck !They’re fairly cheap! Shall look at some of them.
Urgent problem really is keeping it occupied until I can give it more freedom. Do any of you have a free range rabbit that can roam without boundaries (except obvious places), if so how does this work for you? I live in a flat, so if I block off the kitchen (knowing my luck it’d get stuck down the gaps of the fridge/washer/cooker) there is otherwise no real areas the rabbit needs to be kept away from, all cables are off the ground or buried under carpet already. This is currently my best plan to have a peaceful few nights until ordered things arrive, just make sure there is nothing dangerous and just let the rabbit roam. Obviously toilet training will become a problem, but the Pets at Home staff said Rabbits are fairly easy to train to do this, wipe up say the urine, and place that tissue/wipe in the toilet tray you wish to use, cover it up with straw/hay/your choice of material, and it’ll go sniff it out and twig «Oh, here we are!», and in time it’ll go to that area, or back into its hutch for it.

Why does my rabbit… ?

Unlike dogs and cats, which are hunting animals, rabbits are prey animals and so their natural behaviour is very different. It is part of the responsibility of owning a pet that you learn to understand what your pet’s behaviour means – this will help you to know when your rabbit is happy, when it is frightened or when it is ill.

Why does my rabbit rub its chin on objects?

Rabbits are territorial animals – this means that they like to have an area (hutch or burrow, etc) to call their own. They like to identify this territory as theirs by leaving scent marks for other rabbits to detect. Rabbits have scent glands underneath their chins and they rub these on objects to leave behind their scent (fortunately, humans cannot smell this!). This behaviour is very similar to cats rubbing their faces (which also have scent glands) on objects or even your legs.

Why do my rabbits fight?

Because rabbits are territorial animals they like to defend their patch against intruders. On the other hand, they are social animals and appreciate company.

By far the easiest combination is a male-female pair – but both rabbits will have to be neutered. Same-sex pairs sometimes work if both rabbits are neutered and, preferably, if they were introduced as youngsters or come from the same litter.

Rabbits should be very gradually introduced to their new companion on neutral territory with lots of cover and piles of food. Slowly build up the amount of time the rabbits spend with each other. Separate them if severe fighting occurs as rabbits can inflict nasty injuries on each other.

Why does my rabbit thump its feet on the ground?

In the wild, rabbits thump their hindfeet on the ground when they see or hear a predator (dog, fox, etc) or some other danger. It alerts other rabbits to the situation so that they can take shelter underground. Pet rabbits will thump their feet if they are scared, but they may also do this to attract your attention.

Why does my rabbit struggle when I pick it up?

Wild rabbits live on the ground. Pet rabbits do not like being held above the ground if they do not feel secure. They will struggle and may kick and scratch – often they are dropped and this can result in injuries such as a broken leg or back. Small children should not be allowed to handle rabbits unsupervised.

It is extremely important to learn to handle your rabbit correctly so that it feels secure when you pick it up. Tuck your rabbit’s head close to your body underneath the elbow of your left arm (if you are right-handed). Use the left hand to hold the bottom of the rabbit, while supporting your rabbit against your body. Steady the head and front end of the animal with the right hand.

Never pick a rabbit up by its ears – this is extremely painful and dangerous for the rabbit.

If you have a young rabbit it is important to handle it often so that it becomes used to being picked up and stroked and doesn’t become fearful (and perhaps aggressive) when it’s older.

Why does my female rabbit build a nest?

The female rabbit (doe) builds a nest, which she lines with fur plucked from her chest, for her babies (called kittens). Some does show nesting behaviour even though they have not been mated and are not pregnant. This is called a ‘false pregnancy’ (or pseudopregnancy). The doe may even defend the nest from any human interference by growling and biting.

False pregnancies usually occur in early spring (but they can happen at any time) and they are more common in rabbits housed with other female rabbits. Do not be alarmed if your rabbit has a false pregnancy – it will do her no harm. However, they do not occur in neutered female rabbits and if your rabbit is aggressive during a false pregnancy, consider having her neutered (spayed).

Why does my rabbit only use one corner of the hutch as a toilet?

This is very common behaviour in rabbits. As well as leaving scent by chinning, rabbits mark their territories by leaving their droppings in concentrated piles. Rabbits are also very clean animals – just observe how frequently they wash themselves – and they do not like to sleep in areas soiled by urine and droppings.

This behaviour also explains why rabbits can be house-trained easily to live indoors.

Why do rabbits thump in their hutch?