My rabbit's special talent (or was it?)
Oh dear I feel a bit guilty now because I think this might have been cruel, although our vet seemed to think it was just a strange little quirk that our rabbit had!
Let me explain. We had a couple of rabbits a few years ago and had two litters from them. The babies were well handled (gently) by my children and well loved. One in particular used to stretch herself out on our laps or on the floor for a stroke and then took to lying on her back with her legs in the air in a sort of hypnotic state. She did this more and more as she got older, to the point where she would actually allow us to lie her on her back and seemed quite happy to lie there for ages in this position. We even took a movie of her lying on the sofa and allowing us to put a little blanket over her like she was in bed. Too cute! She moved about perfectly OK inbetween times so I don't think it was any kind of neurological condition. We even took her to show the teachers at the kids' school because one of them was in charge of the animals kept at the school and she had not seen a bunny ever doing this before and the staff room was full of teachers watching this rabbit just lying there on its back with its feet up.
She died a while ago now but I was reminded of it when I found an old photograph of her and I wondered if anyone else had a rabbit who did this?
Let me explain. We had a couple of rabbits a few years ago and had two litters from them. The babies were well handled (gently) by my children and well loved. One in particular used to stretch herself out on our laps or on the floor for a stroke and then took to lying on her back with her legs in the air in a sort of hypnotic state. She did this more and more as she got older, to the point where she would actually allow us to lie her on her back and seemed quite happy to lie there for ages in this position. We even took a movie of her lying on the sofa and allowing us to put a little blanket over her like she was in bed. Too cute! She moved about perfectly OK inbetween times so I don't think it was any kind of neurological condition. We even took her to show the teachers at the kids' school because one of them was in charge of the animals kept at the school and she had not seen a bunny ever doing this before and the staff room was full of teachers watching this rabbit just lying there on its back with its feet up.
She died a while ago now but I was reminded of it when I found an old photograph of her and I wondered if anyone else had a rabbit who did this?
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Comments
There are divided opinions on it with some believing it shows the rabbit is very relaxed, while others say the rabbit is highly stressed and catatonic.
For these conflicting reasons some vets use it to do nail clips, intending to reduce the stress of the procedure, while other vets avoid it, believing that the immobility stresses the animal further on top of the procedure
If your rabbit voluntarily solicited this I would say she was presumable fairly comfortable with it, even if the enjoyment was a learned response.
Many angora owners/breeders do it routinely to groom under the bunny. I actually can't bring myself to do it to mine, once I read it's a fear response (freeze before the predator spots you)....so I just lift them gently and groom underneath.
It's not a state I'd want to induce in my bunny. I have a bunny savvy vet and he agreed, when I asked him about it.
I am not convinced about that because although they will certainly freeze, squash themselves as low to the ground as they can and flatten their ears to keep a low profile when scared or wary, if they can't run safely to a burrow, but that is what they have four feet under them, on the ground.
I have seen snakes actively roll onto their backs to play dead as a defence but I have never seen a rabbit do so, so I remain unconvinced by that explanation, although I am prepared to accept it may well be a stress rather than a relaxation response.
You can achieve a similar things by laying sharks (in the water) or crocodiles on their backs and stroking their tummies, or by standing lobsters on their tails.
I seem to recall you can also do something similar with chickens by drawing a line with your finger on the ground immediately in front of their eyes, but I forget the details of that one.
It is maybe just a weird little incidental quirk some species have.
I'm not sure either, Tass, but there was always something about it that instinctively I didn't like, and couldn't pinpoint, til I read about that.
I handle them a lot - angoras have been bred for many hundreds of years to be handled a lot and are probably unique amongst bunnies for this - and still I find the whole freezing thing too unsettling to do. I sort of felt relieved when the vet "gave me permission" not to!
Well certainly they seem to usually do it with tense, sometimes quivering muscles, rather than being soft and floppy.
Angoras are gorgeous, but high maintenance and that fine fluff doesn't half get up your nose
Makes beautifully soft, light garments though
OP your pet bunny sounds cute.
Just to add if anyone doesn't know, or was worried, getting angora rabbit wool (it is blended with sheep wool to lengthen and the fibre and strengthen it) is like shearing sheep - it doesn't hurt the rabbit.
http://www.bris.ac.uk/vetscience/news/2011/15.html