The rabbits express their emotions in an intriguing manner, but their behaviors can be easily understood by other rabbits as they mostly communicate through a variety of behaviors. A few pet owners can also understand the fascinating aspects of rabbits’ emotional states and motivation for wagging their tails and making a noise.
Rabbits wag their tails when they want to play more and make a request to their owners by doing so. In addition, it is a sign of contentment, excitement, warning, and protest. Also, they interact with their owners by twitching short tails. This behavior usually lasts for a few minutes, but extends for several minutes, depending on the reasons for wagging.
It is challenging to know about their social dynamics and intricate language of gestures. Each of their behaviors has multiple meanings and reasons. Let’s delve into their captivating world and try to know the reasons for this form of communication. In this article, you will get to know about normal and abnormal durations of tail wagging and the emotions associated with this behavior.
Why do rabbits wag their tails?
Tail movements are a method of communication between rabbits or the pet and owner. You can interpret their message by observing the movement and frequency of the wagging tail or scut.
1. Request for playing
Rabbits are playful creatures that engage in physical activities and play with their friends and owners. It allows them to interact with their mates and litter fellows living in one place.
They usually move their short tails after playing when their owners try to put them inside an enclosure. It seems like they are requesting owners to get more time to play.
This behavior relates to more of a request than the protest in domestic rabbits. It is mostly seen when their owners direct them to get inside the cage.
Once, I tried to hold my bunny, intending to put it inside the cage after playing with it for 40 minutes, but it began to wag its short scut.
It was looking so cute while doing so, so I let it play for some more time because my Dutchie wanted to play more. You can make cages attractive by putting some food if their tails wag.
They are full of energy and need physical activity to use their energy reserves. So, they become aggressive when you do not provide them with fun activities or toys.
2. Mating cues
Tail wagging can be associated with mating cues in rabbits, indicating that it is ready to engage in mating behavior with a partner.
It is a part of their courtship rituals when male rabbits exhibit this behavior to show their interest in their female partner. It helps them send a cue to their partner to indicate their intention to mate.
Also, I found my bunny rubbing its chin and wagging its tail during the mating season to show its willingness for mating probably and the female rabbit was lying on the ground at some distance.
They release chemical secretions from glands located under their tail. The odor of secretions tells about their reproductive status and mating interests.
Additionally, the female rabbits accept or reject these males by considering the frequency and intensity of wagging. The frequent movements capture the attention of other rabbits quickly.
3. Contentment or excitement
They wave their tails when they feel excited or contended, in addition to binkying and hopping. They feel energetic and leap in the air, while a few come towards their owners while wagging.
This type of behavior is also observed in other pet animals, like dogs, but a few rabbit species also engage in this behavior rarely. They primarily jump and hop when feeling happy.
My neighborhood friend has a little bunny that comes to me while twitching its scut whenever I visit their home, and it seems like it feels happy to see me.
Its stance is not offensive when coming closer to me, and it never tried to bite me, so I feel that it is exciting to get closer to me and jump onto my lap.
4. Warning signal
It is difficult for beginners to get an idea about the reason for a wagging tail in rabbits because it helps them communicate specific signals that need to be understood by the owners.
It can be a warning signal, so you should practice detecting their stance type. Move away from them if you feel an offensive look as they sometimes bite when angry for different reasons.
Not only do they wag tails when feeling delightful, but they also try to tell you about the possible danger around them by engaging in this peculiar behavior.
5. Protest or Disobedience
It is hard to identify the short wagging tails of rabbits that are used by these cute protestors to show disobedience. It is a subtle behavior because they do not have large tails, like dogs and cats.
These peaceful pets protest silently, unlike other pet animals that usually make loud noises or get aggressive when they do not want to follow your orders.
It usually happens when you order them to do something, but they do not want to do so. So, they communicate using their scuts and disapprove of your decisions by wagging them in the air.
My little rabbit usually twitches its tail when I put a food bowl, and it is not hungry. So, it is their way of showing disapproval that occurs when their bellies are full, or they do not like the food.
6. Interaction
Although their scuts are pretty short, rabbits use them to interact with other fellows in the enclosure. Seeing a rabbit wagging its tail seems more like fun rather than irritation, but it hits other rabbits differently.
They feel irritated to find one of their fellows doing so, while the one wagging its tail enjoys it and considers it fun to get the attention of the fellows when feeling bored.
It is contemptuous or teasing behavior among rabbits that have no other fun activity inside the cage, so they interact with each other with the small fur balls on their ends.
How long do rabbits wag their tails?
The time for which a rabbit wags its tail depends on specific situations or stimuli, temperament, and species type, but generally, this behavior usually lasts for a few minutes.
Sometimes, it can increase up to several minutes when they are sitting alone or want to get the attention of their fellows.
It is a subtle and brief movement compared to that usually seen in other larger pet animals. They twitch these furry balls or scuts more frequently, but the duration for each is short.
I saw my bunny Dutchie twitching more than usual when it was annoyed with something and got back to its normal state after a few minutes of waving it in the air.
Furthermore, a few pet owners see their rabbits wagging tails because they do it rarely, unlike dogs that move their long tails more often than these furry animals.
Do baby bunnies wag their tails?
The baby bunnies have tails but are underdeveloped and small enough to be clearly seen. These are not noticeable structures in babies and grow up to a few inches when they reach adulthood.
These have varying lengths at the early stages and adulthood and get more defined when they get bigger in size. They are rarely observed while wagging their scuts due to their smaller length.
In addition, they are not mature enough to use these fur balls to communicate with their fellows and owners due to a lack of understanding and well-developed tails.
Accordingly, they can move their tails in a waving or wiggling manner, but they do not do it more often due to a sedentary lifestyle. They spend their early growth stages within an enclosure and stay close to their mothers.
They do not worry about attacks as these baby bunnies trust their mother rabbits for protection and food. So, it is less likely to see this behavior in kits especially if they are pets.
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