I just got a new little babay bunny. He's a tiny little netherlad dwarf/mini rex mix. He is energetic, has nice healthy fur, perky ears, bright eyes, no sniffles and he came from a very good pet store, it is the only one I buy my bunnies from and they really treat the animals well. Anyway within a day of bringing him home I noticed him bobbing his little head up and down, he does this for about a minute every once in a while, I thought it was odd but it doesn't sound like wry neck or head tilt. He also had some very runny droppings for about an hour but now they look nice and round and dry again. He's eating well and eating lots of hay and drinking his water, hopping around all happy-like so I can't figure out this head bobbing thing? Does anyone with bunnies know about this?

Hmmm.. I seem to recall one of ours doing that. Can't remember though! (edit: I did remember, I just wrote about it below, lol! duh!) Perhaps to be safe you should get his ears and teeth checked?


The runny droppings thing might mean he ate something bad.. and then combined with the head thing, maybe it was because he had trouble swallowing this bad thing?? I remember when one of our bunnies had trouble eating because of her teeth, and she would throw her head back and forth as she was choking :( (edit: but she made a lot of noise as she choked, so I don't know if that's what's happening in your case?)

If bunnies didnt poo so much I would have one. I had 2 when I was little and loved them they are so cute and soft but boy can they make a mess. I think the soft poo was just from going to a diffrent envioroment stress related and sounds like that is fine. The bobbing thing I think is ok as well unless it gets sever but I'm pretty sure I have seen them do that many times. Here is some info I found on it.

Many rabbits will use some of their hay to nest. Lining the floor of their cage makes it more comfortable than the typical wire bottom hutch and adds insulation in colder weather. Some rabbits are seemingly very particular in arranging the hay when put in their cage. This is the equivlent of arranging the furniture and they'll fuss with it until it's just the way they want it.

An expectant doe will build a nest of hay and line it with fur in preparation for kindling (delivering her babies). This often happens just a day or two before kindling.

Another unusual behavior is the "hay dance." Adolescent rabbits, particularly does, will gather bundles of hay in their mouth and prance about bobbing their head up and down. This signals their desire to nest, or more exactly, to breed. This is usually seen as a young rabbit reaches sexual maturity and sometimes while preparing the nest before kindling.


So how old is your bunny lol it may be wanting to start a family.

On the side of the droppings... rabbits do a mixture.. and will er... typically eat the softer kind (gross, I know) as it's full of vitamins or something and good for them.

Could it be ... hiccup? :grin: When my cuties were little, they had the hiccups quite often and at first it worried me. But if you listen closely, you can hear them make the "hiccup" sound... They looked SO confused when they had that!
Hope everything is ok with your little one.

Many rabbits will use some of their hay to nest. Lining the floor of their cage makes it more comfortable than the typical wire bottom hutch and adds insulation in colder weather. Some rabbits are seemingly very particular in arranging the hay when put in their cage. This is the equivlent of arranging the furniture and they'll fuss with it until it's just the way they want it.



Rabbits shouldn't be kept in wire bottom cages, its very bad for their feet, and they need to eat parts of their dropping to be healthy.

As for the OP, I wouldn't be overly worried, but I would talk to my vet about it just to make sure. Mine lets me e-mail or call him whenever I need to free of charge, so maybe you could just give them a ring?

Another unusual behavior is the "hay dance." Adolescent rabbits, particularly does, will gather bundles of hay in their mouth and prance about bobbing their head up and down. This signals their desire to nest, or more exactly, to breed. This is usually seen as a young rabbit reaches sexual maturity and sometimes while preparing the nest before kindling.

OOOOH you just stuck a memory chord in my brain!! One of my rabbits used to do that HEHE. She would gather hay and then run around with it, you couldn't get it from her, she held it that fast! And yes, she would bob her head too! Even if you held her! Silly little things rabbits :grin: :inlove:

Well first off, I'm not a new bunny owner, I used to have two for a long time and I'm pretty experienced, that's why this is confusing me. My new little baby bunny lives in a room of his own on a linoleum floor and is box trained already, I would never cage an animal. He has no signs of malloclusion (teeth problems) and his ears appear to be fine although he does scratch them a bit too often. He hasn't done the head thing in a couple hours but I noticed something else, he only gets diarreah when I turn the lights off in his room at night, so apparently he's afraid of the dark. So I guess I'll try a nightlight and check his ears again or assume it's hiccups. I called the vet and he says it doesn't sound odd.
Thanks for all your replies.

Oh and just an FYI: When bunnies injest those special soft droppings called caecotropes they are doing something neccessary for their health, bunnies have a unique digestive tract full of wonderful flora and their droppings are the cleanest I have ever seen, they are round and hard and dry and can be picked up by hand and tossed away, the caecotropes are an essential source of vitamins in the bunny's diet, i think it's fascinatig.