Rabbit Behavior: What is a rabbit binky?
A bunny binky is when your rabbit jumps or leaps into the air and twists its head and body in opposite directions, sometimes twice, before landing back onto the ground. Rabbits can do this straight into the air from a sitting position or they can do it while running. Sometimes Mr. Bunny does it after kicking off of the wall, but my favorite is when he does it from a sitting position. It is so fun to see him just sitting around then all of a sudden leap into a binky.
Another variation of the binky for your bunny is the half-binky, also known as a head twitch or ear flick. Rather than the twisting of their entire body, just the head will quickly turn sideways and back. This is still a pretty cool to see! A head twitch can be done while running, or when sitting in place. A head twitch is similar in the looks of a body chill in humans but is in actuality a little more playful and sillier.
Binkies are a unique rabbit behavior that is super fun to see.
Video of a rabbit binky
Why does my rabbit binky?
Your rabbit is binkying out of sheer joy and happiness. This is the only case scenario, rabbit’s binky for no other reason. Binkying is not a response to any other emotion such as fear or danger or sadness etc.…. for a rabbit to binky means you as their pet parent are doing a great job at keeping them an incredibly happy bunny.
Do rabbits binky in the wild?
This is more of a fun fact as you as a domestic rabbit owner should not need to know this information. YES! Rabbits have been observed binkying in the wild, but not nearly as much as your common house rabbits. This is likely due to two main reasons, one because they probably are not nearly as happy as your pet rabbit and two I can assure you they do not feel nearly as safe as your pet rabbit feels in their comfortable cushy home therefore they are not nearly as apt to let their guard down to do a binky.
About the Author
My name is Vanessa and I love my buns. My current house rabbit is Mr. Bunny, he is a black and white Dutch that just turned 9 years old.
I believe that rabbits are a magnificent animal that make great pets for SOME people. My mission is to share what I have learned about rabbits over the past 20 years to improve the relationship between our pets and us. Please contact me or comment if you have any questions or comments.