Butterscotch was affectionate from the start, showering us with bunny kisses and responding to any movement we made. When he became "mature", he started buzzing when responding to us. He had become very territorial.and would start chewing on the bars of his cage, the wire barrier in his out of cage area. He also started thumping repeatedly at any perceived sleight from us. He would become easily insulted if he saw us or heard us giving attention to other bunnies in the house. Thump, Thump, Thump...repeatedly...until we came...and more thumps if we came but weren't petting him, coddling him or whatever he wanted fast enough. The only time he wouldn't thump is if I was carrying a female bunny, which he seemed to think was for him. Then he would start thumping when he realized I wasn't bestowing him with a concubine. He would thump even if we got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night in the dark. He was way too high strung, cute as the buzz was. He didn't even sleep too much or too well. The hormones were stressing this poor little guy to no end.
His buzzing normally makes him seem very cute and appealing. He was going in for a neuter the day after I shot this short video. This shows the ugly side. I shot the video because some people, including a vet, said the buzz might go away after his neuter. So far it hasn't, but he's a lot more pleasant than he appears in this video.
This is a good reason to neuter a rabbit. The bunny will be easier to get along with for us and other bunnies, but most importantly he won't feel so stressed out due to hormones either. Butterscotch is still affectionate and is calmer. For the record, he was in this confined space only so I could record the sound close up. He was came out and was given lots of attention after!
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Mickey's predecessor, the late, great Karnage, used to grunt/buzz just like that--usually when circling my legs (his way of saying "I love you"). He, too, was intact, and I kept him that way until his passing a few months short of his 7th birthday. He never showed any signs of aggression, and the only sign that he wasn't neutered was that he had a tendency to want to pee in the corners of any room that he decided was "his". This eventually resulted in him only having access to the kitchen, where messes could be cleaned much easier--and after a while, he didn't bother with trying to "mark his turf" (I'm assuming that he figured we knew it was his by then).
ReplyDeleteMy Seal buzzes, but she has a more distinctly bee sounding buzz. She only does it when she's really excited - a very short 'zzzzzttt' sound. Always makes my day when she does. She's done this all her life, she was spayed at 6 months and she's 8 now.
ReplyDeleteButterscotch is a such cutie! Glad he's less stressed now :)
@Jade Butterscotch has been neutered and he is still buzzying. Yay! I'm glad you also had a bunderful buzzing bun.
ReplyDelete@Lavender Rabbit It's neat the females buzz too. You and Seal give me hope that he will still buzz.
Glad Jade & Lavender (that sounds cool together) had such nice buzzing experiences with their bunnies.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mary Ellen