How do rabbits play?

Answer 1

Rabbits, like almost all animals, like to play. Young animals play at doing the work adults do. Domesticated animals, who don't have to do any work, also play at working.

The kinds of work that wild adult rabbits do involves digging and hopping through burrows, running from predators, fighting other rabbits, and looking for food, so rabbits like to play at:

• Fast sprints, acrobatic jumps (they need the space to do this)
• Some rabbits enjoy "chasing" games, but some do not (NEVER scare your rabbits on purpose: they might panic and injure themselves; you might shock or stress them, which can lead to GI stasis or other illness; and/or they'll lose trust in you, which can make them unhappy and aggressive)
• Foraging through hay or other materials (for example, toys that involve having to move things around to reveal food -- but be careful to limit treats, they can lead to serious health problems)
• Exploring new areas; some rabbits like jumping on or over things
• Hopping through tunnels, behind furniture, under sofas
• Gnawing on wood, "vines," "stems" (read: wires -- be very careful with your "bunny-proofing"!! Provide safe things to chew on,like cardboard boxes, grass mats, rabbit-safe twigs, like willow or apple or cherry NO! cherry wood is toxic to rabbits!)
• Digging, burrowing, and "bulldozing" (e.g. in their litter boxes, or a box filled with dirt or torn newsprint; many rabbits also like towels, linens, or a square of carpeting for this purpose -- but make sure they aren't eating these things, as a "hair-ball" or ball of fabric can kill them; grass mats are great, too)
• "Boxing," hitting (hanging baby toys and baby toys are great for these rabbits)
• Throwing, rolling -- for unknown reasons, many rabbits love throwing things around, or rolling them along the ground (this can be small hard toys, like wooden toys or hard plastic toys made for rabbits or for babies; or soft toys, like a plush soccer ball; or batta balls; or rubber balls for rolling, but make sure the rabbit doesn't ingest any!)

Some toys rabbits might like include (copied from House Rabbit Society Toys FAQ -- see link below):

• Paper Bags and Cardboard boxes for crawling inside, scratching, and chewing. Bunnies like them much more when there are at least two entry points into the boxes
• Cardboard concrete forms for burrowing
• Cardboard roll from paper towels or toilet paper
• Untreated wicker baskets or boxes full of: shredded paper, junk mail, magazines, straw, or other organic materials for digging
• Yellow Pages for shredding
• Cat toys: Batta balls, and other cat toys that roll or can be tossed
• Parrot toys that can be tossed, or hung from the top of the cage and chewed or hit
• Baby toys: hard plastic (not teething) toys like rattles and keys, things that can be tossed
• Children's or birds' mobiles for hitting
• "Lazy cat lodge" (cardboard box with ramps and windows) to climb in and chew on; also, kitty condos, tubes, tunnels, and trees
• Nudge and roll toys like large rubber balls, empty Quaker Oat boxes and small tins
• "Busy Bunny" toys (see link below)
• Plastic Rainbow slinkies
• Toys with ramps and lookouts for climbing and viewing the world
• Dried out pine cones (very old ones, or fresh ones baked in oven to remove toxic phenols)
• Jungle gym type toys from Toys R Us
• A (straw) whisk broom
• A hand towel for bunching and scooting
• Untreated wood, twigs and logs that have been aged for at least 3 months. Apple tree branches can be eaten fresh off the tree. Stay away from: cherry, peach, apricot, plum and redwood, which are all poisonous
• Untreated sea grass or maize mats from Pier One or Cost Plus
• Things to jump up on (they like to be in high places)
• Colorful, hard plastic caps from laundry detergent and softener bottles. They have great edges for picking up with their teeth, make a nice "ponk" sound when they collide, and the grip ridges molded into the plastic make a neat "rachety" sound when rabbits digs at the cap. The caps are nice for human-stacks-on-floor and bun-knocks-down kind of games. Note: Be sure not to choose caps from caustic material bottles (e.g. drain uncloggers, bathroom cleaner bottles) since a residue of the cleaner might remain no matter how much washing off you do.

Answer 2

Yes, they do. They also play with their owners! Some people said that their bunnies play hide-and-seek with them! :O

Answer 3

I know that bunnies like to explore a lot and once they have gotten used to your home they will love to run and chase one another.

Answer 4

Well they don't hop like Humans do, Rabbits kind of walk with a bit of a hop skip to their step.

Answer 5

Rabbits play by tossing things with their mouth. They also will push things back to you.

Answer 6

Not all rabbits. Lots of rabbits would love toys, but my rabbit just likes cuddles and never even attempts to play with toys.

Answer 7

No. They kind of kick.