Because animals like rabbits (or bunnies) do not make a lot of noise, they often express their current mood through body language. One type of body language you may see from a rabbit is called the binky. The binky is one way a rabbit expresses its current mood. Nobody knows for sure if it is conscious or not, but most people agree that it is meant to convey a certain mood.
What is a Binky?
According to research, a binky is the way a rabbit expresses that it is extremely happy. A rabbit binkies when it jumps into the air and twists both its body and head around. Sometimes, a rabbit that binkies does so while staying in place while other times a rabbit binkies while it is running around. It may only jump once or twice, or it may jump a few times. In some cases, a rabbit can actually turn itself a full 180 degrees in the air when it binkies.
What Causes a Binky?
Different rabbits have different temperaments, so there is no one thing that universally causes rabbits to binky. However, there are some things that tend to cause rabbits to binky more often than not. For example, allowing your rabbit to explore a new area of the house may cause it to binky. Letting it roam around outside may also cause it to binky. Rabbits that are mostly enclosed in small spaces may binky when allowed to roam an open area.
Is a Binky Safe?
For the most part, binkies are safe. It is possible a rabbit may hurt itself while jumping around, but it is not likely. In other words, this is not behavior that should be discouraged. In fact, it is a good thing when a rabbit binkies as it indicates the rabbit is extremely happy.
Just make sure that you move anything that might hurt the rabbit out of the way if you see it start to binky.How Often do Rabbits Binky?
Again, because different rabbits have different temperaments, this varies between rabbits. Some rabbits may binky every day while other rabbits may hardly ever binky. Even if you take very good care of your rabbit, it may not binky much because it does not have the temperament to do so. Age is also a factor as an older rabbit may just not have the energy to jump around much. A rabbit that does not binky much is not necessarily a sign that the rabbit is unhappy. It may just be that your rabbit does not feel like expressing itself in that way all that much.
Where are the Best Places for Binkies?
Because rabbits tend to move and jump around a lot when they binky, it is best that they binky in open spaces. Of course, you cannot always tell when a rabbit is going to binky, but if you are introducing it to a new area, it might be a good idea to have a lot of open space in the area in case the rabbit does start to binky. This means moving any sharp, breakable, or hard objects that the rabbit could hurt itself on if it jumps into them. You might want to have padding for objects that you cannot move.
When Does a Rabbit First Binky?
This is another thing that depends on the temperament of the rabbit. When you first get a rabbit, it may binky soon after you get it. It also may be a long time before you see it binky. Some people go for years without seeing their rabbit binky before it finally does so. You never really know what might cause it, so just be patient if your rabbit does not do it right away. When the mood strikes it, your rabbit will binky.
A rabbit that binkies is a happy rabbit. It is a sign that your rabbit is extremely happy with its current situation. While not seeing a rabbit binky much is not necessarily a bad sign, a rabbit that binkies a lot is generally a good sign. It means that the rabbit is happy most of the time, which is always a good thing for anyone who owns one as a pet.