Rubbing the chins or face is a common habit of male rabbits and the owners often wonder about the reason behind that. The rabbits often show up with some queer habits and they always have some explanation for that. But not always these are understood by the owners.
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Why does my rabbit rub its face on everything?
This habit is actually seen among male rabbits mostly. This is called chinning. There is a gland under the chin of the rabbit. The gland secrets some kind of smell and it remains on the area where the rabbit rubs it. Rabbits mark those particular areas in the home where it rubs its face but it is not identifiable by humans, so you will not be able to understand when and how the rabbit is marking the area with the smell.
If you have multiple male rabbits at home, then other male rabbits will be able to detect this smell. Even the female rabbits can check it.
What does a bunny face rub mean?
Rubbing is a territorial habit of rabbits. This is mostly found among the male rabbits as they are more concerned about the territory marking. In the jungle, they mark each one’s territory and that is quite safe for them too. No male rabbit will try to invade other ones’ territory.
But in the household, they cannot leave this habit back and they try to mark their territory by rubbing their face on various spots. These spots must be their favorite and they do not want other rabbits to come near those areas.
Even if there are no other male rabbits at home, still a single male rabbit will be seen doing this. This is out of their habit and that will be a natural activity for them.
Why does my rabbit keep chinning?
The rabbits do chinning once they gain sexual maturity. With adulthood comes the tendency to mark the territory. As the female rabbits are seen humping on each other, so the male ones do chinning. When the rabbits live in a colony in the wilderness, they always maintain a hierarchy and that means one male rabbit will be dominating than the others.
All the other male rabbits follow its commandership. But in the household when they have been domesticated, they try to follow that protocol and that is when they do this chinning thing.
Is rubbing the face common among rabbits?
Yes, rubbing the face or chinning is a pretty common habit of rabbits. This habit will continue as long as the rabbits will stay healthy. The scent that they leave on the things and furniture will never be detected by their owner as that is not their intention too. The scent can only be sensed by other rabbits and they can abide by the rule of the territory.
What does it mean when the rabbit rubs its face on you?
When keeping a pet rabbit at home you will find that it sometimes rubs its face on various parts of the room or on your body. Even sometimes they rub their face on other pets present in the house when they are out of the initial shyness and fear.
When the rabbit rubs its face on the owner it means that they are much more comfortable with its owner. It takes time for them to get so close to the owners but it will gradually happen. Thus it can be seen rubbing its face on the owner’s body.
The rubbing is for marking the area or object to be owned by the rabbit. As for the owner the smell that it leaves on the body of the owner makes him or her the object of the pet too. Rabbits are not intelligent enough to compartmentalize between things and humans, and they just know the process of owning things or areas by rubbing their faces there and marking.
There is another reason behind the rubbing face attitude. Rabbits usually mark those areas or things that give them pleasure. So when the rabbit is chinning on their owner, it means that they find their owner likable and thus they are showing their affection by means of this activity.
This is also a kind of marking that makes the rabbit remember that it has liked the place or the person. It will help them to mark it and come back to that place or person later. Also, they do this marking thing by rubbing the face because when they are in the jungle, they often move around in dark. The scent makes them understand and recognize the place where they have been and liked. Thus territorial marking would be done with the help of the scent and it would remain identifiable even in the darkness of night.
Sometimes the rabbits are seen marking territories when it has been moved to a new shelter or a new house. This is their way to identify and know the place in a better way. They do not know how to reach and where to go and that is when the scent marking comes to help. This kind of marking can be done even by the female rabbits and you will see them rubbing their face on you as well as other parts of the house.
Where the rabbit is seen rubbing their faces?
When the rabbit is newly brought to the house, you can see it rubbing its face almost everywhere. It will not leave the carpet, the furniture, or even the floors and walls. This habit comes from the territorial nature of the rabbits. They are timid and docile creatures but that does not match up with their territorial side. They live in a group and are quite social in nature. But they always prefer to maintain or mark a particular place to be their own.
This is a tendency of the male rabbits mostly, but not totally missing from the female ones. When they start living in a new place they start marking that place. This is not an everyday activity but it will be seen a few times a week.
Also, they can mark their owners as they get closer to them and start getting fond of him or them. So yes, this gesture is actually a sign to show that they possess that area or person to be their own. This also makes the rabbit comfortable in its territory, which is the new home of it too.
What should I do if my rabbit rubs its face on me?
Rabbits do not often do this, but when you find your pet rabbit rubbing its face on you then you can take it as a compliment. This shows the strong bonding between you and your pet. Rabbits usually are scared of human proximity and they do not get adjusted to new and unknown humans easily.
It is very important for the owner to be close to and trusted by their pet rabbits. So if you are able to win their trust and it rubs its face on you then you have been successful as the owner and you have taken good care of your pet.
The rabbits are often seen rubbing their face on the owner after the owner is bathed. That they do because after bathing they do not find their own smell on the owner’s body, and so they repeat the process of marking with the scent.
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