are bunnies scared of thunderstorms??? we are havin thunderstorms right now in my area.... what should I do?

Question

How should I calm them down?

I'm in Harrison Arkansas........

Answer 1

Only a REALLY loud clap of thunder would scare mine,... when my bunnies were little, I just sat with them on my lap & reassured them. Sometimes they would squeeze themselves between the arm of the couch and me to try to hide. They got used to it after a while.

Answer 2

I'm sure they can be! I would try a comple different things b/c not all are alike as far as calming them. If "YOU" are afraid of the storm, your bunny will pick up on it and cause it more fear. If you are not, I'd recommend holding it close to you. If it enjoys being wrapped in a towel, I'd do so. If it doesn't appear to be scared, I would leave it alone. Animals have a "built in radar" (for lack of better words!) for storms, etc.. ALL animals have the 6th sense which helps them in threatening situations. I've had MANY types of pets, but never a bunny...which I have wanted for years! My experience with rabbits have all been with rescue of wild ones. I know that they are VERY fragile and go into shock very easily. When doing a rescue with wild rabbits you must keep them in box in a dark room with little or no noise. But I don't know if this applies to domesticated rabbits. So if your bunny appears to just want to be left alone, I would cover it's cage and keep in a quiet area of your home. I hope this gives you some help! We have been having bad thunderstorms and tornadoes...doesn't bother my 1 dog at all, while it terrifies my cat and one of my other dogs. I just let them find a safe place to hind...unless it's a tornado warning and we have to go to the basement. As I said above, animals will do what they feel is safe. Just a FYI...when a dog is afraid of storms the WORST thing you can do is tell them it's OK and comfort them....This is only reinforcing the behavior and then they believe that being fearful is what you want them to be. Best of luck with the storms! We sure are having A LOT this year!!!

Answer 3

Rabbits often get excited by sudden sounds or sudden movements or by the sudden lack of sound. I recommend keeping a radio on for your rabbits most all of the time. That gets them accustomed to constant sound so when there is a thunderstorm they handle it much better. We used to have a number of rabbits run around the cage and break their spinal chord by running into the side of the cage when a strong thunderstorm would occur from getting too excited. We started playing the radio in our rabbit barns all the time (24 hours a day) from some advice from some other rabbit breeders and our rabbits are now much calmer and we haven't had any break their spinal column from getting too excited in a number of years.

Answer 4

my rabbit has gotten used to thunderstorm due to the fact that i adopted her from a horrible day camp where they mistreated their animals in the nature cabin. she was left outside, in a hutch with a wire floor with 3 other rabbits. but during that time, there were tornado warning storms and she made it through just fine. i think she is used to them for lesser thunderstorms. but to calm them down my assumption would be to wrap her in a towel. it will similate a burrow and cuddle her. most likely in the dark for it would be dark in the burrow where they would retreat

Answer 5

I think, from past experience, btw are you in sydney by any chance? theres heaps of thunder here too,.... ANYWAY i think you can calm them down by keeping them close to the ground, caressing them or giving them a treat, make them warm and cosy in an enclosed area, they indoors yeah? make sure they're dry and away from the outside as much as possible. They should be fine, wild animals usually seek a warm place to hide anyway, so make it as natural as possible. Oh and if they're huddled together you should hold them too because they like company, they're herd animals.

Answer 6

Try to put it in a room with no windows and turn on the radio or a fan to try and drown out the noise.

Answer 7

If you were to puncture the rabbits ear drums with some sort of long sharp needle he would not hear the thunder. Maybe masking tape over the eyes to block out the lightning? I'd use painters tape so as not to rip his fur when you remove it.
Also in some circles it is custom to sacrifice a bunny by ripping out its heart in order to appease the Thunder Gods. I'm sure the thunder gods are angered at you and provoking you to sacrifice your bunny. The thunder gods are wrathful, you should appease them....

Answer 8

hold him/her in your arms and hum a soft tune. rap them in a blanket and hum the soft tune this should make he/she feel comforted.

Answer 9

hold him/she tell them its ok!then wrap them in a blanket but hold her/he tight!!