"Digging" while being handled

[momofonly]

I like to spend some time every day sitting with my angora rabbit, looking for mats, and taking pieces of hay and grass out of her fur. A lot of times when I have her on a towel in my lap, she'll start "digging" in the towel. She also likes to chew on the zipper of my jacket. She's about three months old and has been handled by people a lot.

Any idea why she does this? I had other rabbits several years ago and I don't recall them ever doing that.

 

[Beekissed]

I've seen them do this on our carpeting...like they are making a nest. I don't know why they do this.

 

[dbunni]

Very common in Angoras ... she is looking to play. Your zipper is a toy, the blanket is a place to dig through. Time to play. Put her on the floor and have fun. We use big cat balls (the ones with bells) and push them around. Amazing how many Angoras will play soccer with you. Have fun ...

 

[Bossroo]

A fond memory... When I was a mere lad, we had an injured very young wild jackrabbit (Named him Jack, what else?)come to our front door. We nursed him back to health and he lived loose in our fenced in backyard . Then about 4 months later my baby brother , age 4, and his friend started to kick a soccer ball around our backyard. That triggered that jackrabbit to run after that soccer ball,run after it then pass it then kick out with both hind legs, then run after it and kick it again. The 2 boys and that jack rabbit would play that way for a long time at a streatch. We all played soccer with him all the time. About a year later he just disapeared out of our fenced in back yard.

 

[TheSheepGirl]

My first rabbit always did this. It is a way for them to play. It is also a bad habit that they pick up. Some of my rabbbits would chew holes in my shirts or dig in the carpet square during showmanship.

She is still a baby and many babies become impatient when they are handled for long periods of time. When they loose patients with you they dig to tell you they are irritated.

Generally you should only handle a rabbit for about twenty minutes and no more than that.

 

[dbunni]

"Generally you should only handle a rabbit for about twenty minutes and no more than that."

This is true in many breeds, but let us remember that Angoras were bred to be handled. They were originally set in the lap and spun directly from, back hundreds of years ago when hand spun was the only way to start the material making process. Today angoras still carry that tradition on. Many people, myself included, pluck and spin from the animal. Most of my animals will sit in your lap for hours being worked with ... and at shows they like to sleep on the grooming table on their rug! Showing off that great coat and watching the world go by.

This young animal will get past the "antsy" stage and, with patience, turn into a wonderful friend. Just teenage time!

 

[a7736100]

I don't have Angoras but I used to play with baby rabbits in bed. Seems that many of them would pee or poop after digging. Now I play with them outdoors.

 

[momofonly]

She seems to like sitting on my lap at night. Tonight she was being very calm, then kind of flopped over on her side a little. She was so relaxed, I felt kind of bad putting her back in her hutch.

I give her greens when I have her sit in my lap. I want it to be a good experience for her to be handled. And I always put a towel on my lap to protect from any possible "accidents", although she's never had one yet.

She does seem to really like people. I can see why people say angoras have nice temperments.