Why Do Rabbits Binky? Curious Behavior Explained

Rabbits are mostly silent. They don’t talk, meow, or bark in order to communicate with us humans or other animals. Instead, these charming little animals have a set of expressive body languages that uniquely and collectively send across different messages to their fellow rabbits and sometimes to us. One thing that you might see a rabbit do is a seemingly random leap into the air, this energetic movement is known as a ‘binky’. So what is a binky and why do rabbits do it?

A Rabbit binky is an expression of happiness that usually occurs while rabbits are at play or exploring their environment. A binky is a spontaneous leap into the air and is sometimes combined with a twist of the body and/or a kick with the legs.

Despite their fairly limited use of sound, rabbits communicate through body language and gestures. Some are easy to read (the binky) while others are more difficult to spot.

Understanding, some basic rabbit body language can help us to identify when something is bothering or stressful to our rabbits (for example my own rabbit will sometimes stamp his feet when a cat walks by the nearby window) it can also assist in the identification of medical issues which if left untreated may be fatal.

On the other hand, a rabbits body language can also give us a clear indication that they are happy. A binky is a prime example and shows us our rabbit is happy and healthy.

What does a binky mean?

Rabbit’s binky as a sign of extreme happiness and joy. A binky is an indication that the rabbit is enjoying itself and feels safe and comfortable in its surroundings.

A binky also shows that you are keeping the rabbit enriched both physically and mentally.

For this reason, binkies can be notoriously difficult to photograph.

What does a binky look like?

During a binky, a rabbit will leap into the air while simultaneously twisting its body and kicking out with its hind legs. Rabbits, usually binky when running at speed however they can also do it from a ‘still’ position.

A rabbit doesn’t always judge the landing of a binky particularly well (or look where it’s going!) so its normal to see them almost crash into furniture or land in positions which might leave you a little concerned for their safety.

You’ll definitely know a rabbit binky when you see one, it’s very entertaining and will likely have you running to alert your partner or family members to come out and see this joyous display. Of course, your rabbit will usually become very shy when you are not the only one watching.

Do rabbits only binky when they are happy?

In most cases, a rabbit needs to be happy or excited to perform a binky and every other reason for this action is closely related to this fact.

While we can’t get inside a rabbits head and say for sure, I’ve personally never seen a binky performed by an unhappy rabbit. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a rabbit needs a friend of its own species, rabbits can also be very happy with human companions.

Health and binkies

Good health is another key factor in rabbit binkies and the right food will definitely help add a binky into your rabbits step. Binkies are very energetic so it figures that a healthy rabbit supplied with all the right nutrients will be more likely to want to burn off some of this excess energy with binkying.

The only precaution here is to avoid giving too many sugary treats, an overweight or unhealthy bunny is likely to feel more like lying around than doing anything energetic. Treats should always be natural, think small pieces of fruit rather than yoghurt or chocolate drops.

Occasional treats, the right amount of hay, enough fresh drinking water, and a decent amount of green vegetables will ensure a rabbit is in great health. Remember that rabbits graze all the time in the wild and likewise so should our domesticated varieties in fact they should be eating a ball of hay equivalent to their own size each and every day.

If you’re still unsure what to feed your rabbit for maximum health, you can read our detailed rabbit feeding guide here.

Why won’t my rabbit binky?

If you haven’t seen a binky yet, don’t despair. Here are some possible reasons:

1. You aren’t around to see them

Maybe your rabbit binkies a lot? Rabbits are most active at dawn and dusk so perhaps you are just missing out on the most active part of your rabbits day?

Try and adjust your schedule to accommodate your rabbit’s, stay up late (or alternatively get up early and enjoy some early morning playtime (who needs sleep anyway?!)

2. It hasn’t settled in enough

When you acquired your rabbit could have an effect. If its not used to the surroundings then it is probably too soon to expect to see a binky. Keep treating it with kindness and once it settles in you’ll likely catch sight of a binky or two.

3. The rabbit is old

Sadly, rabbits never live as long as we’d like them too and their energy doesn’t last forever. Although house rabbits can live for over 10 years, most of them are of equivalent age to our human pensioners after their 6th birthday.

Just as you probably wouldn’t expect to see your grandma pole-vaulting, binkying may be too tall an order for an elderly rabbit.

4. The floors too slippery/it’s nails are too long

Rabbits never look completely comfortable on slippery ground. They will hardly run on them, let alone binky. A rabbit is much more likely to binky on soft carpeted areas or grass so take them outside to increase the likelihood of seeing one.

Hard surfaces will also hurt the animals feet if their nails are too long. Rabbit nails grow quickly and need trimming every 8 weeks or so. Listen out for the tip-tapping of rabbit paws on your wooden floors and if it seems particularly noisy it may indicate the need to trim the nails.

5. It doesn’t want to right now

Rabbits have different personalities and while some are outgoing and boisterous others are shy and quiet. Those that are generally quiet may not binky regardless of how happy they get.

While everyone likes to see a rabbit binky if your own pet doesn’t seem to want to, don’t hold it against it. YouTube has plenty of entertaining clips of rabbit’s binkying for you to enjoy!

6. It has been mistreated

Did you adopt or rescue your rabbit? If yes, you probably don’t really know much about its past life. If your rabbit isn’t binkying, there is a chance that it may have previously been mistreated.

Perhaps the rabbits first owners had young children who knowingly or unknowingly tortured the rabbit mentally or physically.

If this is the case your adopted rabbit will be relying on you to restore its trust in humans. Treat the rabbit with kindness and love and over time it may start to display happiness.

7. It doesn’t trust you

Rabbits are shy animals that can feel vulnerable around those they do not trust.

However, they do enjoy the company of (kind) humans so building a good relationship with your pet will increase its overall happiness and mental well-being and make it more likely to binky.

How to make a rabbit binky

Variety is the spice of life and your rabbit has a very inquisitive nature. If there is a part of your home that your bunny has always wanted to visit but for whatever reason, you deny him access, unleashing him into the area for a few hours can excite him enough to binky.

New and exciting places aid the rabbit’s mental health and experience happiness in its rawest form.

Space and safety for binkies

Wild rabbits enjoy huge wide-open spaces in which to run and binky. Generally, domesticated pet rabbits do not have the luxury of a huge football field-sized area to run around in but they still love tasting the freedom that their wild relatives likely take for granted!

With domestic bunnies, it’s up to you to provide them with a large enough area to exercise.

An exercise area for a domestic rabbit should be at a minimum of at least 32 square feet (in other words a run of 8ft X 4ft) however this is a bare minimum so don’t feel you should limit a rabbit to this size if you have more space available.

Also, a rabbit will often stand upright on its hind legs, this is used for spotting predators (this is a normal rabbit behavior known as telegraphing). Binkying rabbits may also reach a couple of feet in height so ensure headroom in any run is at least 3 feet.

Setting a run on a grassed area is also good practice as it allows the rabbit to indulge in the natural habit of grazing and will also give a nice soft landing from all those playful binkies.

Another consideration when setting up an outdoor exercise space for a rabbit is safety. Rabbits have lots of natural enemies and acute eyesight meaning they will likely feel on edge at the sight of a bird overhead or an unfamiliar cat approaching.

Ensuring the rabbit is in a safe, secure environment where there is no danger will help in making it feel happy, comfortable, and more likely to binky.

How to photograph a binky

Photographing a binky can be difficult however modern technology and the invention of the smartphones have made it more possible to capture a rabbit mid-flight!

Investing in a small stand or smartphone holder which can be positioned where the rabbit likes to play (and providing you have enough battery) you may be lucky enough to capture a cute binky on film!

If you would like a photograph of a rabbit binky the best way is to utilise the snapshot function on your smartphone and follow these steps:

We’ve used an iPhone in this example.

1. First ‘stalk’ your rabbit while it plays, alternatively, you could set up a camera stand or selfie stick using your phone. Try not to make it nervous by getting too close, use the recording function on the smartphone camera to capture video footage.

2. Be patient, there’s no telling exactly when or even if a rabbit may binky.

3. If you’re lucky enough to capture this spontaneous movement, great! If not you’ll need to try again another day.

4. Open the captured video and press play then pause. While still keeping the screen paused use the slider at the bottom to review the footage until you find the moment your pet binkied! Once you have the shot you want (and keeping the video paused) tap on the screen to ‘disappear’ the video slider and the on-screen ‘play’ button.

5. Use the screenshot feature on your phone (Home + Power on iPhone) to capture the perfect ‘flying’ bunny snap.

6. Share with all your rabbit loving friends!

Good Luck!