Health & Behaviour·5 min read
Binkies, flops, tooth purrs: decoding your rabbit's secret language
Does your rabbit suddenly throw itself onto its side? Thump the ground with a hind foot or softly grind its teeth? Learn to read each of its emotions.
Updated on 8 November 2026
The essentials
- A rabbit that stretches out full length or tips over onto its side (a "flop") is giving you its absolute trust.
- Soft tooth-grinding while you stroke its forehead is the equivalent of purring!
- Any sudden change in appetite or a hunched posture should raise the alarm quickly.
1. The signs of a thoroughly happy rabbit
A discreet animal in the wild, the rabbit expresses itself above all with its ears, its nose and its postures. When it feels perfectly safe in the garden or the living room, its repertoire of joy is irresistible:
- The binky: a vertical leap followed by a twist of the head and hind legs in mid-air — a pure burst of happiness!
- The flop: it drops suddenly onto its side, eyes half-closed. Don't panic, it is simply deeply relaxed.
- Tooth "purring": a soft clicking of the teeth when you stroke the bridge of its nose or the base of its ears.
- Chin marking: it gently rubs the underside of its chin on a toy or your hand to say "this is mine".
2. Curiosity, alert or annoyance: respecting its pace
When an unfamiliar noise occurs (a passing bird, a cracking branch), the rabbit "periscopes" upright on its hind legs or thumps the ground firmly with its powerful back feet to warn the whole tribe.
Never grab a rabbit by surprise from above (it mimics a predator's grip) and never lift it by the ears. Sit down at ground level and let it come and sniff your hand of its own accord!