Rabbits make wonderful pets, and as with other pets, they bring a sense of joy and companionship to a person and family. As a rabbit lives with you throughout their life, they will be exposed to things you like to do, such as listening to music. Many rabbit owners have wondered do rabbits like music?
This article will explore whether rabbits like music, the type of music rabbits prefer and how to tell if you rabbit is bothered by music.
So, Do Rabbits Like Music?
Rabbits can enjoy listening to music that is of an acceptable volume. Loud music is not only frightening to rabbits but it can damage their sensitive eardrums. The most distinctive feature of a rabbit is its ears. Rabbits’ ears can detect sounds up to two miles away and each ear can respond independently to noises.
How much a rabbit likes music depends largely on its upbringing. If you adopted your rabbit from a breeder or pet store, it has likely been surrounded by noise all its life. These rabbits will not mind and may even enjoy music.
If you gained ownership of a rabbit that was raised in the wild or was more isolated from birth, it might not like to hear your tunes since they are not used to having a lot of noise around them.
What Type of Music is Best for Rabbits?
There isn’t much research to suggest which genre of music rabbits enjoy the most. By and large, rabbits do not enjoy loud, sudden noises. These noises trigger their brains to believe that they are in immediate danger and their bodies will react accordingly.
Many people have found that their rabbits enjoy classical music. Classical music is often thought of as the most soothing genre possible. There is research to suggest that classical music has a calming effect on many animal groups.
Due to these calming effects, it is thought that classical music is the best genre of music to play around your rabbit. However, rabbits are associative creatures. If they have a negative experience while hearing classical music, they will feel those negative emotions the next time they hear the same song.
Similarly, if you react negatively or become upset while listening to classical music, your rabbit will notice. This will create a negative connotation in the rabbit’s mind and they will associate that song with their owner feeling glum. That being said, rabbits will often enjoy whatever music their owners enjoy as long as it has a steady beat and no sharp noises.
What Type of Music will Rabbits Not Like?
The one genre of music that is least appealing for rabbits is rock. There can be exceptions to this and there are stories of bunnies that adore the Rolling Stones. However, heavy metal in particular is often chaotic in nature with screeching vocals and loud, crashing drums. These sudden and intense noises will be frightening to most rabbits.
If you are a huge fan of rock and don’t listen to other types of music, it is probably best to not play this type of music for your pet. Especially, not at a loud volume. If you find your pet doesn’t like rock or heavy metal it is better to listen to that music away from your rabbit or with headphones.
Does Music Calm Rabbits?
Low volume, steady beat music can be soothing to rabbits. This is especially true for rabbits who are prone to separation anxiety or are just lonely in general.
As you play certain calming music around a rabbit more often, they will become accustomed to that noise and will begin deriving comfort from it. Play your favorite song on repeat while you pet your rabbit or feed it treats so it can associate these noises with happiness.
How to Tell if your Rabbit is Bothered by Music
Your rabbit’s body language will tell you a lot about whether it enjoys your selection of music. Firstly, if music is blasted suddenly, you rabbit may run away. They could take off sprinting, or they may find the nearest shelter and hide.
If your rabbit doesn’t run away but tenses up and/or lowers its body to the ground, it’s time to cut the music off. Your rabbit is feeling scared. Rabbits may thump their powerful back feet if they are displeased with your song selection.
If you want to expose your rabbit to music, choose a soothing genre such as talk radio or classical to start. Keep the volume low and assist your rabbit in associating these sounds with happiness. Never play music loudly or suddenly unless you want a stressed-out rabbit.
Conclusion
Rabbits can like music of a certain type that isn’t played too loudly. Soft, soothing, calming music like classical usually does well with rabbits. Avoid loud music with sharp inflections like heavy metal because rabbits have sensitive hearing.
If you listen to music regularly, you will probably find that your rabbit grows to enjoy the same music you play when you are spending time with them because it gives them a sense of comfort.