Bunnies don't make very loud noises (with one exception), because as prey animals, it's been to their advantage to evolve as silent, stealthy creatures. Still, if you live with a bunny long enough, you might hear the following:
1) Grunt: Bunnies will make a very soft grunting noise to let you know that they are very annoyed or about to be very annoyed. For example, my bunnies grunt at me when they see the toenail clippers come out because they hate having their nails clipped!
2) Derisive snort: Some bunnies will also sniff or snort very loudly at you when they are annoyed with you. As an example, my one bunny will snort at me when I try to feed him watercress, which he hates.
3) Tooth purr: When bunnies are very content, for example, when you are snuggling and petting them, they will grind their back teeth together gently. It's a very soft sound; you are more likely to feel a vibration in their jaw then hear a sound, but once in a while, you can hear it very faintly.
4) Tooth grinding: When bunnies are very sick or in a lot of pain, they'll grind their teeth more noisily, such that you can hear it from a few feet away. If you hear this noise, take your bunny to the vet right away!
5) Oinking: Bunnies who are trying to woo a mate (which may be you, if they don't have a bunny friend), may make a sound that sounds a bit like a pig oink. It's different from the displeased grunt. The displeased grunt comes from deep in the throat, where the oink is more nasal. Even bunnies that are spayed or neutered (which any pet bunny should be, by the way), can make the oinking noise, but not all bunnies do it. You'll usually hear it if the bunny is dancing figure-eights around another bunny (or your feet), which is their sort of "mating dance."
7) Scream: As others have noted, a bunny who is in mortal terror will scream a loud, high-pitched scream that sounds like a human child screaming. This scream will chill you to your bones. Hopefully, you'll never hear that, but if you do, go running to your bunny right away because something is very, very wrong!
Thumping: As others have noted, bunnies will sometimes thump their back foot loudly (like Thumper in "Bambi.") Thumping can mean one of two things: 1) It can be a warning to other bunnies that something isn't right, like "stay in your hole, I smell a predator near by," or 2) It can be a warning that the bunny is impatient or pissed off about something. In my experience, bunnies will often thump at you if you are about to pick them up and they don't want to be, or if you are in their way and they want you to move.
9) Other assorted non-verbal noises: Bunnies are very bright and if you live with one long enough, it will figure out that people respond more to noises than other bunnies do, and it will devise ways to use noise to get what it wants. My bunnies usually have some type of jingly toy in their cage at any given time. When the bunnies hear my alarm go off in the morning, and hear me start getting dressed and moving around, they start jingling their whatever sort of toy they have with a bell, just to be sure I know it's bunny breakfast time. And when I get home, if I don't immediately go to open the cage to let him out, my one bunny, Nibbles will start biting the bars of his cage to get my attention
1) Grunt: Bunnies will make a very soft grunting noise to let you know that they are very annoyed or about to be very annoyed. For example, my bunnies grunt at me when they see the toenail clippers come out because they hate having their nails clipped!
2) Derisive snort: Some bunnies will also sniff or snort very loudly at you when they are annoyed with you. As an example, my one bunny will snort at me when I try to feed him watercress, which he hates.
3) Tooth purr: When bunnies are very content, for example, when you are snuggling and petting them, they will grind their back teeth together gently. It's a very soft sound; you are more likely to feel a vibration in their jaw then hear a sound, but once in a while, you can hear it very faintly.
4) Tooth grinding: When bunnies are very sick or in a lot of pain, they'll grind their teeth more noisily, such that you can hear it from a few feet away. If you hear this noise, take your bunny to the vet right away!
5) Oinking: Bunnies who are trying to woo a mate (which may be you, if they don't have a bunny friend), may make a sound that sounds a bit like a pig oink. It's different from the displeased grunt. The displeased grunt comes from deep in the throat, where the oink is more nasal. Even bunnies that are spayed or neutered (which any pet bunny should be, by the way), can make the oinking noise, but not all bunnies do it. You'll usually hear it if the bunny is dancing figure-eights around another bunny (or your feet), which is their sort of "mating dance."
7) Scream: As others have noted, a bunny who is in mortal terror will scream a loud, high-pitched scream that sounds like a human child screaming. This scream will chill you to your bones. Hopefully, you'll never hear that, but if you do, go running to your bunny right away because something is very, very wrong!
Thumping: As others have noted, bunnies will sometimes thump their back foot loudly (like Thumper in "Bambi.") Thumping can mean one of two things: 1) It can be a warning to other bunnies that something isn't right, like "stay in your hole, I smell a predator near by," or 2) It can be a warning that the bunny is impatient or pissed off about something. In my experience, bunnies will often thump at you if you are about to pick them up and they don't want to be, or if you are in their way and they want you to move.9) Other assorted non-verbal noises: Bunnies are very bright and if you live with one long enough, it will figure out that people respond more to noises than other bunnies do, and it will devise ways to use noise to get what it wants. My bunnies usually have some type of jingly toy in their cage at any given time. When the bunnies hear my alarm go off in the morning, and hear me start getting dressed and moving around, they start jingling their whatever sort of toy they have with a bell, just to be sure I know it's bunny breakfast time. And when I get home, if I don't immediately go to open the cage to let him out, my one bunny, Nibbles will start biting the bars of his cage to get my attention
