Bonding a rabbit who just lost a companion

[BeAn_PiPpA]

For the past 2 years I have had 2 rabbits (a female lop and a male mutt) who have been bonded ever since they’ve known each other. Yesterday, our lop unfortunately passed away. I have been doing a lot of research on how to tend to a grieving rabbit and some sites say that getting another companion sooner rather than later is more beneficial, while some say they need time. Has anyone dealt with this before? If so, what worked best for you and your bun?

Additionally, we are thinking about getting him another rabbit friend at some point, but I’m unsure. I’m worried he won’t bond to another rabbit because he was so attached to Pippa and never got closure when she passed. We definitely want another female because we had such great success bonding them before (yes they were both fixed), but I don’t know if adopting a young rabbit or an adult would make a difference or if the age would help anything. Any help is much appreciated! I’ve never done this before and I just want whats best for my fur babies.

[Sirius&Luna]

Hi!

I’m sorry for the loss of your bunny.

It really depends on how your male is coping with her loss. Some bunnies take it very badly, and stop eating – in which case, they may need a new friend immediately to help with their grief. Others seem fine. When my male bunny died, his bonded partner honestly didn’t seem to notice. However, in the following month, I noticed she became much more needy with me, and would follow me around a lot more, so I started looking for a friend for her.

Generally, if a rabbit has been bonded before, they are easier to bond again. While I’m sure he had a lovely bond with Pippa, he won’t reject all other rabbits because they’re not her – rabbits don’t work like that. Of course, you’ll still have to go through a bonding process, but having a good bond before doesn’t mean they won’t ever bond again.

If you adopt a young rabbit, you’ll need to wait until shes spayed before bonding, so it’s best to adopt a slightly older rabbit that is already spayed, or that you can spay immediately. If possible, you could take him to a shelter and have a series of ‘bunny dates’ to judge who he gets on with best.

I suggest reading the Bonding section in BUNNY INFO to get an idea of the bonding process, since it sounds like you didn’t bond the previous pair yourself

[Author]

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