Bonding after death of companion

[Meeko & Coco]

Hi all! I am having a bit of a dilema. My bun Meeko (m) lost his friend Coco (m) yesterday afternoon. Coco died while undergoing a oral procedure. I brought Coco home and did leave him with Meeko for a little bit, but between Meeko seeming uninterested, and my fear of our dog interfering, I was afraid to leave him there for more than half an hour. After reading forums, I am feeling horrible for not giving Meeko more time with Coco.

Meeko has been running around as if he were looking for Coco, and it’s breaking my heart. When Meeko and Coco bonded, Meeko was about 5 months old and Coco was a little over a year old. Meeko has always looked up to Coco, in my opinion, and it is sad to see he no longer has that reassurance and acceptance that Coco gave him.

I don’t know if it would be easier for me to find him a new home (with a companion of course) or adopt another bun into our household. I am almost certain that Meeko needs a companion, as He is not as fond of humans. My main concern and question I have is, If I am to get him another friend, should I get a female this time or should I get another male? Meeko has never been around females, except his mother, since all of his siblings were also boys. I would like them to be around the same age, but I just want to do whatever would be best for my little bun.

[Gina.Jenny]

When Pippi lost his bonded bunfriend, Rusty, we had a very poorly little rescue girl struggling with hypothermia. I tried putting her with Pippi and she snuggled in to him to get warm and feel safer, and he seemed glad not to be alone and that was pretty much them bonded.

Some rescues allow you to take a bun in to see how they react to the buns at the rescue, so it might be worth a phone call to see if this is possible. I would always go for a boy/girl bond over a boy/boy or girl/girl bond, as it is more likely to be successful, but it does come down to personalities too.

[tobyluv]

I’m sorry about the loss of Coco. It can be very difficult to find good homes for bunnies, so it would be wonderful if you could keep Meeko and adopt a companion for him. It is generally thought that male/female bondings are easier. I have bonded 5 pairs of rabbits over the years and they were all male/female combinations. I may have been lucky, but all of my bondings were easy.

[Meeko & Coco]

Thank you so much for the response! I will definitely give that a try after we’ve had some time to grieve over Coco. Once again thanks!

[Author]

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