Jacks sister died, Bonding again?

[sophie]

Jacks sister Mimi sadly passed yesterday evening at just 2 years of age.  It was very sudden, she went from being fine the day before to extremely unwell, we took her to the vets immediately and they suspected it could be GI stasis, so treated her for that, however, with the timing it could have been from the fireworks.  Later that evening she deteriorated very quickly so we took her back to the vets and she died 1/2 hour later.  We’re completely devastated and our daughter hasn’t stopped crying.  We didn’t realise that jack would need to see the body and opted for cremation, he seems to be doing ok but we’re worried he’ll get lonely.   

My husband phoned the original breeder to see if she had any of the siblings from the same litter.  She didn’t have any siblings but she said we can have the mother as her bonded male (their father) recently passed from the fireworks.  we’re not sure what to do for the best as it’s just so heartbreaking for all of us when they die but it seems like a nice idea to have two lonely bunnies back together. 

With it being the mother do you think they will quickly bond and have similar scents? or should they be slowly introduced?    

[Asriel and Bombur]

Like all bunnies they’ll need to go through the proper bonding process. It really comes down to their personalities if it’s a quick bond. Odds are they don’t have similar scents. So let her settle in for 1 month without doing any introductions of any kind. Then you can prebond for another month and monitor for aggressive reactions from them. Then you can start short sessions in neutral territory.

She’s coming from a breeder, so I want to check. Is she spayed? If not you’ll need to wait to bond them until she’s spayed.

[DanaNM]

So sorry for your loss

I agree that it’s hard to know whether it will be quick or not, as it depends on personality. Buns don’t recognize familial relationships, especially once they’ve been apart for a while. But, it does seem that buns that have been bonded before communicate with other bunnies more easily.

Buns who have experienced a loss do sometimes re-bond more easily, but it’s hard to say. Sometimes it seems to take longer, as they are not ready to accept a new companion.

Is the mom from the breeder spayed? If you are looking for a bun to bond more quickly with Jack, you might look into a rescue that has already spayed/neutered buns, and see if you can bring Jack in to meet them and test for compatibility.

Keep a close eye on Jack, as sometimes depressed buns can go into stasis themselves. Even if not ready to rebond, he might find comfort in having another bunny as a neighbor.

I also think you should be sure that your set-up prevents this from happening again before you bring home another bunny. Where the buns so affected by the fireworks because they were outside? if so, you should make plans to bring them inside permanently, or at least on Nov 5 when you know there will be lots of fireworks.

Again, so sorry for your loss. Give Jack some extra snuggles and nose rubs.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[sophie]

Thanks for the replies, 

she has been spayed.  They are indoor rabbits, however it can be quite loud when fireworks are going off outside as all the houses are close together. I think in future we’ll be playing soothing music on the radio so they can’t hear it.  Mimi was the timid bunny of the pair.  Jack is more dominant but he’s also really chilled out and sweet, I couldn’t imagine any sort of aggression from him.  I just got one of my daughters rabbit teddies for him, it seems to give him some comfort as he’s been licking and lying with it.  I’ll definitely take it slow though with the bonding.   

[DanaNM]

Poor babies Must be so stressful for dogs too.

Again so sorry for your loss, hopefully things go smoothly with the new bun. A stuffy/teddy can definitely help a grieving bun, it helped my Bertha when her mate passed. Do keep an eye that he doesn’t start chewing it (then you’ll only be able to give supervised time with it).

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sadly, Sophie’s bunny Jack also passed away. To avoid new replies here which might upset her during this difficult time. I’m going to lock this thread.

You can leave your condolences on her other post:

ttps://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab…fault.aspx

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