Please help. Rabbit misses his brother

Hi, thanks for any help you can give to me.

Last monday i lost my 22 month old english rabbit to a undetected heart defect. He was otherwise in very good health and had been running around the garden just hours before he was taken ill. I took him to the vet who couldnt figure out what the problem was (he had all his vacinations, lots of water, vegetables, correct balance of food etc). He just adviced us to keep his fluids up as he may just have a virus. However within 2 hours he had sadly passed.

The problem is that he had spent every hour of every day for the last 22 months with his brother in the same hutch and they got on like a house on fire. They were insepearable. Even a trip to the vets with one of them meant i had to take the other as well. Unfortunately this rabbit was the runt of the litter and is not much bigger than a dwarf rabbit meaning he relied heavily on the protection of his brother-Now he is lost without him.

Although he is not off of his food he constantly bangs his back feet in frustration, spends most of his day hiding in bed and when i let him out he hides under the other rabbits hutches. Whenever i go near him he bites as i think that he assumes i am going to take him away as well.

I have 5 other rabbits but unfortunately he is aggressive towards them and i can not therefore chance him getting to know them and bonding with them more, but he is just so lost without his brother, its Heartbraking.

If anybody has any ideas and can help, thanks very much.

God bless xx

Oh, how terribly sad.

Have you thought about getting a small breed doe (neutered of course!), such a Netherland Dwarf, and bringing her in to bond with him? If he is very small, he may be feeling threatened by buns larger than himself.

I really hope you can find a happy solution for him.

Has he been neutered?
Introduced to other buns at a neutral area?

I don't know quite what to do but if nothing else works perhaps you could put him in a hutch next to the others, possibly so he can see and smell them trhough wire?

I know this is an awful question, but did he see his brothers body? It does sometimes help them to accept a loss if they see the body.

A small breed rabbit may be good for him, if you were prepared to get another bun, have a look round your local rescues and let him chose a partner. You may have to give him some time to grieve before he's ready to accept another bun.

So sorry for your loss...

Nicola

Thanks for all your help.

Yes the little chap is neutered and i also let him sniff his brothers body. He was also with him when he died.

His hutch is next to a hutch with two neutered does in who are 9 months old and he is used to to seeing them about but he can't take to them.

I might see how things go over the next few weeks before i think about possibly taking on a smaller rabbit.

Thanks everyone

In my experience rabbits take about 2 or 3 weeks to get used to major changes in their life - so give him time and he will settle down I'm sure. You could give him a cuddly toy and see if he likes snuggling up to that, so long as you check daily for chewing.

When my rabbit Benny lost his brother he did get very skittish with me as he felt threatened without his 'other half' so I brought him into the house and had him as a house rabbit for a few months and he was fine - maybe you could give that a try?

Try local rescues in your area. They will help you find a suitable companion for him and also will do the bonding for you too.

well poor midnight went through the same kind of thing.
before i resuced her she lived in a stable with her sister, until one day a dog got in and killed her sister, and took midnights ear off.
Midnight is perfectly fine, her ear healed nicely, and only has a few scars on her neck.
But after she was still there she apparently was just like your bun, she became aggressive and subdued. and thats when her owners asked me to take her. But to be honest i more rescued her, the conditions she lived in where awful, and she was very overweight.
It took time but she is now getting over her sister's death; she was still a bit aggressive when she came to me, but i've worked with her and now is the most cuddily well behaved rabbit in the world! she runs after me and likes to sit on my knee in big blanket I have!
She still misses her sister, and now she has been spayed next week we are going to see a bun called Magic to HOPEFULLY pair up with her.
Just don't give up with him. Time is a great healer, just treat him just as you used to and slowly you will see him return to his happier self, but i do advise maybe trying him with a female, it would be better for him to have a freind, but i would leave it about a month before you try to bond, out of respect for his brother, and also so that your bun excepts the loss.
I hope that helps!