Grief in rabbits

As probably alot of you know, I lost my bunny Piper All sorts of terrible stuff flashed through my head when i got home, and even for a moment thought about just rehoming - but i realized Phoebe and Holli, Pipers husbun and daughter need me
Phoebe isnt quite himself - although hes got his normal functions (Eating,pooping,drinking,weeing) Hes very quiet and un-phoebeish! Hes so quiet and prefers to be left to lie down in his cage, and hes stopped playing with his toys aswell
Ive been giving them both, extra attention and giving them plenty of things to keep there little minds and teefs busy - Holli seems fine and is her usal cowbag self
I read that if you can, to bring the rabbits body home for the cage mates to groom and sniff so they understand the cage mate has died and wont come back, instead of them "waiting" but i was so distressed that i couldnt of brung her body home
Anyone got any advice/tips on how to help a grieving rabbit?

sorry to hear about Piper,Poor Phoebe I dont know if your buns are indoors or out.When Fluffy died I brought Daisy indoors in the evenings as I was really worried.They were a real love at first sight couple and we feared that if something happened to one the other wouldnt last long.I suppose I went into attention overload-which Daisy loved by the way.A month later we got Loppy as a husbun,however I had to send them for bonding [my daughter reckoned Daisy had bonded to me and wouldnt tolerate Loppy especially if I fussed him.]Two months later all is well and Daisy is once more snuggled up with a husbun.Big hugs and noserubs for Phoebe xx

are the remaining 2 together? this may well help as they do have each other for support. for me when i had a grieving rabbit in a week she lost so much weight and was refusing food keep tempting them with treats and fuss them.. dora wanted nothing to do with me ie no touching but would come sit near me for company. i brought her inside for extra attention and a week later took the difficult decision to rebond her after that she hasnt looked back as i said itr is different in a group situation. i think just keep their spirits up xx

Its really sad to see
Phoebe and Holli are both indoor rabbits and have lived with people all thier lives (piper is Hollis mam)
They live in a cage but have free roam pretty much most of the day but Phoebes been choosing to just sit in his cage and is taking his food from the bowl to the corner where he sits to "pick" at it
I couldnt cope if i lost phoebe 2

Phoebesmummy9 said:

Its really sad to see
Phoebe and Holli are both indoor rabbits and have lived with people all thier lives (piper is Hollis mam)
They live in a cage but have free roam pretty much most of the day but Phoebes been choosing to just sit in his cage and is taking his food from the bowl to the corner where he sits to "pick" at it
I couldnt cope if i lost phoebe 2

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try tetmpting him with fresh herbs etc..to get his appitite back on track and make a big thing out of meal times with them both joinign in xx

its a tricky process and every bun is different.
when bif lost her husbun oscar she laid down to die....day 4 bertie arrived on loan but i adopted him in the end as he helped her right away..she loved the wash tnen began bullying him...it made her come back to life and eat etc. they bonded a month or so later.
its a long story but at one point we had 4 buns and it ended up 2 big buns bonded..willow and her hubby bertie....and 2 little buns..bif and her hubby bandit.
willow died in frontof bertie and the other two heard and saw it...no wanting to be near the body there bertie was grief stricken and i had alot of problems nearly lost him too. then bandit died just over a week ago and bif was heartbroken..she went to the vets with him and he was dying..he was pts whilst she was in my arms and then we placed her alongside the body but she already knew hed been dying and she nosed him kissed him and jumped into my arms and hid in my coat..she knew. so i left his body there.

when we got home bif was so heartbroken.its been tricky but she laso had some small but pestering molar spurs so between the two its been hard for her.
like bertie when he lost wilow she slept up agaisnt the divide to get some comfort form being near another bun who she knew. when bertie had to go to the vets so did bif so i chanced my arm and put them in the same carrier and they snuggled..didnt want to let go when they got out so they had hours together...each time a vet rechecks had to be done in last week theyve gone together and stayed out together....berties got an eye check up mon and she will be going with bertie again. theyve rebonded togehter through grief

all you can do is let them grieve..pay them as much extra attention as they can handle but also try and keep routines same as ever..if youre crying dont go near the grief stricken bun until youve finished a good cry etc...they feel what you feel on top of their grief...
feed extra treats....also invest in a tube of protexin fibreplex..buy online or from good vets..its full of fibre and probiotics to help guts move..as they cut down on food or stop eating then you must see the vet and if its only cut down then the fibreplex will help their tums. the vet can give an appetite encouraging injection.
let the bun do its own thing you cant force it but youd be surprised at how needy of a cuddle hug or noserub even the most aloof bunny will accept and enjoy at this time!
we are lucky we have two daft cats who felt the losses too and gave the remaining buns cuddles even slep with them...company and washes by another species is just as comforting.

so sorry....its an awful situation losing your bunny and an even sadder one watching a grieving bunny. xx

Sorry to hear about your bunny. We had two housebunnies, very closely bonded - the first died a month ago (unfortunately PTS but she'd fought for 7years against many illnesses and done superbly), and the second went less than a week later He was eating, pooing, running around etc, but on the Sunday we noticed he wasn't himself, and didn't want to know me - I took him to the vets first thing Monday (at that point, he was unhappy being interacted with, but still running at full speed back to hutch afterwards etc), they kept him in, and that evening, only hours later, he was unable to stand, just completely floppy, and he died in the night. We couldn't believe it, as I saw him eating Sunday morning, and Saturday he was grooming me as I gave him a comb.
He'd never had a problem in the 5 years he was with us (previously he was a show rabbit from a breeder/rescue) and we were certain it was grief.
We never read about showing the body to him until it was too late, and wished we had done this or the vet had suggested it - if it's still possible, maybe you could take the other bun to the vet and have them do it in a side room, so you don't see?
Hopefully having two buns will help them get through it. Hope they get through it ok.

Floss died at the vets and I didn't bring her body back. We brought Bournville indoors and he seemed not too bad for a day or two but them he just seemed a bit "flat". I knew he was missing the companionship, but I just didn't want to have a fourth rabbit so decided to risk trying to bond him with Tim and Fliss. It was a very easy bond and within a day or two they were a happy trio living together in Bournville and Fliss's hutch.Is there any way he could join your current duo?