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Question, do rabbits grieve for their mates? If so, how long?

Zara

Mama Doe
Hiya lovelies. As you lot know, Firefly passed away yesterday after three years with me, we're all heartbroken but I know the time will come when I have to think about finding another companion for poor little Batbunny. Not to replace Firefly, never, but I know Batbunny won't be happy on his own, even with all the love and attention I give him. Batbunny is a shy bunny who prefers rabbit company over humans, unlike Firefly, who loved being around people :roll:

The thing is, I'm not sure how to tell when Batbunny will be ready for a new mate, I can tell he misses Firefly, he was looking for him earlier and seems quieter then usual, he's been snuggling up to me and the boyfriend but I can tell he wants Firefly back.

I've been giving thought to it too, I've settled on getting a rex rabbit when we're all ready, hopefully I'll be able to find a decent breeder (don't know any!) or, even better actually, find a rex rabbit in a local rescue center to adopt. The only problem is trying to figure out when Batbunny will be ready to move on too, so fellow bunny owners who have loved and lost, how did you know when your rabbit was ready to accept a new partner? Any tips on what to look out for? :S
 
interesting thread, but tbh, i dont know. Our pinky passed away a week ago, who was our first pair of rabbits, and womble even though she argued with her sister ( like sisters do :roll:) was withdrawn for a coupleof days. She ate which made us very happy and so we spoilt her with all her fav treats just to make sure she kept eating. A week later she seems to be getting back to her own self. We also made the decision that we would get her a husbun as soon as posible as she has been with her blood sister since birth and has always had bunny company. Womble has been very affectionate to us and at first i thought I was rushing things, (and myself felt that we were 'replacing' pinky. But i still grieve for pinky and Ive had my other half to help get over it. As we are moving in the next couple of weeks, we have found womble a husbun and have booked them in for a bonding session 2 days before we move. For womble by then it would have been 3 weeks without bunny company which we thought was long enough for her to get back to her own self and enjoy life with her new companion if the bonding session goes well.
 
i know that Alvin was miserable at home but happy as soon as i took him to the rescue 4 days after Pearl died. hes a rabbits rabbit though and she was ill for a very long time before she died, so he may not of needed grieving time. it only took 30 mins for him to see her body then ignore it too.
 
not too sure on the greiving rabbit part, but if you say were about you are I can see what rex breeders are around there :)
 
I was really surprised when Desmond died. We showed Lola his body, she groomed him then hopped off and she showed no signs of grieving at all.

We lost him the beginning of December and got Milo at the end of January.

It seems all rabbits deal with it differently i suppose like us humans do.
 
I haven't been in this situation yet but if it happened to either the piggies or the buns' I'd probably be hoping to re-bond them sooner rather than later tbh as I think the 'distraction' of a new mate would be the best therapy for them. x

When I had a pair of chinchillas and one lost its mate it took me a while to find a new suitable mate and by that time my lone chin' had got used to being on her own and wouldn't bond at all so unfortunately she spent the rest of her life alone.

I would probably be looking for a new mate as soon as I felt emotionally ready to but would be hoping to re-bond a.s.a.p - minimum of a week after I'd say.

It's only my opinion though. Rabbits don't have concsciences like us though - they won't be thinking "It's too soon - I feel I'm being disloyal to my mate - I haven't grieved for long enough - what will people think" - if the bond goes well they will just move on and be happy. It takes us humans much longer to 'move on' emotionally - if we ever really do xx
 
Sorry to all those who have lost a bun :(

It's hard, we give our buns these human like qualities and notice their personalities and their affection. And then when they lose a partner they get over it fairly instantly where we're still grieving.

I remember someone posting that they were angry at the remaining bun, because they were binkying around as if nothing had changed. It must be such a difficult situation, and one I'm really not looking forward to.

I would agree that it's better to start looking for a mate sooner rather than later, but you have to do what's right for you as well as the remaining bun.
 
It is going to vary from rabbit to rabbit. I think sooner rather than later is a good general rule. It may depend partly on how close and long the bonded rabbits were. I know I got it wrong once with an older bunny and a bond may have failed as he wasn't ready for a new partner (he was still under eating and over quiet). Maybe a matter of reading the signs - if the bunny seems normal then probably he/she is.
 
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