• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Bunnies dying of a broken heart...

A

Aurie

Young Bun
Does anyone else feel this happens with their bonded pairs?

My first in love pair, one died and less than 6 months later after being very depressed despite having a new friend and having a bladder problem, my other bun dies.

Another of my pairs, one dies and the other who had EC, gets worse, obviously due to the stress of her friend dying...but after having EC for about 3 years, in just 2 months of her friend dying, again despite having a new friend, she had to be put to sleep as it got so bad and her back legs gave up completely...


It's almost 100% coincidental with mine, them being fairly old and having illnesses, but it always feels like my bunnies are dying of a broken heart :( It just makes me even sadder :(
 
oh i'm so sorry - I have no experience of this (yet) as I only got my pair earlier this year. However, they are totally devoted to each other so i do worry about this sort of thing.
vibes for hoping you feel better soon :love:
 
I've never really observed any of my bunnies grieving as such when they lose a partner. I always make the point of bonding as soon as possible when they do. So far it has worked for me.

Helen xx
 
My personal opinion is that if they died quickly, one after the other, then it could easily be a 'broken heart'.

It might be that the loss of a partner affected the immune system which made the rabbit vulnerable to more and further problems.

They wouldn't grieve for one specific rabbit for all that time, but they might grieve for company if they didn't have company. It sounds like yours did, which would have been important to them.

I did come across a rabbit recently who had lost her partner 10 days previously and I really believe she had given up and was at deaths door due to being alone. Thankfully, by the time she left me she had a boyfriend and had found her bounce (although she is now ill, which may possibly be related?).

So, whilst possibly being linked, I'm unsure if your sad losses could be this closely linked.
 
I am so sorry this has happened to you and yea we have had it happen, it's really distressing to watch, we always try to bond the bunny again in time, they can grieve for their lost partner for a long time and not want to acccept a new partner and that's when it's really distressing, I believe that grief has the same effect on animals as it does on humans
 
Last edited:
H Maughan said:
I've never really observed any of my bunnies grieving as such when they lose a partner. I always make the point of bonding as soon as possible when they do. So far it has worked for me.

Helen xx
Click to expand...

We always rebond them but the ones that were in love are just never the same again... :(
 
Alvin was showing very real signs of stasis two days after pearl died so i sent him straight for bonding. i cannot risk losing my boy to a broken heart :(
 
I know exactly how you feel!
Ive had many pairs but one special pair "Poppy and Sonny" were so so loved up and I dreaded the day when anything should happened to one of them... Sonny was first to pass away.. and Poppy really grieved for him... We got another rescue bun from bunny burrows (Sammy..whos still with us)hoping he would take her mind of her loss... he didnt.. she didnt hate him but would not accept him as a new partner.. she passed away about 6 months later and I swear she was broken hearted .. in her eyes no one could take the place of her beloved Sonny!
It was so so sad.. but they are now together again at the bridge
 
:( I guess this is the reason I like trios. I've never come across deep grief like this, even with Roger who just sat and waited. So sad for these bunnies.
 
Aurie said:
We always rebond them but the ones that were in love are just never the same again... :(
Click to expand...

I totally agree - I have rebonded Dudley and while he is fine, he does not love Mavis like he loved Santa. I really do honestly believe that he lost his soul mate when Santa died. He has never been the same since and I do worry about him now, which I never have done before. It's really heartbreaking :(
 
Yes, I have known this happen twice. Post mortems have revealed absolutely nothing and the partnering bunny has died the following day. Some bunnies are just absolutely inseperable and have such a strong bond. I have 2 nethies that are joined at the hip and I am always debating whether to add another one or whether to leave them as they are as their love is so strong I'm not sure they'd accept another bunny. :? I have just bonded a 4 for someone and the 2 pairs are very much still in their bonded pairs but sometimes hang around in a foursome but it is easy to see the 2 pairs within the whole group.
 
If Rosie gets sick and has to go to the vets then Leo gets poorly too. I try to keep them together at all times. This week Rosie had to stay in the vets all day and Leo was home alone and he stopped eating. Fortunately both are ok again now.
 
Ive witnessed this with Guinea pigs all my guinea pigs when one has died the other has followed days later :(

with the rabbits though Misty is the first rabbit ive had whos ever taken being alone to heart, he goes very depressed and lonely, when Crystal died i kept bringing him in the house and he'd just sit in the corner looking very sad and wouldnt move, he was pretty much the same in the hutch aswell it was almost as if he'd given up on life, if that makes sense, he seemed to get over it rather quickley when i brought Princess home he binkyed like mad up my living room and stuck by her side solid for the next 24hours :love: hes now back to his cheeky little self. :love:
 
We've just lost our beautiful boy bunny today so sad :-( please can someone give me advice about his mate left behind. Should I try and bond her quickly with another male or leave her to grieve first for a week or two. We have a single male bunny as well which we could try and bond with her soon I just want to do the right thing for the one left behind.
 
I'm sorry for your loss,,,,,

My wee Smudge died a fortnight ago and Willow is away being bonded just now but its proving difficult..

Perhaps she is just missing Smudge who knows,,, she adored him.....:cry:
 
I would just see how she is initially. You don't have to rush anything. You will know from her behaviour whether she wants another friend straight away or not.
I'm sorry you lost your boy.
 
It's best to go with your gut feeling really as they are all a bit different. I've only had one who almost died after losing his beloved, apart from that most of the bereaved bunnies have coped well. If you do try to bond her with the other male rabbit, remember to introduce them on entirely neutral territory and keep them there for about a week. Please let us know how she goes on.
 
tonibun said:
It's best to go with your gut feeling really as they are all a bit different. I've only had one who almost died after losing his beloved, apart from that most of the bereaved bunnies have coped well. If you do try to bond her with the other male rabbit, remember to introduce them on entirely neutral territory and keep them there for about a week. Please let us know how she goes on.
Click to expand...

Hi thanks for the reply. I've already put Geoffrey the male I already had next to misty and already misty is choosing to sit as close to him through the bars as she can. I may try tomo in a neutral space I'll see how misty is tomo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

H
Bonding an ec bunny
Replies
3
Views
118
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
S
Should i be concerned?
Replies
4
Views
146
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
J
Advanced EC suspected in elderly rabbit
Replies
2
Views
56
dex179
dex179
Back
Top