Bunnies for life?

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I'm sure its been discussed before.

Once you have started owning bunnies are you committed for life? I have 3 pairs and would hate any bun to be alone so if I lost a bun I would find a new partner for them. At the moment I am happy to do this as I adore having buns but what if I decided I didnt want to replace a lost bun, what then? I couldnt have a single bun outside.

I know its a bit of a morbid thing to have to think about but I am curious to know what everyone else thinks.

Personally, I will not be getting more buns. If one of mine died before their time, I would consider what was best for the other so they had more human company etc but I couldn't just keep getting more to match with the other.

I would always bond a new bunny to the single bunny so that they always had pairs. I had this problem when I had rats. i didn't want to leave one on its own, but I also didn't want to keep any more rats. Sadly, in the end, both of the rats were put to sleep at the same time (they were both poorly so it was the right decision for both rats), but I'm "glad" they went that way as I would hate to have a single rat.

If one of my rabbits died, i would bring the remaining one inside until I could get a bunny to bond to her. If I couldn't have any more rabbits, for whatever reason, i would consider keeping the rabbit inside indefinitely, or rehome to someone knowledgable and a loving home to keep her for the rest of her days. At the end of the day, you should always put the rabbit's interests first, so if you can't provide the correct care for a single rabbit, then its best for the rabbit to be rehomed to bond with another rabbit or kept as a loving single rabbit.

As long as such times allow me to have bunnies I will keep having them.

One day my circumstances will change for one reason or another and then I will have to re-think.

A life without bunnies tbh would be a life without sunshine.

If Eli were the last of mine to go I would keep him as a single house rabbit because I think he'd be reasonably happy with humans and without bunny company. He will undoubtedly be the first to go though

I've pretty much made the decision that when one of the girls dies, and leaves the other, I will bring her inside and look after her that way until I can find a new home for her where she can be bonded with another rabbit. I don't want rabbits again so really don't want to get in to a cycle of getting more, but equally I wouldn't want to keep either of my girls without another rabbit for company.

I think yes, but then I don't really know. Is it an everlasting cycle where by we get another bunny for a bunny who has lost a previous husbun or wifeybun and hence the cycle continues?

I'd love to say yes, but noone knows what is around the corner.

Ideally if (god forbid) one of mine died, I would try and bond the widowed bunny in with the other couple.
I dont know what I would do if I was left with one lonely bunny, I think I would have to adopt him/her a friend to be honest. I could never rehome any of them.

I also wont be getting any more buns, I love them to bits but when they are gone I wont get anymore.

i only have one bunny and she seems content and happy on her own. i have thought about getting a friend for her i would like another girl but not sure if i should as dont want to get to this point when your stuck in a cycle. x

my two are both practically single, and i wont be having buns like this again. i love my guys to bits but its tough trying to balance them both equally and with them both being indoor buns, space is a constant issue. that said, in the future i will more than likely have one single housebun (i know i may get shot for saying this ) but seeing how content bella and jasper are on their own, i feel like our household is enough for them. however and this is a big BUT, i honestly cant imagine not having bella. the thought of it really gets to me and i know i am the type of person that may never have buns again as i may not be able to face it

i had many rats years ago and it was a constant problem when one rat became a solo but at some point you have to break that cycle. i ended up keeping one on its own till it passed 6 months later. i just upped my time i spent with them, it was far from perfect but i would never have re gomed them that late in life.

bentley (my cavi) had sullivan (lab) for the first few years till we lost him, but i made the decision not to get another dog and i think it was the right one.
multiple animals, if nothing else put a financial strain on you. especially later on in their lives sadly, once you've been through the ringer once with a pet it makes you re-evaluate everything and you see things differently. what i thought i would do for a pet a few years ago, is different from what i would do now. some things i would do more (like time spent with them, better space etc) but ive also learnt that i know my pets best. what somone thinks i SHOULD do for them, may not be right for THEM. trust your gut, its all we can do xxx

Mrs. Bunnykins said:

As long as such times allow me to have bunnies I will keep having them.

One day my circumstances will change for one reason or another and then I will have to re-think.

A life without bunnies tbh would be a life without sunshine.

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This!

I hope I can have bunnies for life!

I will probably try and keeping bonding them with a partner , as at the moment I would want more, but there will be a time eventually when their keep will be too much for me and then it depends on their age. If they are likely to die within a year then I would keep them as a single house bun, if they were still going strong or young then I would bond the remaining one with a bunny of the same age, so I would be left with an old bun that can live out its days as a housebun.

That said, if this survivor is Annabelle, I may do differently, as she just doesnt really like humans, and I dont think my company indoors would be enough for her, or even very welcome.

I've had bunnies since I was a kid - and I'm 40 now. I only had a few years when I didn't have rabbits in my life, and that was more due to the fact that I couldn't afford to have them and didn't have as much time, rather than not wanting them. Now I have 4 that are bonded together, I can't imagine not having a group of them - I think mine are happier as a group of four, rather than in pairs and would never go back to having a pair or a single rabbit. I think if one of mine did pass away, I would try to add another one to keep a quad. That way they are never bored or alone.

:shock: I'm shocked at how many people here don't want rabbits ever again. Everyone always seems to love them.

I've always had rabbits so as long as I can care for them I'll have rabbits.

For me, as long as there are buns in rescues needing homes and I enjoy having them and am able to give them a good quality life, it's a win-win situation to take on another rescue.

But no doubt there will come a time when age/illness dictates that I have to stop the cycle.

I love my buns, ive got 2 single house buns so i dont have a cycle as such but id never want 2 singles again. Id either have one pair or one single, i just dont have the space. Although i dont think i would get more when these guys go at all at the moment. My OH didnt realise what owning buns meant and i dont think he is too happy that we have them. He constantly complains about them and im sick of having to defend their actions. The ruined furniture, carpets, doors & skirting boards was alot more that i was expecting too, if i ever got more they'd have to slive outside

This might sound odd but I just like my bunnies. I can't imagine replacing them, for me they are 2 exceptional little animals who came into my life at just the right time.

They are both young (1 & 2 years old), ofcourse if I lost one of them I'd get the other a friend but if they were both elderly, I'd make the decision to leave the remaining one as a single & ensure they had plenty of love, comfort & tasty treats until it was their time to head to the Bridge.

I think I would miss being greeted by furry faces in the morning but maybe in 5 or so years time when mine have all went to the bridge I might feel differently. I do miss having a flower filled garden but then again what is more lovely than seeing happy binkying bunnies.

I also wont be getting anymore after D&D, but I'm with Chul, should one go well before their time I would of course get another bun for company. I had no idea how attached I would become to D&D and how deeply they would affect my life, but bunnies are so, so fragile. I can feel the pain of them going before they've even gone, so I know I will be too devastated and heartbroken to do it again.

Boudicca said:

I also wont be getting anymore after D&D, but I'm with Chul, should one go well before their time I would of course get another bun for company. I had no idea how attached I would become to D&D and how deeply they would affect my life, but bunnies are so, so fragile. I can feel the pain of them going before they've even gone, so I know I will be too devastated and heartbroken to do it again.

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This explains exactly how I feel. Although I hope I would get more, I'm not sure I could, sometimes it gets to the point that the stress of owning them is more than the joy, especially when you have a bunny with on-going health issues. I even had a dream last night that both mine died, it was absolutely awful and even in my dream I had the isuue of should I get another or not.

I oove bunnies so so much but they really are such fragile little things.