Single bunny - what would you do?

I need advice from you guys.

Flora is nearly nine and a half years old. She recently lost her brother, from whom she had never been parted. They adored each other. Do I find her another partner?

Pros:-

She's always had the company of a partner.
She tolerates human company but doesn't enjoy it.
She prefers living outdoors (I've just brought her indoors where she has more 'company').
She finds it difficult to groom due to her arthritis.

Cons:-

She's 9.5 years old and may not live much longer, leaving me with another single rabbit.
She has bad arthritis in her spine causing a very wobbly gait and needs daily pain relief. Bonding would surely involve chasing etc which she will find very difficult and probably painful.
I have parents who are in their 70s and I worry about caring for my bunnies and elderly parents (who live 100 miles away from me). Was thinking about 'downsizing' my bunnies as they all passed. But this is for MY benefit rather than the bunnies benefit and of course it's making me feel guilty.
Trying to find a quiet and steady, middle-aged to elderly SINGLE husbun to pair her with won't be easy.

So give me your considered opinion please. I need advice!

I would look for a old quiet bun to bond with her

Kermit said:

I would look for a old quiet bun to bond with her

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I've only found single buns aged 5 or 6 and, IMO, that's still pretty young. She doesn't need to be hassled by a young thing or someone with loads of energy now. Anyone got any grumpy old men looking for a home :lol:?

If you happened to find a bun that would be a good match, go for it, but I wouldn't be worried about needing to find her a partner unless she really appears to be pining.

We have a single outdoor bun - he's very happy that way. He can see/hear/smell his bunny neighbours, but has rejected previous attempts at bonding and now is suffering with repeated respiratory problems he is not well enough to attempt introductions. Despite being ill, he binkies, dashes and is generally a nutter so we think he's content.

It is going to be hard to find an elderly quiet bun to match her needs so if it was me I would keep an eye out for the right one but not panic if one didn't turn up. If it is meant to be it will happen

At the sanctuary we have the "luxury" of lots of old bunnies, so we always bond a singleton back into a group.

For myself when I lost Hera, her partner Ra moved in the house, and he loved it. When BB then lost her old partner Joey, I decided to try BB and Ra together.
I was nervous as BB has congestive heart failure and really can't stand any stress, but they bonded within a few hours - in fact I threw the rule book away - they were both running t=in the garden within 24 hours and had moved into BB's set up within 48hrs!

Will none of your other bunnies accept another in their pair?

BB Mommy said:

At the sanctuary we have the "luxury" of lots of old bunnies, so we always bond a singleton back into a group.

For myself when I lost Hera, her partner Ra moved in the house, and he loved it. When BB then lost her old partner Joey, I decided to try BB and Ra together.
I was nervous as BB has congestive heart failure and really can't stand any stress, but they bonded within a few hours - in fact I threw the rule book away - they were both running t=in the garden within 24 hours and had moved into BB's set up within 48hrs!

Will none of your other bunnies accept another in their pair?

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Unfortunately not. I've tried introducing other bunnies to Pea and Pod in the past and they're having none of it. They are a feisty pair (well Pod is anyway :lol and suffer 'spring fever' every year with lots of chasing and fur pulling. They always try to bite and box Flora through the wire if she goes anywhere near their enclosure. There's no way I'd risk introducing her to them, even though they already 'know' each other. I think it would actually break their bond down which would be a disaster.

It is going to be hard to find an elderly quiet bun to match her needs so if it was me I would keep an eye out for the right one but not panic if one didn't turn up. If it is meant to be it will happen

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Thank you Liz - that actually makes a lot of sense and makes me feel a bit better . My plan was always to bring them indoors this winter anyway (despite their heated sheds :shock but they would at least have had each other to object at having to watch Neighbours every evening :lol:.

Mackers said:

Thank you Liz - that actually makes a lot of sense and makes me feel a bit better . My plan was always to bring them indoors this winter anyway (despite their heated sheds :shock but they would at least have had each other to object at having to watch Neighbours every evening :lol:.

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My Humphrey loves neighbours, but not so keen on Eastenders :lol:

I wouldn't worry too much about the age of her suitor, temperament is much more important. Last year I bonded an 11 year old buck to a pair of one year old does after Fat fluffs and several other places refused to try anythng but another old rabbit:roll: At that age it is very important to rebond quickly as they can easily pine and die. The old chap is still going strong now at age 12. His girlies keep him young and very very clean.

doorkeeper said:

I wouldn't worry too much about the age of her suitor, temperament is much more important. Last year I bonded an 11 year old buck to a pair of one year old does after Fat fluffs and several other places refused to try anythng but another old rabbit:roll: At that age it is very important to rebond quickly as they can easily pine and die. The old chap is still going strong now at age 12. His girlies keep him young and very very clean.

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Thank you . At the moment, she really doesn't seem as though she's pining or lonely and makes no effort to sit near Pea and Pod, but I'm keeping a very close eye on her. I have to say that she's looking really bright and perky and has a brilliant appetite. Perhaps Parsnip was getting on her nerves after 9 and a bit years :lol::lol:. Took some photos of her this afternoon too.................

Having a pray ontop of her brother's final resting place.
It takes a lot of effort and attempts to adopt this position and she can't hold it for long.



Saying "hi"



Is this edible?

She is beautiful I'm so sorry you lost her brother.

I would keep and eye out...but not worry about looking too hard if you know what IU mean. I was going to keep Marnie single as she is a housebun and very people orentated....but she decided otherwise. and now she won't bond with the new bunny :roll:

I've made enquiries about a couple of bunnies - one on the RU rehome pages and another at South Bucks RSPCA. So we'll see what happens. Flora's quite quiet today but I guess it's the awful weather that she's fed up with :roll:.