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Rabbit now alone

JoLB

Warren Scout
I apologise if this is in the wrong place.

Tonight my beloved Barney was PTS. He was around 7yrs, 9 mths.

I have Bluebell left behind. She's a bit older, we think around 8.5. Is there anything I can do to help her not feel lonely? Should I be rehoming her so she can live with other rabbits? I don't want to get any more pets. Or do rabbits cope ok when they lose a friend?

It breaks my heart she's in the shed by herself tonight. I would have brought her in, but then she'd get used to the warmth indoors and wouldn't be able to go back out.

Any advice please? Many thanks.
 
Can you keep her as an indoor bun? That may be best as she gets older - although she is by no means too old to bond again . . rabbits will often grieve a lot and company of a trusted human can help during this process - She will also be cold as she is not used to being alone outside. They rely on each other for warmth.
 
Could you bring her in over the winter to see how she gets on inside as a house bun? If shes not loving it she could go back out once the weather warms up.
 
Thanks for your replies. They used to be house rabbits until we moved here 4 years ago. Since then they've had the run of the whole garden every day.

She won't have that freedom inside, unless I physically put her outside during the day. Is it cruel to take her away from the outdoors and grass?

I've just been down to give her more hay. She just went away from me.... She doesn't like me anyway.... She's stroppy!

I'm so sad barney's gone.
 
I'm so sorry you lost Barney. :( Nobody can decide but you about what to do next. I would leave it a few days and see how Bluebell copes, and how you feel about the different options. Sending hugs.
 
I'm so sorry for your loss :cry:. I am also in this exact situation. I lost Pod 5 weeks ago and then her sister, Pea, only last week. They were in a bonded trio with Benji. Benji (aged 7) has now come to live indoors with us as I need to take a break from bunnies for a while and I can't allow him to be alone because a new partner is not an option.

I've converted the whole conservatory to his bunny room (it's a room that's open to the kitchen) and I just open the gate when we're home so that he has the run of downstairs. You might find your remaining bunny is a little grumpy because she's confused and grieving. If you could bring her indoors for the winter, you'll probably find you start to build a friendship and bond with her much more than when she was outside. She didn't 'need' you so much when outside as she had the company of another bunny but now you're all she has. I'm sure she'll come around if you give her a chance.
 
Thank you for your replies. Tonight we've brought Bluebell indoors. We're using the base of the guinea pig cage (it's big!) and a pen to keep her in one corner until she gets used to it. She's just sitting in the litter tray at the moment.
 
Aaw I am so pleased you brought her indoors, we brought our bunny Benjamin in last year when he lost his partner and we have never looked back, he is a true house bunny now and loves it! I asked the vet if it was ok to open the door and let him go out in the garden for a run in the winter as he does in the summer and she said as long as he can come back in as soon as he wants it would be ok as he would only stay in the cold as long as he felt comfortable, so we open the door and he pops out but usually comes back in after a couple of minutes as he no longer has a winter coat . You will find that your bunny becomes a little member of the family!:love:
 
Thanks :)

I opened the door and she went out today. She was out for a good couple of hours until I brought her in. She was trying to get back into the shed :(

I hope she gets used to being indoors again. And coming back in when she's had enough of being out.
 
If it helps, Benji's only been indoors for 5 days and as the weather was dry and mild today, I opened the French doors and let him out. He went bombing into the run, which I'd already opened, but after about half an hour, was asking to come back in again! He did this several times, then decided that he did actually want to be indoors, which was lovely for me as I've worried about whether I'd done the right thing. He even groomed me yesterday - twice! We've bonded :thumb:.

My conservatory now looks like this..........

[URL=http://s281.photobucket.com/user/smacknish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20141128_092718_zps6051b9aa.jpg.html][/URL]

and here's Benji trying to decide whether to stay outside or come in........

[URL=http://s281.photobucket.com/user/smacknish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20141128_094848_zps6504fb41.jpg.html][/URL]
 
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