Thank you so very much for all your very kind posts everyone. It means so much to me because Benjie was very precious to me & gave me so much as have both my rabbits in their very different ways.
I think many of you have raised some important points.
cpayne reminds me of the particular strain on those of us who care for rabbits with chronic gastrointestinal problems. "she's really well at the moment but I know that can change in a minute". The problem for us is that we've so little time to start treatment before there is irreversable damage, particularly for rabbits who are prone to bloat. It can be so difficult for some of us when there are several factors which cause the "stasis". We find the obvious one, correct it, things improve, but there's something else & may be no sign of it at all.
Omi reminds me of the rabbit viewpoint of illness. They have so many similarities to us but are so very different. I know that they have phenomenally good memmories, but unlike me, they live in the present & don't worry what the next day will bring. "it's OK now, I'm managing, life is good", they don't worry whether life will be less good tomorrow. How very sensible. One day I'll learn the good lesson they taught me.
I agree so much that above all rabbits need love. I can't ask them but suspect that one of their main ways of showing it is by allogrooming - we can mimick it by stroking them the same way that they groom each other - nose rubs, but when ever possible this is best given by another rabbit.
I openly admit that I bottled out with Benjie. It was immediately obvious that he had a good immune system which kept the pasteurella under control but it plummeted with stress (often not immediately obvious) & which always caused the flare ups.
We live in the same environment but use totally different sense to percieve it. Rabbits mainly use hearing & smell which are so sensitive it is difficult for us to comprehend at a superficial level. With 23 different taste buds in comparisonto our 4 I can only imagine that food much be an explosion of flavour. Their eyesight so different - they can see almost behind them & a lot above but not with our precision - it's more like what we see from the "corner of our eyes" & there's almost no sense of depth.
Benjie was inordinately "worried" about predation in comparison to most rabbits. His compromised smell from snuffles was a huge factor. His other smaller handicap was an upright ear & a lop ear. There is a very slight muffling of sound with a lop ear. I often wondered whether he could compenate for it or whether he had a slight handicap in localising the source of sound (potential predator). It was very obvious why he needed special help to feel safe & relax.
So I have shared on here what my 2 very different rabbits have taught me. They each have unique temperaments, as do humans. I just want to say that in my posts, this is what my own rabbits have taught me. Yours will have totally different temperaments & not have these issues. It may give you a few ideas about what is bothering your rabbit - it may not. It took me literally years to begin to "think rabbit". I've just been trying to save you all a bit of time. At the end of the day we each have to understand our own individual rabbits. It opens a wonderful door, & perhaps helps us humans to be more aware of different viewpoints in other people.
Re, forage for which I am probably most well known on here. I do NOT recommend a forage only diet. I have good access to the coutryside, but even with this the food source can vanish overnight with council verge mowing or a farmer puts his cattle in the field & they like forage too! A healthy rabbit will eat a wide variety of plants. I'd say that if you have access, AND confidence in identification (I recommend a small range of easily identified plants very difficult to confuse with poisonous ones) they are a helpful replacement for human veg if you're getting problems. I'm a great believer that if all is well - don't change! My personal move away from hay was purely because of the specific health needs of my own rabbits. Even with good access to a wide area of potential forage, I find that we are losing plant diversity very fast, & it is affecting the whole food chain of all wild life adversely. My own observation in this area is that fertilser drift is the main problem.
I am NOT a herbalist. My rabbits have been the "herbalists" I have just found that they have tended to eat certain things during their different illnesses. They change their preferred food (medicine) both seasonally & as their illnesses have changed / advanced. I've no idea why.
For myself. My body is aging & creaking in places. I cannot reasonably guarantee to be able to care for a furry friend throughout their natural life span. So Benjie is my last. Of course we all feel pain when our loved ones leave us & miss them sorely. For me there is also an immense sense of gratitude, almost wonder, for how they have enriched my life in so many ways. So yes, I have loss & emptiness as do we all, but I also have a great sense of what I have been given, & nothing but nothing can take that away from me.
RIP my darling one & thank you from the bottom of my heart.