I think Pepper has gone ferrile

since Poppy died (10 days ago) pesky Pepper has got harder and harder to get into his shed at night and last night wouldn't go in at all . i had to leave him out all night.
it used to be quite easy to get Poppy & Chester in or Poppy & Pepper together - i just put pellets in there at dusk & they would go straight in, but Pepper on his own just wants to stay out.

the shed door is locked in an open (ajar) position during the day so he can go in & out and i left it open last night for him but i don't think he's been in there at all overnight as the pellets i put down are still all there.
i think it's probably a combination of Poppy not being around to keep him in line, no competition for pellets now that Poppy isn't around & too much nice stuff to eat in the garden this time of year.

hopefully last night was a 1-off.

It's hard. X

I’m sorry they can be so mischievous. Maybe you could try later at night putting pellets in? I think the lighter nights do affect them too.

he's not co-operating at all now.
from the occasional night out he's now been out 2 nights in a row and i think that's how it's going to continue.

a bit worrying but there's not much i can do. the only alternative i can think of is to build a run for him but this would massively affect his quality of life.

Ours become increasingly difficult to get in the right place when the nights are lighter; I expect this is compounding things :S

mikek said:

he's not co-operating at all now.
from the occasional night out he's now been out 2 nights in a row and i think that's how it's going to continue.

a bit worrying but there's not much i can do. the only alternative i can think of is to build a run for him but this would massively affect his quality of life.

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Idk what to suggest really, it's so difficult. Was he different when he had Poppy with him?

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Are you still considering getting him a new partner?

Graciee said:

Idk what to suggest really, it's so difficult. Was he different when he had Poppy with him?

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Hi Graciee,
yes. pretty much like Craig described Lillian & Henry...... Poppy would go in the shed early dusk but Pepper would be keeping an eye on things. As soon as i put the pellets down Pepper would come rushing in & they would both starting eating.
He's not bothered about pellets now - or carrots, parsley etc. and is quite happy to stay out.

He can't be herded in as he just gets progressively more obstinate and is too quick. Once he's at all spooked, that's it for at least an hour.

Omi said:

Are you still considering getting him a new partner?

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Hi Omi.
I'm not sure any more.
When Poppy was left on her own she was obviously not happy. Getting Pepper was the best thing i ever did for her & they got along great & operated very much as a pair.
Pepper seems totally OK by himself. Perhaps because he was a single rabbit before he came here.

I would like to get another from a rehoming centre but if so I think it should be a local oneas i'm not sure how he would react to a new bun. He was very easy to introduce to poppy & bonding was pretty much instant. I'm not sure that would still be the case.

I think i might start a thread to enquire about how happy people's single buns are.

mikek said:

Hi Graciee,
yes. pretty much like Craig described Lillian & Henry...... Poppy would go in the shed early dusk but Pepper would be keeping an eye on things. As soon as i put the pellets down Pepper would come rushing in & they would both starting eating.
He's not bothered about pellets now - or carrots, parsley etc. and is quite happy to stay out.

He can't be herded in as he just gets progressively more obstinate and is too quick. Once he's at all spooked, that's it for at least an hour.

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Maybe if you're still thinking about getting him a friend, the competition for food might help? Or just be a completely new dynamic? It's so tricky isn't it two of mine are apart atm and their behaviour has massively changed, their routines don't really exist anymore, whereas together they seemed to have order and things they did together. Maybe if Pepper gets that again he'll make a new routine with a new friend? I'm no bunny expert though, so hard to tell with them sometimes what they're going through

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Graciee said:

Maybe if you're still thinking about getting him a friend, the competition for food might help? Or just be a completely new dynamic? It's so tricky isn't it two of mine are apart atm and their behaviour has massively changed, their routines don't really exist anymore, whereas together they seemed to have order and things they did together. Maybe if Pepper gets that again he'll make a new routine with a new friend? I'm no bunny expert though, so hard to tell with them sometimes what they're going through

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I'm a bit worried that Pepper might teach any new bun bad habits & end up with 2 who won't go in a night :lol:

mikek said:

I'm a bit worried that Pepper might teach any new bun bad habits & end up with 2 who won't go in a night [emoji38]

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[emoji38][emoji38][emoji38] Always a chance! Tbh I'd always want to find a friend for a bun, I'm hoping to bond my 4 all together at some point, I hate them being alone, they do fine.. But it's not the same as when they have some bun else

Just my experience though, I'm sure you'll work out what's best for Pepper

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