Hi, we had a neutered couple of rabbits until a few days ago when the male died. He was 1.5 years old and she is just over 2 years old. We always thought she was dominant as he did all the grooming to her, and never the other way round. However she now interacts more with us and seems more playful - for example she never binkied before but has done it a couple of times since. Would it be better to keep her alone ?
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Surviving bunny
- Thread starter Sgrima
- Start date
InspectorMorse
Wise Old Thumper
Personally I believe that every Rabbit needs a companion of their own kind. So I would suggest contacting a Rescue after Christmas to enquire about a potential friend for her.
I am very sorry for the recent loss of your Buck. One thing to mention, was he fully Vaccinated ? If not and his passing was sudden and of unknown cause then RHD has to be a possibility. In which case adopting another Rabbit would not be an option for several months. You would also need to wait and see if your Doe remains well.
binkyCodie
Mama Doe
I'm actually going through something similar (I lost my doe a week back), and the remaining boy is a lot more attention seeking towards us. which..is lovely, but I think it needs to be considered that rabbits are social animals (requiring other rabbits), and they're essentially attempting to replace their loss of their friend with you. which is why they may seem "happier" or "more loving", but deep down the behaviour/relationship is quite "toxic". we can't spend 24/7 with them and can't talk to them, groom them, keep them warm, offer comfort (safety in numbers). we're not a bunny and never will be, we could not even attempt to replace that as much as our rabbit may try to. I use the word toxic, as we have to go out, go to bed, there's a point where you have to leave the rabbit. overall.. its quite distressing for them and I notice my boy usually sulking when he's back in his pen, quite often for hours at a time. he's certainly quite miserable by himself, and I can't spend my every living minute with him.
a lot of rabbits end up living alone either because they're perceived as fine, or in the cases of you & I, bunny is much more loving so for our own (selfish) benefit we keep them alone. which isn't really fair in all honesty, rabbits are not (usually) cuddly, attention seeking, playful. most rabbits would more so be described as aloof, coming to you on their terms, as usually they're quite fine with their friend. now that they've lost a friend, they try to replace their friend with a human, but it isn't quite the same. its quite cruel imho to house a rabbit alone to keep that personality, when its one out of desperation / replacement of a companion - not saying that's what you're doing, I'm aware you're just questioning it, but its something that is quite common unfortunately
for rabbits housed alone, it would be similar to us stuck in a house cut off from the outside world, living with somebody who doesn't speak english. you guys can kinda communicate with gestures, but its easy to confuse and doesn't make up for a proper good conversation. it gets quite lonely, and depressing. rabbits are the same, we can't speak their language, do rabbity things.
all in all, it is without a doubt in her best interests to find her a rabbit companion! it is unfair to keep a social animal alone and see us as a replacement, when we can't even come close, and sometimes the effect of us being their companion can be quite unhealthy ^^
a lot of rabbits end up living alone either because they're perceived as fine, or in the cases of you & I, bunny is much more loving so for our own (selfish) benefit we keep them alone. which isn't really fair in all honesty, rabbits are not (usually) cuddly, attention seeking, playful. most rabbits would more so be described as aloof, coming to you on their terms, as usually they're quite fine with their friend. now that they've lost a friend, they try to replace their friend with a human, but it isn't quite the same. its quite cruel imho to house a rabbit alone to keep that personality, when its one out of desperation / replacement of a companion - not saying that's what you're doing, I'm aware you're just questioning it, but its something that is quite common unfortunately
for rabbits housed alone, it would be similar to us stuck in a house cut off from the outside world, living with somebody who doesn't speak english. you guys can kinda communicate with gestures, but its easy to confuse and doesn't make up for a proper good conversation. it gets quite lonely, and depressing. rabbits are the same, we can't speak their language, do rabbity things.
all in all, it is without a doubt in her best interests to find her a rabbit companion! it is unfair to keep a social animal alone and see us as a replacement, when we can't even come close, and sometimes the effect of us being their companion can be quite unhealthy ^^
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binkyCodie thank you for writing this - I am relatively new to rabbit keeping, but all my animals are kept as ethically as possible, and with as much choice in their lives as I can give them - even down to the ponies choosing whether and when to be ridden and when to stop. So I look at the rabbits with the same eyes, and have worked hard to learn as much as I possibly can to make sure their needs are met.
This does mean that they don't appear to be as playful, cheeky, characterful at times as other giants - or as affectionate. But Odin made it quite clear after 3 weeks that he needed a fulltime friend, so we found one for him as soon as we possibly could.
It makes me so sad reading the giant group fb posts, because the majority seem to be kept as single house rabbits - basically a rabbitdog. That is what the people want. They aren't interested in the rabbits genuine needs and wellbeing, and every other post is complaining about littertraining/hay going everywhere/"cheeky"/"naughty" behaviour, that I just see as a rabbit being a rabbit! Then the next post is about telling them off when they nip or headbut, screeching, a multitude of ways to keep hay nice and tidy. For many of them their only option for eating hay at all is sitting in their litter tray - which to me isn't acceptable for a grazing animal.
But the thing that's gets me most is that the behaviour of single rabbits are seen as the best, and those with bonded pairs, or those who have them outside, think theirs are inferior. Yes, I would love to have my rabbits fall asleep in my lap, groom me all the time, play with toys - because it's cute and it meets MY needs. But I would never want that at the sacrifice of my animals, and as you say it is a false bond, a forced bond, that comes because they have no choice. And now my two are really happy together, we have become a much greater part of their lives on their terms, we get groomed, they sleep in front of us, they seek us out even when they have the whole garden to roam.
I dearly wish that everyone would keep rabbits in pairs wherever it was possible - allowing for the odd rabbit who genuinely doesn't bond, and for those times between partners - for their mental health. It must be torture.
Why can't us so-called intelligent humans see that their "playfulness" and "loving" often comes from frustration, desperation, loneliness?
This does mean that they don't appear to be as playful, cheeky, characterful at times as other giants - or as affectionate. But Odin made it quite clear after 3 weeks that he needed a fulltime friend, so we found one for him as soon as we possibly could.
It makes me so sad reading the giant group fb posts, because the majority seem to be kept as single house rabbits - basically a rabbitdog. That is what the people want. They aren't interested in the rabbits genuine needs and wellbeing, and every other post is complaining about littertraining/hay going everywhere/"cheeky"/"naughty" behaviour, that I just see as a rabbit being a rabbit! Then the next post is about telling them off when they nip or headbut, screeching, a multitude of ways to keep hay nice and tidy. For many of them their only option for eating hay at all is sitting in their litter tray - which to me isn't acceptable for a grazing animal.
But the thing that's gets me most is that the behaviour of single rabbits are seen as the best, and those with bonded pairs, or those who have them outside, think theirs are inferior. Yes, I would love to have my rabbits fall asleep in my lap, groom me all the time, play with toys - because it's cute and it meets MY needs. But I would never want that at the sacrifice of my animals, and as you say it is a false bond, a forced bond, that comes because they have no choice. And now my two are really happy together, we have become a much greater part of their lives on their terms, we get groomed, they sleep in front of us, they seek us out even when they have the whole garden to roam.
I dearly wish that everyone would keep rabbits in pairs wherever it was possible - allowing for the odd rabbit who genuinely doesn't bond, and for those times between partners - for their mental health. It must be torture.
Why can't us so-called intelligent humans see that their "playfulness" and "loving" often comes from frustration, desperation, loneliness?
Craig 1965
Warren Veteran
Welcome to the forum and I am so sorry that you lost one of your bonded pair. It is always sad to lose any pet but moreso when they are part of a bond.
Firstly it's important to keep a closer eye on your female. Some rabbits will react differently in grief. She may lose appetite and become withdrawn so it's important to make a bit more of a fuss of her. From what you describe, she seems to be coping well at the moment.
Personally I am supportive of rabbits being bonded. As prey animals, they rely heavily on others for their protection and support. They are much more emotionally settled and happier when they have other rabbits for companionship and as your female is still relatively young, she would beneift immensly from the support of another neutered male of perhaps a similar age. You would also be giving a lonely male rabbit not only a second forever home to be loved and cared in, but also the added benefit of a special companion that he would be very happy to spend his life with.
Our relatively new male bunny was a solo bun before we rescued him in February and we bonded him with our female bunny who had not long lost her bonded hus-bun. Since the bond, the male (Leo) has changed enormously and is now a much more confident and settled bunny who adores the life he now has, with endless attention and a wife bun to share his life with.
I hope that your bunny is ok and hope that you update the forum with your journey.
Craig x
Firstly it's important to keep a closer eye on your female. Some rabbits will react differently in grief. She may lose appetite and become withdrawn so it's important to make a bit more of a fuss of her. From what you describe, she seems to be coping well at the moment.
Personally I am supportive of rabbits being bonded. As prey animals, they rely heavily on others for their protection and support. They are much more emotionally settled and happier when they have other rabbits for companionship and as your female is still relatively young, she would beneift immensly from the support of another neutered male of perhaps a similar age. You would also be giving a lonely male rabbit not only a second forever home to be loved and cared in, but also the added benefit of a special companion that he would be very happy to spend his life with.
Our relatively new male bunny was a solo bun before we rescued him in February and we bonded him with our female bunny who had not long lost her bonded hus-bun. Since the bond, the male (Leo) has changed enormously and is now a much more confident and settled bunny who adores the life he now has, with endless attention and a wife bun to share his life with.
I hope that your bunny is ok and hope that you update the forum with your journey.
Craig x
InspectorMorse
Wise Old Thumper
a reader of books
Warren Veteran
I'm so sorry you lost your boy. =(
I agree with binkyCodie and dollyanna. When bunnies suddenly pay us more attention after their friend has died, it's often just because we're the only ones around to keep them company, but our company is not what they need most, as we cannot provide all the things a bunny friend gives them, so keeping them alone because they now interact more with us is not healthy for them. If you get her a new friend, there's nothing stopping her from still being playful with you if she wants that, but it might be that she'll prefer to play with her new friend instead.
When my Sophie lost her previous friend, she became a lot more focused on me, became almost clingy and would follow me around and do things to get my attention. I know that might seem as if she was simply enjoying my company, but in reality it meant that she was desperate for companionship and I was the only one who could provide it. But I, of course, can't be a bunny friend who is with her 24 hours a day, so we found her a new bunny friend, and, yes, she became less focused on me, but she was much happier having another bunny to spend her life with. It sounds like that could be what's happening with your girl, too. She's more playful with you, because she doesn't have your boy bunny to be playful with anymore. She might binky because she has learned that gets your attention, not necessarily because she's happier. I'm not saying she's unhappy, but it's one possibility to consider.
I agree with binkyCodie and dollyanna. When bunnies suddenly pay us more attention after their friend has died, it's often just because we're the only ones around to keep them company, but our company is not what they need most, as we cannot provide all the things a bunny friend gives them, so keeping them alone because they now interact more with us is not healthy for them. If you get her a new friend, there's nothing stopping her from still being playful with you if she wants that, but it might be that she'll prefer to play with her new friend instead.
When my Sophie lost her previous friend, she became a lot more focused on me, became almost clingy and would follow me around and do things to get my attention. I know that might seem as if she was simply enjoying my company, but in reality it meant that she was desperate for companionship and I was the only one who could provide it. But I, of course, can't be a bunny friend who is with her 24 hours a day, so we found her a new bunny friend, and, yes, she became less focused on me, but she was much happier having another bunny to spend her life with. It sounds like that could be what's happening with your girl, too. She's more playful with you, because she doesn't have your boy bunny to be playful with anymore. She might binky because she has learned that gets your attention, not necessarily because she's happier. I'm not saying she's unhappy, but it's one possibility to consider.
