some advice on re-bonding a bereaved rabbit please

Hi, im very new - only joined today and I feel very shy but I hope somebody might be able to help me! one of my darling rabbits died 6 weeks ago, she was bonded with her brother and they had been together for all 3.5 years of their lives. She got ill very suddenly and died after having surgery the next day. Her male - Connor has been very upset and refused to bond with any other female. I left him a couple of weeks to get over losing his Liath and then tried him with a doe, he was really nasty to her even though she was being sweet to him. I didnt have any trouble bonding him with Liath - they immediately loved each other. Im probably over worrying here but every time he is grazing or having free range time he seems to be looking for his Liath. any advice anyone? sorry I havent got photos - all too complicated for me!

I am so sorry to hear about your bunny Liath :? and I can understand that you are concerned for Connor.
Bonding rabbits can be a bit tricky at times, but like humans it is all about finding the right companion to suit Connors personality.
Rabbits choose their friends just like us humans do.
One suggestion is that you find a local Rescue that can help find you the right bunny to be a companion for Connor, and some Rescues allow you to take your rabbit along to see how they get on with a potential buddy.
Alternatively, You may find a rescue that does the bonding bit for you..where do you live?? We may be able to suggest a local rescue who can advise you about this further :wink:

Dont worry, for someone who has not used a forum before you are doing fantastically and we are all here to help and support you along the way.
Hope this helps a little
Best wishes and a very Happy Easter to you, I am sure Connor will have a lovely buddy, or an entire harem if us lot have anything to do with it!! :roll: :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Well,
I have done some rescueing - rehoming myself and i have 13 rabbits at the moment, most of them are bonded but I have 3 rabbits that I have tried to match with Connor- he hates all of them! He used to be such a chilled out bun and now he wants his Liath back - and so do I . I would love to find him his perfect friend but I think he should like one of my three girls - they are all so sweet to him and he bites them! nobody is to tempt me with another beautiful girl I have enough!!

angelmillie said:

Well,
I have done some rescueing - rehoming myself and i have 13 rabbits at the moment, most of them are bonded but I have 3 rabbits that I have tried to match with Connor- he hates all of them! He used to be such a chilled out bun and now he wants his Liath back - and so do I . I would love to find him his perfect friend but I think he should like one of my three girls - they are all so sweet to him and he bites them! nobody is to tempt me with another beautiful girl I have enough!!

Click to expand...

aaaawww, it sounds like you are both grieving for Laith Perhaps Connor just need some more time to himself to adjust to recent events, and if you have quite a few does, there must be one he will eventually bond with?...just one thing to check, is Conner eating and toileting okay? I ask as bunnies can become depressed when a special companion passes and changing eating habits may be one gauge of this.

We promise not to tempt you with any more bunnies then, 13 sounds like a house and garden full already!.
Every rabbit is so unique and individual though arent they, it is dreadful when they die, it leaves such a big hole in your heart.
We have lost some treasured bunnies here recently and we too have a bereaved bunny to bond so I can empathise with what you are going through.

Best wishes

Aww, poor chap? Where are you doing the introductions? Is it somewhere neutral? He may attack a female if he thinks she's invading his territory.

Perhaps you could give him a cuddly toy in the mean time.

Tam

Perhaps he does just need some more time - i have been introducing him to his prospective mates in the garden or the kitchen ( whatever the weather permits!) So nice neutral areas - he is eating and tioleting fine - and been to the vets for a check after Liath died. How long do you think rabbits can remember for? Connor doesnt know that Liath has died - how long will he remember her? Are rabbits attracted to those that look like them? The first female I tried him with was Mina, she is a spayed doe - unknown age and she has had her incisors removed. She also has a completely blocked/ collapsed tearduct so she tends to look a bit unsightly! For whatever reason Connor was very mean to her and she thumps each time she goes near his pen now - she hasnt forgiven him! female no 2, Pippa, is a lovely little dwarf lop female who was a ex breeding doe before I took her in, she is very friendly and outgoing and connor actually liked her for about 5 minutes before biting her. She didnt worry about it, just came and gave me a cuddle and forgot. The third girlie I have, Lily, is a bit old and frail, she met connor through the pen bars and he growled at her so Im not chancing that! he has turned into a bit of a meanie! :roll:

Its sounds like the best match might be Pippa. Bunnies to seem to have quite long memories when it comes to other bunnies. Maybe you could try having them both on your lap and stroking them. He's probably missing getting groomed.

Tam

angelmillie said:

Well,
I have done some rescueing - rehoming myself and i have 13 rabbits at the moment, most of them are bonded but I have 3 rabbits that I have tried to match with Connor- he hates all of them! He used to be such a chilled out bun and now he wants his Liath back - and so do I . I would love to find him his perfect friend but I think he should like one of my three girls - they are all so sweet to him and he bites them! nobody is to tempt me with another beautiful girl I have enough!!

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, same thing happened with my Ralf. He lived with my old lop Phoebe until she died on good friday in 2004, and he has never accepted another female since. We had no problems at all bonding him with Phoebe, they were together from day one, but tried him with 6 different females and hates every single one. He bonded with Poppy for about 2 weeks, but then he kicked off big style and I have not tried again since. I am going to try again in the summer, as I think he's losing out not being able to snuggle up to Poppy. Good luck with what ever you decide to do. :wink:

It sounds as though Pippa will be the one, so you could arrange things so that they live near eachother and perhaps swap them between the two hutches so that they get used to having the others' scent around. Then go really slow introducing them so that Pippa doesn't have a bad experience and so he gets used to having her around. She will probably grow on him, it does seem to take a while to bond rabbits sometimes. If they got along for 5 minutes, keep bonding sessions that short for a while and then gradually increase them.

Thankyou for all your advice - i will have another try with Pippa and him and see how things go. ill let you know what happens! Its been two weeks since he has seen Pippa so perhaps he will like her this time round.

oh my, I am so sorry about your baby girl! Hopefully, connor will be able to accept pippa and you will have another perfect match! Good luck! I'll have my fingers crossed for you!!!