Lone elderly bunny

beki

Mama Doe
I have posted on here previously about my rabbit Betsy who has had abscesses and has a tumour. I took her to the vets today. Her abcess was back and the vet saw maggots in the drainage hole! I had totally missed them as they were inside her. Her tumour on her stomach was also the size of an orange so I had to make the horrible decision to let her go 😭

This now leaves Bertie. He is approximately 11 years old, blind in one eye, I suspect pretty much deaf (or very selective hearing. He doesn’t even flinch when my dog barks at him!) and he is going to be on his own. He lives in a hutch outdoors.

I can’t really bring him indoors as I don’t have a dedicated space to give him to live in. In the hutch he has a double story and access to a run which is much more than I can give him indoors. He would be confined to a small cage indoors, firstly as he is a chewer and secondly to keep him safe from the dog, who loves him but is much too boisterous as he is 18 months old.

I’m not planning on getting more rabbits and actually I had hoped (probably the wrong word to use here!) that Bertie would go first being the oldest as Betsy would have been totally fine as a lone bunny. Bertie im not too sure, he might be OK but I worry about him at nights as he loved to snuggle Betsy.

What would everyone’s advice be?

Thanks
 
I'm so sorry to hear about Betsy :( Mine have had the habit of going in winter, so I worry about them as outdoor buns but they thrive out there. If it was me in this position, with a loving bun (rather than two elderly curmudgeons), I might have a quick ask around rescues for fostering etc. I wouldn't want to bring him inside, I'm not sure I'd want to try and bond either :S It's really difficult, but you'll make the right decison, I know :D
 
Under the circumstances, I would see how he gets on. He's probably better off in his familiar environment and routine. The weather will be getting better from now, so he doesn't have the main bit of Winter to get through on his own. Make sure he has access to a heatpad on cold days, and keep a closer watch on him.
 
Thanks for your replies.
Although old he isn’t frail and has a lovely thick coat and he is still quite muscular, so I’m hoping as long as it doesn’t freeze too much he will be ok outside.
I’ll have to buy him a new heated pad as he chewed his last one!
He is a grumpy old boy so might not do too bad on his own. As long as he has plenty to munch on he is happy. He isn’t overly keen on cuddles and human company but that might change now. He loved snuggling Betsy though :(
 
I'm sorry you had to say goodbye to Betsy - Sweet Dreams little one. I hope Bertie copes ok
 
Really sorry to hear that you have lost Betsy, and hoping that Bertie will cope ok on his own. Sweet dreams little bunny x
 
Poor Bertie seems to be a bit off his food :( I have given him kale in the hope that tempts him. He hopped into his bed when I put it in just now. He usually throws himself on veg. I will check on him later to see if he has had any.
He isn’t totally refusing food. He has been on the grass today nibbling and I have seen him nibble his hay. He usually dives on his food though but I haven’t had to put any pellets in today as there were loads left :(
 
How is his poo output? Stress can result in gut stasis which would need intervention from the vet and meds.
Sending lots of positive vibes for you and Bertie.
 
He is pooing.
As he has always lived as a pair I’m not actually sure how much is normal for him on his own but there are poos.
He had eaten all his veg and pellets by morning so I’m hoping that means he is ok.
 
I was in a similar position last February when we lost Archie, as I'd like these two to be my final rabbits (unless I could find one of a similar size and age which I've failed to do ). Millie will be 12 in April and she also has vision problems, her hearing isn't what is was, plus she has arthritis. She was outside during the warmer months but with me making an effort to spend at least an hour a day of the evening out there with her as she was more lonely. Also she's affectionate, she was never as affectionate as Archie but now she has long sessions of licking me! Now she's inside and upstairs (I wanted my living room back!), also a chewer.

She spends more time resting now and they are less active in winter anyway but I only had room for a 2 metre squared pen which didn't feel like enough. Also she felt a bit boxed in because she couldn't see out of the windows. So I put a cheap pine table into her pen (plastic bottles with the labels removed and necks cut off are protecting each leg from chewing) and I've added another smaller run on top of the table. It's tied to all four legs with cable ties so can't be pulled off. Inside there's an extra large seed tray that fits exactly into the pen size. Then straw inside that and a rabbit runaround tunnel goes from it to the run below (a longish one that goes outside of the pen below so it's not too steep).

That seems to be working for her. She can see out the window, and watch the birds and people so she's less isolated from the world outside and she runs up and down a lot despite the arthritis and I'm sure that's good for her joints and her back. If she was outdoors she'd need a second tunnel for escaping or she wouldn't go up but inside she feels safe enough to use it with just one. She lives just with me, you might want to add another since Bertie has a dog in the house. I keep the door open so she can also see me moving around and, being indoors, she's much easier to hang out with.

Once it's warmer, I'll have to consider whether she's fit and able enough to go out again where she'd have a lot more space. One consideration is that I think she's more likely to easily alarmed by passing neighbours/birds/hedgehogs whatever with not having a companion and losing her sight and hearing.

I think once they're old and vulnerable it's not a great time to rehome them completely. They feel safe with you because they've known you a long time and Millie is still with a familiar person in a familiar place with her usual toys and hidey houses around her.
 
Sorry to hear about Archie, Moonstone, but it’s great that Millie is doing well.

Bertie has never been particularly affectionate. He will tolerate sitting on a knee and being stroked or groomed but that’s about it! I wonder if he will change now he is on his own.

After a rethink I really can’t bring Bertie in :( I can’t even give him 2m square. We have a 3 bed house and 2 kids so no spare room :( my daughter would love to have him in her room but she has so many toys she can barely fit in there herself! The only likely option is he goes in a small indoor cage in my bedroom but it would cause problems as there aren’t any spaces I can dedicate to him and our elderly indoor cat is a bit unpredictable at the moment (we think she is getting dementia) so although I don’t think she would intentionally hurt him (she never has and previously has liked sitting with him in the garden) she has recently discovered that she has claws and can hiss!! He would have to be shut away when not supervised.

Last time I had bunnies indoors, I had no kids so they had a big bedroom to themselves. If the dog wasn’t so boisterous, Bertie could live in our study :( the dog (Hugo) is just super excited about absolutely everything!

I have made his hutch as warm as I can with lots of straw and hay. He is eating again, mostly veg rather than the pellets and when it’s dry we have been letting him on the grass in his run, which he likes. He can’t go out in the rain as he will sit in it and get drenched!
 
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