Bonded Loss

[Disheygirl]

We lost our first born bun today - he was straining to pee and I took him to the vet where they found he had bladder stones. He had surgery but afterwards they couldn’t get his temp back up and he went downhill pretty fast.

He and his bonded girl had been together for six years, and I’m worried about her. I also have two of their sons, both neutered, who have been together since birth and are about five years old. Would it be a horrible idea to try to bond them or would I be setting them up to fail? For some reason, the two boys never fought, even as they got older. I don’t know if adding a female to the mix will change the hormonal balance and the males will fight. I feel so bad for her, though.

 

[LassieBunBun]

I'm so sorry for your loss, unfortunately I don't have any advice to give but hopefully someone here will be able to help you.

 

[Blue eyes]

That's a tough call. I assume she's spayed? Even if she is, it's still hard to say what might happen. It is quite possible the boys will fight over her. It's also possible, if their personalities happen to mesh, that they could all get along. It's a difficult call to make because there is a risk that during the bonding attempt, the original bond of the two boys could be broken. You'll have to decide if that's an acceptable outcome.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

First off, I offer my empathy on your boy's bladder stone surgery and subsequent death. I understand the grief of losing somebun in surgery.

Certainly not a horrible decision to try bonding. I dunno if Blue eyes has bonding advice on her rabbitindoors weebly site?

Here's a couple links to review: Bonding Rabbits | House Rabbit Society

https://www.animalhumanesociety.org/resource/bunny-bonding-basics
Also there is a bunny bonding Facebook group. There may be RO archived threads wrt bonding efforts and tips.

I would try with setting up exercise pens near each other and place a brick or object in between the bars. You can gradually decrease the space as you gauge the bonded brothers reaction to Mom. If you feel three is the route to take first vs. trying to find a new companion for Mom.

We had two boys who had a bromance with each other, though not living in the same pen as the two tortoise-shell dutches who did share one expen.

Their ages seem ideal to try! Exactly like Blue eyes typed: they could all mesh, eventually, or a happy trio may not work.