I have a 4 year old lionhead doe that I got when she was about 5-6 months old. She bonded with my other bunny who was only about 2 months old at the time. They became completely inseparable. He died several months ago when he was 3. He had always been sick and I was really only delaying the inevitable. My lionhead though did get a chance to go through the mourning process, but it just hit her really hard. I let her mourn for as long as it seemed she needed by keeping the body out on a towel for her to groom and guard. I sat in the room with her so that she could see that I was mourning too. It was a very sad day for the both of us.
She never really recovered from it, but the few weeks after my little buck died, she was completely inconsolable. She wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t drink. I had to mix up the emergency food and basically forcefeed her so that she didn’t get sick. But, that was literally the only nourishment she was getting. I also took to sleeping on the floor at night so that she could come bother me when she got lonely. She doesn’t sleep in a cage, so she has free roam of my apartment and a litter pen to mess in when she feels so inclined. I was expecting it to get a little better with time, but she seemed to only get worse. Sleeping on the floor was a huge help for her (not so much for me), but she was still alone during the day, which was hard.
So, I took her to an animal shelter with a good reputation for a “bunny speed date”. She really wasn’t into it and didn’t get along with any of the bunnies there save for one. There was one buck that she seemed to tolerate pretty ok, so I took him home and set about bonding the two of them and litter training him. I knew he had a rough life before I got him, so I did my best to stay patient with him even as he started destroying everything I hold dear. I took to keeping him in a pen for parts of the day, but that seemed to make my doe upset. She’d come up to me, stomp her feet, tug on the pen, stomp, and even headbutted me a few times.
She isn’t nearly as close to this one as the last buck. She would sleep next to her last companion, happily share food with him, and only tried to kill him once a month tops. This one, she just gives him the cold shoulder most of the time. She tolerates his presence and sometimes plays with him, but she generally seems disinterested in him.
The buck, on the other hand, is a complete nightmare. He’s not aggressive AT ALL, but he is so incredibly destructive. My doe just isn’t accustomed to being in a cage, so I haven’t found any good way to deal with them. I don’t even OWN a cage. I have two pet carriers, that’s it, and they’re too small for either of them to actually LIVE in. I’m at my wits end with this buck. He has destroyed my chaise beyond repair, stolen toys I’d bought for charity (that I STILL can’t find), and now he’s absolutely destroyed my couch.I had a very nice sheet set that he’s destroyed. He’s also destroyed a rice cooker, vacuum cleaner, dust buster, three large area rugs, parts of my wood floors, and several books. My doe has gotten her chompers on a few things in the past, but never to this degree. I just can’t take this anymore. I can’t stand this rabbit.
Waterbottle sprays seemed to work at first, but that just stopped working (he’s also destroyed three water bottles). I’ve tried flavored sprays to discourage him from eating wires, but that doesn’t seem to deter him in the least. The problem is he HAS toys, tunnels, chews, food, fresh greens, pellets, blocks of wood all his own, and PLENTY of room to run around in. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get him to chew on his toys. He likes the toys, just to clarify. He loves playing with the tunnels, he absolutely loves that the junk mail and cardboard boxes I give him. He just seems to like destroying expensive things so much more.
I’ve never had a rabbit this destructive before. I am so incredibly frustrated that I’ve wanted to just dump him off in the woods to let a fox get him. I’m just venting. I would never actually do that. I’m just so incredibly angry and frustrated. I don’t know what to do though. I don’t want my doe to get really depressed again if I take this buck back to the shelter. I also would feel kind of bad taking him back to the shelter after adopting him. What the heck do I do? My doe can’t handle being caged and she hates it when he’s caged. Has anyone had to deal with something like this? What should I do?