To get another rabbit, or not?

[JacksonPearce]

Hi friends-- I adopted two older female rabbits from a local rescue that were tightly bonded together. Unfortunately, one died today. It's not clear why, especially given that they were given a perfect bill of health from the vet only nine days ago.
This means I'm left with a single bunny, which begs the question...do I get another so this one isn't lonely? Or is trying to bond a new rabbit to her going to prove impossible?
These are outdoor rabbits-- they weren't particularly well socialized to people, which made them perfect for us since we wanted them mostly for the fertilizer they provide. BUT...that makes me extra worried that the remaining bun will be lonely. She'd be miserable if we brought her in, given the amount of activity in our house, but I hate to think of her by herself. That said, I also don't want to get into a never ending cycle of getting one rabbit to replace one that died.
Any experienced rabbit owners have thoughts on this? Should I give her away? Just let her do her thing? Try to integrate her more with the chickens so she has some company?

 

[Jurassic Wolf]

By "older" how old are you talking? If she's like 6-7+ and seems really bothered by her friends death, bonding might cause more stress than it's worth. You're in a difficult situation of either gaining this rabbits trust and needing to spend a lot of time together, risk getting her a friend, or giving her away to a more experienced rabbit owner. It's really your call here

 

[JacksonPearce]

Thanks! We don't actually know how old they are-- they were rescued from a hoarding situation as adults. I'm a novice rabbit owner so it's hard to know if our remaining girl is super lonely, though she's eating well, so that seems like a good sign? It's helpful to know that introducing a new friend might be especially stressful, though.

 

[Jurassic Wolf]

Yes! Eating and acting normal is a great sign. Sometimes shelters will have a meet and greet opportunity so that you can see if another bunny might be a good fit

 

[cassie]

Rabbits aren't really that social. They get along just fine by themselves. Chances are you will be asking for big trouble if you try to introduce another rabbit.

 

[chickens really]

She will be fine alone. Can she see the chickens from her pen outside? Rabbits don't really need another rabbit and like their own space.

 

[Skye'sDucks]

I agree that unless she's really showing signs that she's lonely, like not eating, she'll be fine on her own. I worried the same thing when one of my two pet bonded rabbits died the other year, and I waited and watched my remaining one. He never got lonely, but every rabbit is different. I ended up getting another rabbit anyways. We cleaned out their hutch really well and they bonded fairly easily. It took a while for my previous rabbit to get used to the new one and stop bullying her so much, but now he's mostly stopped that. Probably within the first year?

So really it's up to you if you'd like another rabbit, if your remaining is doing fine. Bonding doesn't always work out, but it never hurts to try.