Catching a 'released' rabbit?

keletkezes · Jul 19, 2017

A friend of mine got in touch on Twitter to say this chap/chapess has been living wild/feral in his neighbour's garden for 3 months, and into his garden recently.

He'd been weedkilling and it'd been eating some of the weeds! Oops. But seems OK. Scared of people.

Any suggestions on how to 'rescue' it?

MiniC · Jul 19, 2017

Try boxing it into a smaller space with panels (wood, plastic cardboard, pen panels) and throwing a towel over it. Or set a trap with food in a pet carrier, but you'd have to be nearby to shut the door quickly.

MightyMax · Jul 20, 2017

keletkezes said:
A friend of mine got in touch on Twitter to say this chap/chapess has been living wild/feral in his neighbour's garden for 3 months, and into his garden recently.

He'd been weedkilling and it'd been eating some of the weeds! Oops. But seems OK. Scared of people.

Any suggestions on how to 'rescue' it?

The R.S.P.C.A. are usually quite good at this sort of thing?

keletkezes · Jul 20, 2017

MightyMax said:
The R.S.P.C.A. are usually quite good at this sort of thing?

They don't usually come out if they don't think they can catch things 'round here IME: there was a moorhen with a basically non-functioning leg (it could barely hobble) but because it could fly they wouldn't even attempt it :S That was on the canal so maybe in someone's garden it would be different?

Thanks for the suggestions MiniC, but I think this one's not box-in-able: it can go between the gardens easily and runs when someone gets within about 10yds :S

I'll pass on any updates

MiniC · Jul 20, 2017

keletkezes said:
They don't usually come out if they don't think they can catch things 'round here IME: there was a moorhen with a basically non-functioning leg (it could barely hobble) but because it could fly they wouldn't even attempt it :S That was on the canal so maybe in someone's garden it would be different?

Thanks for the suggestions MiniC, but I think this one's not box-in-able: it can go between the gardens easily and runs when someone gets within about 10yds :S

I'll pass on any updates

Could you even set up a run with an open end and some food in it, to see if it goes in there??

MightyMax · Jul 20, 2017

keletkezes said:
They don't usually come out if they don't think they can catch things 'round here IME: there was a moorhen with a basically non-functioning leg (it could barely hobble) but because it could fly they wouldn't even attempt it :S That was on the canal so maybe in someone's garden it would be different?

Thanks for the suggestions MiniC, but I think this one's not box-in-able: it can go between the gardens easily and runs when someone gets within about 10yds :S

I'll pass on any updates

I'm surprised about that, given the number of stray rabbits they have collected.
How would they know they couldn't catch it if they never tried :?

keletkezes · Jul 20, 2017

MiniC said:
Could you even set up a run with an open end and some food in it, to see if it goes in there??

I don't have a spare one, not that isn't open-topped and relatively easily jumpable by a determined bunny (mine could clear it if they cared: they can binky higher than it goes, I've seen them!), and I think mine might be disappointed if I had to shut them in the playhouse all day...... Actually, it might be possible on a day they're out on the lawn as they'd still have the hutch to go into (and my insane OH could rig a tube into the playhouse without going via the run if he wanted to) so I'll let my friend know

It's a PITA run to set up though (one of the metal horror ones!).

Liz47 · Jul 20, 2017

When my sister text me about a domestic rabbit that kept coming into her garden I posted on here for advice and people suggested a run as already been mentioned but I didn't have one so I took a large cardboard box filled with hay. I also took pellets and my bunnies poo after a lot of people said that would attract him haha!! We waited some distance away to see if he'd go in the box and had towels to throw over him and scoop him up in, but as we were about to throw the towels he just ran straight up to us and I picked him up :lol: he was very tame so I imagine it's a lot harder with a nervy rabbit!

keletkezes · Jul 20, 2017

MightyMax said:
How would they know they couldn't catch it if they never tried :?

Admittedly with the moorhen it was a case of it flying off across the canal, but anyone with a boat could've caught it. They just didn't seem interested

An acquaintance (Matt's 'Guinea-Pig Lady', she used to work along the canal and fed the injured birds with seed

Asked Matt what he was collecting forage for and then started getting stuff for her guineas

) has never been able to get any of the injured wildfowl on the canal taken in by them

Basically, if you can't catch it yourself, they don't want to know

Liz47 said:
When my sister text me about a domestic rabbit that kept coming into her garden I posted on here for advice and people suggested a run as already been mentioned but I didn't have one so I took a large cardboard box filled with hay. I also took pellets and my bunnies poo after a lot of people said that would attract him haha!! We waited some distance away to see if he'd go in the box and had towels to throw over him and scoop him up in, but as we were about to throw the towels he just ran straight up to us and I picked him up :lol: he was very tame so I imagine it's a lot harder with a nervy rabbit!

Ha ha, well, maybe my friend will be able to manage it so easily!

Catching a 'released' rabbit?

keletkezes

Wise Old Thumper

MiniC

Wise Old Thumper

MightyMax

Banned

keletkezes

Wise Old Thumper

MiniC

Wise Old Thumper

MightyMax

Banned

keletkezes

Wise Old Thumper

Liz47

Wise Old Thumper

keletkezes

Wise Old Thumper

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