HELP!Rabbits refusing to come back in - are they ok outside?

[Bob]

Bob, you might well think *this* is a wind up.
Rabbits are still not in. At least not for very long: they are coming into the shed, but because of the position of the backdoor, they're rnning out everytime someone goes out to try to shut them in.

The bush has been dug up, and the rabbits have a network of holes and tunnels under the bank of soil. They still can't get out of the garden, it just means that as long as they can get back to the hole, they're bolting from the shed because it'snot the safest space. All but one hole has been blocked up, and despite all the best efforts the rabbits keep making it back before someone can block it up. They jumped a waist high barrier, to make it back there.

They are eating their food, and sleeping in the shed (at times it seems, but not when any human has been awake to see them) and both seem fine, but we still can't catch them. They move to quickly away from the back door for anyone to throw a towel over them, and ushering them just makes them run down the hole, if they weren't there to begin with, which they usually are, or go as soon as the backdoor opens. (and it's the only way into the garden)
If people sit there, they just don't come out anymore.

Does anyone have any suggestions about getting rid of that hole?It's getting ridiculous now. And it's such horrid weather. I know they're dry in the hole, but it's just not fair.

We're in the Lancaster area, if anyone could help, that would be the best thing that's happened all week!

I believe you now!

Couple of questions....

When you capture them what are you going to do with them?

How are you going to prevent this situation happening again?

I really do think that the "end game" is established here before you, or others expand any energy in humanly capturing these buns!.

 

[Adele]

Hiya, why do you not get a Humane Rabbit Catcher...we used one in our garden when we had a wild rabbit living under our shed. The rabbit managed to evade us for 6 weeks despite all our best efforts and our using every trick up our sleeve to try and corner him :?
We brought a Humane rabbit trap from our local Countrywide Stores, and it was not too expensive.
I hope you have a successful and positive outcome very soon :wink:

 

[Bob]

Hiya, why do you not get a Humane Rabbit Catcher...we used one in our garden when we had a wild rabbit living under our shed. The rabbit managed to evade us for 6 weeks despite all our best efforts and our using every trick up our sleeve to try and corner him :?
We brought a Humane rabbit trap from our local Countrywide Stores, and it was not too expensive.
I hope you have a successful and positive outcome very soon :wink:

That was one of the options that I was looking at Adele. Not much point if you are going to let them out again and do not have a game plan after the rabbit has been caught.

Sounds simple? Perhaps not if an animal has been used to so much freedom (natural after all) and then is suddenly thrown into captivity.

Capturing the buns is only the start of the problem - looking after them is another story!

 

[bunnytales]

Hiya Indigoroses!

Hows it progressing with the Bunsters - I carn't help being worried for these bunnies - its pooring down outside and knowing that my own bunsters are tucked up snugg and safe makes me feel sad for these bunsters.

Did you have any luck with the phone numbers on the Lancashire Website for help??

 

[bunnytales]

:roll: ooooooppps! That Should have been "Lancaster" Website details -

Too much wine before posting - me thinks :wink:

 

[indigoroses]

thanks lanny. We've explained our problem to the rescue we ahd them from, they've given loads of suggestions, we're now out of them.

The rabbits are indeed underground, which is what's making it so difficult. They've nearly had them on several occasions, but they managed to jump a waist high barrier, instead of bolting into the shed to bolt back into the hole. Good news is they are going into the shed a lot more, bad news they're still quicker than the humans trying to shut the door or get to block up the hole.

I think one of my housemates has said that if they can't get them in tomorrow, they're going to call otu the rspca, we don't worry about a fee, we've tried, and they just won't come in, and now they're in a hole. There doesn't seem to be much else for it

this is just getting beyond. (and yes, some of you would think it was beyond at the beginning.....)

argh. I've enver known two rabbits so difficult to get back in.

 

[indigoroses]

Bob: when we catch them, they are not leaving their shed until they really do consider it to be home. They can go in the hutch at night, and run around int he shed in the day (the norm for any bunnies we have in bad weather).
In good weather, when it's not chucking it down I think these bunnies need a run, infact a run /pen is already under constructon (originally in the hope we could leave it open, intice them into a big area, then pen them in, to pick them up and place them back in the shed. )
Now I'm thinking they can just stay in the pen, and not have the run of the garden as all other bunnies have in the past. They need to be far more used to us and much less scared before I'd dare let them out in the garden. &the run is going very firmly on the cobbles and far away from the earth bank,so no digging, no holes.

Beleive it or not, we can look after bunnies, it was just a chronic misjudgement to think that the new rabbits were going to be okay with us enough and not too hard to train to come back into the shed.
So we have a hutch, sawdust, paper, hay, disinfectant, clippers everything - and know the signs of a healthy vs not so healthy bunny. Just didn't think that they would be so impossible to get back in.


Adele, what in the world is a humane rabbit trap? wouldn't this just traumatise the rabbits and make them even more scared of humans than they appear to be?

 

[Adele]

[quote="indigoroses"

Adele, what in the world is a humane rabbit trap? wouldn't this just traumatise the rabbits and make them even more scared of humans than they appear to be?[/quote]

A Humane rabbit catcher is just a metal wire box that you can line with some nice soft bedding and a few treats for the bunnies.
The only difference between driving bunnies into a carrier or a humane trap, is that the door shuts automatically with the trap after the bunnies so they are contained.
It is no more traumatic than chasing bunnies round the garden trying to catch them, and rabbits feel less stressed in small spaces normally.
The two wild rabbits we caught in the humane trap were caught in the daytime (as we only put the trap out when we were around to enable us to remove the rabbits immediately once caught) and released immediately into the wild afterwards.

 

[Denny]

Hi Indigoroses

It sounds as if you have aquired 2 formula one racing bunnies :lol: :lol:
You might like to change their names to Ayrton and Senna :lol:

Now I am far from an expert on the subject of bunnies and I will hope that anybody reading my suggestion is going to say whether or not it would work before you try it.

Bunnies are territorial, you have 2 male buns (I dont know if they are neutered or if this will make a difference) is it possible to go back to the rescue centre that you got them from and pick up some used litter from a un-speyed female. Scatter some poo's from the hole that they are in, leading to the shed, and put the rest of the litter and hay etc in their hutch. Try and get along peice of wood or pipe that is already positoned against the shed door ready for you to close it if the buns enter shed. Unfortunately you might have a bit of a wait but bunnies are inquisitive animals and might think that there is a female bun in the shed just by smelling the used litter

As I say I dont know if this would work and any suggestions from other members as to whether or not it would, would be appreciated

Keeps us posted and Good Luck

 

[indigoroses]

ohhhhhh. crafty.



Both rabbits are neutered. Anything's worth a shot.

Thanks for the info on the rabbit traps adele, it might just work since they're coming into their hutch if it's outside and then just legging it as soon as they see a human.
We're not chasing them, after the first few nights of trying to herd them, it was pretty obvious it wasn't going to work and just make them very scared of humans full stop. So no chasing, we've just been trying to get them shut in the shed when they do go in: but they alwaysbeat us and jump our barriers at the sides of the shed back in to the garden and to their hole.

I@m wondering, the hole cannot be very deep, i's simply in a bank of earth between a stone wall and with cobbles underneath. To destroy the hole, could we *dig* them up with a plastic sand castle spade (so no hurt bunnies) perhaps we can dig the top of them, faster than they can burrow another tunnel, since they can't go *down* or out. Then the hole would be destroyed, and the only safe space they would have would be to flee and hide in their hutch, or the shed?

What do people think? I've never even contemplated digging bunnies out of their burrows. RAbbit and Danny (our old rabbits) if they did go down a hole t was only shallow and could be easily coaxed out with apple or bread (bread=naughty, I know)

 

[bunnytales]

Hiya Indigoroses - thanks for the update.

Are you going to try Adele's Humane Traps to catch the bunnies?

I think if your going to try and dig them out you need to be really careful - one that they will bolt and hurt themselves, there is the obvious danger of hurting them during the digging process.

I think now with the number of responses on here you should now be able to decide on a plan to secure the bunnies in a safe environment so it would be good to hear your decision regarding how and when you intend to carry this out as it appears (forgive me If I'm wrong) there have been many good ideas put forward but nothing conclusive about how you have followed these through.

Both my buns happily go outside but they have a house base which they are used to as their home so when they go outside its normally for only 20 mins and then they are happy to run back in to the security of their den - but they would still never be left alone even though our garden is totally secure.

 

[Bob]

Just a word of caution regarding digging them out. You might actually end up collapsing one of the tunnels and doing more harm than good :-( Also it would probably really scare the rabbits even further!

I did like the idea about the shavings from a doe's hutch!

 

[Holly Go-Lightly]

Just a thought... Are they ever out of the tunnels long enough to flood them?

 

[bunnymad]

:shock: :lol: This has always been my fear with Bugzee !!

They are crafty thats for sure.

Bugzee can, from a stand still, jump higher than waist hight :shock:

I do like the idea of having something holding the door up with a rope attached

Good luck and let us know what worked to get them

bronie

 

[indigoroses]

Thank you everyone

Bunnies are FINALLY in.

*wilts* &i wasn't the one up there

thank you so much for the advice. we tried ever so many things you mentioned, and though the bunnies kept thwarting us and making bid for freedom eventually a combination of everything worked.

They put treats in the shed, and trails, so they kept coming back to the shed, and enticing them right into the hutch. This didn't work because as soon as they saw people they scarpered to the hole.
Herding didn't work (with a stick,housemates objected to waterpistoling bunnies, plus in the rain it probably wouldn't have worked) because they kept running to the holes instead of the shed.
They dug the bushes and brambles up, which needed to go anyway, to discover the holes.
THe holes were blocked up and bits where they could dig a little barracaded off, so in effect making a large makeshift run that they could n't get dug into , but could still run to the one remaining hole.
They didn't go for the tunnel into the shed, because they had the hole, but someone managed to leave the back door open, (so as not to make a noise)and sit there waiting for them to come out, and go to another part of the garden , nibbling on some purposely placedtreats and shut up the hole.

Then when they had calmed down from that fright, herded them, with the stick toward the shed, and the tunnel, which they went into , tried to go out again, but other people were there to put another barracade up that they couldn't jump, so then with some coaxing and treats they were able to pick up the devil duo and return them to a nice, clean and warm hutch with carrots and apples awaiting.
*phew*

what a horrible saga. we are now fencing off the borders with soil, so they can just have the cobbled/grassed/weeded area (no bushes, no soil, no scary unknown plants that we can't check) and no digging. so the safe space when being trained and herded should be the shed.

But we're going to leave them in there a bit first, to make it throughly theirs, and only let them out in a small run and in the kitchen area, until they're used to us and not qutie so shy. THey should be better when i go back, unless they've forgotten me, because they were being pretty good for me.

How long do people suggest we leave them in a shed small run before we train them to come in? DOes letting one rabbit out and keeping one rabbit in help train them better (because they return to the other rabbit)this has worked with one set of rabbits i've had. but not another.

On the rabbit health, they've been checked over by my bunny-loving housemate, and she thinks they look ok. I'mgoing to take them for a vet check up when I go abck just to make sure everythings okay (they should go and be registered and checked anyway really). They're just a little dirty it seems. :O

So thank you for all your patience and advice, it relaly really did help (even if it seemed it wasn't being taken, i assure you it was)
saga over!!

(but why do i think my adventures with these two are just begining?!)

 

[Lynn]

Wayhay - thank goodness they're in.

Hopefully they'll start to think of the shed as home. Good luck.

 

[Denny]

Hi Indigoroses

Glad to hear your bunnies are safe inside again.

If I were you I would let them out there hutch but still leave them in the shed and sit with them so that they get used to you. Take a good book, magazines, newspapers etc and when they are ready they will interact with you. Once they are used to lovings from you and come to greet you, may possibly like being picked up and cuddled then I would go onto the next step of letting them into a run.

If you can attach a run to the shed would be ideal,but as being as you hoppers are diggers I would make sure the run has wire netting on the bottom so they cant dig there way out :lol: :lol:

I think you are going to need alot of time and patience but they will reward you greatly once they assosiate you as their MUMMY BUNNY You'll know when they trust you because they will follow you and come to greet you when you are around them

GOOD LUCK

 

[Adele]

:thumb: Well done Indigoroses you outsmarted those crafty bunnies in the end :lol: :lol: .
I would let them settle into the shed for a few days and pop in regularly just to make contact, then gradually begin to socialise them.

Do the bunnies have names??....Houdini is one name that comes to mind for some reason :lol:

Please keep us posted as to their progress, and we are here to help you if you need anything.

 

[MandyM]

Phew & yay!! Glad to hear the little bunsters have been caught, keep us posted won't you....

 

[bunnytales]

Yipppppppeeeee - Captured Crafty Bunnies

Hiya Indigoroses - this is brill news - so glad these bunsters are safe and sound.

I echo everything that folks have said here - as per Denny's reply - I would spend a lot of time now with these bunnies to gain their trust.
My two bunsters didn't have any access to the Garden for some months - and I think it would be a good idea to allow a good time to let your bunnies make their shed home & Den and regard it as Sanctuary and get used to you, your smell and sound of your voice etc - you can usually tell as when my two bunsters come out into the garden now - they will constantly gaze back at the house to check that their escape route is there - they will normally run back into the house several times until they settle to graze outside for a while.
Another tip that might help you is when I feed my bunnies - I gently tap the side of the dish with my ring so they associate the noise with feed time - almost like the "clicker" idea works for dogs I guess - then I let them out for a run say 20 mins prior to their usual feed time - after they have been out for a while and stretched their legs - I'll come out with their feed bowls and tap the side and they will usually chase me into the house as they think it's feed time :lol: :lol: :lol: - This took much time and patience to do - and even now I don't always win as Buffy - little minx will sometimes figure out it may just be a ploy to get her back indoors - but 90% of the time it works!!

I know this probably sounds like a lot of hard work but its like anything - you only get out of a bunny what your prepared to put in - if your in any doubt that they do not regard the Shed as their Sanctuary/Den (but they should do given ample time) - I seriously consider having a secure run for them.

So glad its work out for you though - keep us posted.