can't get rabbit back into hutch

[madrid4]

Hi, bit of a strange but we have recently become the proud adoptive parents of a 2yr old rabbit. (From our neighbours who have moved abroad.) The rabbit is healthy and seems happy enough. The only trouble is we have difficulty trying to make him go back to his hutch every night. I know he was allowed to roam around the garden all day whilst with his previous owners so we have let him do the same. Every evening though it's like something out of a comedy scene. He's so fast. He is fairly tame, he enjoys eating out of your hand, being stroked etc but hates being picked up and is very scrabbly & scratchy if you try to carry him. Any ideas please in how to put him back safely in his hutch? Many thanks.

[Neenee]

a complete nightmare... we had a rabbit very similar a few years back, and as you say its like something out of a comedy sketch!

we both used to chase the ruddy thing round the garden, armed with a broom and a fishing net, and try and corner the thing, and when we finally managed to corner him, we would trap him under the fishing net and catch him that way, sounds cruel i know, but it was the only way we could ever catch him...... sadly he died a few months later,....... hasten to add i never realyl missed chasing him around the garden for hours... and i mean some nights we were there till dark. in the summer!!! happy rabbit catching!!!!!

[WendyS]

This sounds hilarious as a comedy scene, but actually I imagine it must be a nightmare and quite stressful for all concerned, not least the rabbit.
Could you try only feeding him in the morning and somehow restricting what he can eat during the day, so that by the evening he's getting hungry and then will be less reluctant to go back to his hutch, especially if he gets some nibbly treats when he gets there? Perhaps he has had a bad experience in his hutch at night - possibly having a fox trying to get at him, and associates being shut in there with this fear. Is his hutch in a safe place where he can't be attacked - in a shed or garage perhaps? Can you get in touch with your former neighbours to find out how they coped with this problem (or do you think they conveniently forgot to mention it ???)

[madrid4]

Hi, thanks for replying. We've been using a blanket to try and throw over him when he quickly runs away. We're trying to catch him as stress free as possible. He still manages to escape from that though, he is so fast. We were out there till midnight the other night. It makes me feel reluctnant to open his hutch again in the morning. The neighbours have moved to Australia without a forwarding address. I don't know if they had the same problem, they certainly didn't mention it!!!! I think the feeding treats to encourage him to return to his hutch may be a good solution. I'll have to ask the kids to stop feeding him during the day. He obviously nibbles away at the grass all day but I guess that isn't going to feel him up. I'll give it a go today.
Thanks very much.

[Kilala]

If you have a nice, big, airy hutch, leave the door to it open and lower it so it is only just off the ground- on a few bricks (this stops it getting damp from the ground.) then put his food in the hutch, treats galore, so that it is somewhere he wants to be. Then it should be easier to herd him in. (If he doesn't like being picked up, try not to.)

Worth a try, perhaps?