What to do and what not to when if your bunny escapes (outside your house)

[MonsterBun]

I’m currently in an active escape situation right now. My rabbit Max, or Monster, has escaped(definitely not the first time) and is currently hiding underneath my neighbor’s shed. He had been under here for at least an hour now. I’ve got apples at the opening to try to lure him out, but he’s not budging. There is only one exit, which is the one I’m staking out. Any ideas on anything else I can be doing?

Ok, we caught him.

 

[Alicia0307]

I’m so stressed out. My bunny Bugs escaped Yesterday. She spends the days on a bunny proof (or so I thought) patio. She move a board on the fence door and shifted a brick. Insane. For over 24 hours now we have been playing a game of tag. She hops around my building between my garage door and front door at dawn and dusk. Looks for me and then runs. She’s been hiding in an insanely thick shrubbery of my neighbors and I can even stick a hand in with thorns and succulent thickness. Well after 8 hours of catch yesterday I had to let it go. She survived the night and was staring at me at dawn today. Played this awful game for awhile til her day nap in bushes and then no sighting. Tonight again staring at me thru a window. I’m at a loss with this hunting game and feel like an awful human. I’ve tried treats, food, fruit, vrooms, blankets, laying, crawling. Everything. Leaving my gate open for her to hop back into the patio she has loved. She even while running chase has sprinted by with a tap of the nose (her kiss) to my foot. Ughhhh! Advice?

 

[Hermelin]

I’m so stressed out. My bunny Bugs escaped Yesterday. She spends the days on a bunny proof (or so I thought) patio. She move a board on the fence door and shifted a brick. Insane. For over 24 hours now we have been playing a game of tag. She hops around my building between my garage door and front door at dawn and dusk. Looks for me and then runs. She’s been hiding in an insanely thick shrubbery of my neighbors and I can even stick a hand in with thorns and succulent thickness. Well after 8 hours of catch yesterday I had to let it go. She survived the night and was staring at me at dawn today. Played this awful game for awhile til her day nap in bushes and then no sighting. Tonight again staring at me thru a window. I’m at a loss with this hunting game and feel like an awful human. I’ve tried treats, food, fruit, vrooms, blankets, laying, crawling. Everything. Leaving my gate open for her to hop back into the patio she has loved. She even while running chase has sprinted by with a tap of the nose (her kiss) to my foot. Ughhhh! Advice?

Have you tried herding her to a solid wall and close her in with a x-pen. This will make her have a smaller area. Otherwise try the treats way, have her favorite treats throw it a bit to her and lure her to go into the patio or other place.

I have always lured my bunny Toste into a corner and closed him in when he escaped. It was a lot easier. Myself herd my bunny towards a direction while my little brother waited for him to run into the corner and close him in.

I hope you manage to catch your bunny.

 

[Preitler]

From my experience:

First, stop playing tag. Doesn't work, and just makes the rabbit nervous - it will avoid to go where you want it to go at all costs. You can't grab a rabbit if it's just in reach, they have otherworldly reaction times, and know exactly how close they let you come to always get away.

Plan ahaed.

If you are lucky you have a location where to corner her, but a lenght of fence, or connected playpen panels, or whatever to block her way back is a great help.
You can create such a corner or fence trap (rather big, several meters, U-shaped, so she doesn't realise at once that it's a dead end) in an area some meters away from that hedge or unaccessable hiding spots, putting something there to hide under might help too.

Then block all directions she could go that would make things worse, that is farther away or under other covers, with whatever is at hand.

To get her to your corner or trap, try to lure her there. Shake the pellets box, and put a bowl with pellets there, and retreat, read a book, dont stare at her. If she doesn't come out repeat several times after 5 minutes.
If luring her out doesn't work, herding can. 2 long sticks, about 2m/6ft each really help a lot to herd rabbits, if they are under something you can tap their behind, and once outside you can form a shallow V with the sticks so you can herd her appr. in the right direction.

Well, actually, its less herding, than nagging. Whatever you do, stay calm, move relaxed. If you are hectic and nervous, your bunny is too - see above, goes everywhere, just not where you wont it to.

Just move slowly closer, and stop just before she hops away, and wait. That is an uncomfortable situation, and she will hop away a few steps eventually. Use the sticks to avoid that she goes around you. Repeat.
If she bolts, just do nothing, no fast movements, no hectic attempts to grab her. Start from 0 5 minutes later.
If she keeps going left everywhere but where you want her - patience. Rabbits have quite limited endurance, and after 10-15minutes of keeping them moving they tend to be a tad more cooperative.

Once cornered, first make sure all escape routes are closed, espacially they way she went there. You can move that barrier closer and catch her when there isn't enough room to escape you anymore, or you can put a carrier, hidey house etc. there and herd her in.

But again, whatever you do, stay calm. No running, shouting, grabbing, act determined but not stressed.

My fences are more or less symbolic, and the garden is quite big anyway, so my rabbits learn from early on to return to their hutches, but sometimes they get other ideas.

Good luck.

 

[Alicia0307]

Thank you both so much! I am moving the Xpen to the driveway area now and get ready to build my walls for when she does her hiding under my car move. She made it another night! And nicely ate her food and bananas..... but still not the veggies she least prefers. I had a rabbit years ago but not one as sassy as this girl. It’s fascinating. The herding begins today!!

 

[MonsterBun]

If this becomes a persistent problem, investing in a large butterfly or fishing net might help. We got one for our two escape artists, and it helps immensely.

 

[Hermelin]

Myself taught my bunnies to come when being called, so the bunny that have run away at least 20 times always came when being called.

I just need to throw a treat to him and he would follow me like a shadow back to the house, if he stopped I called his name and he comes running again

But no use trying to pick him up or try to reach towards him if he’s not cornered otherwise he will avoid me. The downside having a bunny that have bad eye sight and a bit scared of humans.

At least it made it a lot easier to capture him, myself live near the forest so when he run away it’s really hard finding him

Myself believed he had run away again a few days ago. I had left my window open, so he could fit through and I saw the things at the window sill had fallen down. Wouldn’t be the first time he escaped the house but turn out he was hiding in one of the rooms in the house. He came running after calling for him a few times.