Let the rabbit out of the hutch yesterday - it was playing in the enclosed garden. Now I cant seem to catch it as its running around like mad.

It cant go far as next door's gardens are also closed and nothing can get in or out.

But question is will it survive alone outside?

Depends if you have foxes in the area

Have you left the hutch open so bunny can get in? Preferably the smallest door of the hutch if it has more than one door?

Yes door is open. But is bunny intelligent enough to know where home is?

Yes, bunny will know where home is, presuming bunny has been out before and has lived there for a while.

Is the hutch partitioned, so that bunny could go in and still be safe from a predator such as a fox?

No foxes around here but there are cats.

If bunny's lively should be ok with cats, unless they're feral.


I'm off to bed now, but will be checking back tomorrow, hope bunny's ok.

Presume you've tried rattling the food dish etc, or offering favourite food or treats?

A bunny I had years back used to love cold tea leaves and tea mashed into bran or Weetabix (great for their furry coats too)

I hope bunny is back in his hutch now and all is okay.


Pet cats do catch bunnies, my cats bring them in regularly - but usually the smaller young ones, so hopefully your rabbit will be fine.

i now have a rabbit, who was running loose in an area plagued with cats & which has a family of foxes nearby foxes for at least... 5 months - over all that snow we had too.

she was a bugger to catch, but after having her out in our garden for a while, you can see why she's survived. the speed at which she digs is immense
i've had to get my hand down a hole, which is usually longer than my arm more than once to pull her out & get her back in her hutch

so they're not completely useless wee things!

i know i lost my female Himilayan Netherland dwarf overnight once. no sign of her. in the morning it turns out she'd managed to get into the enclosed area under my guinea pig hutches

The Rabbit seems to love it outside, even though it has been pouring down all day. The shed door is open and I have seen it going in there when it is too cold or damp.

Might let it be free for a few more days as the humidity is warm.

Why aren't you catching poor bunny in the shed when you see it going in there to save it potentially coming to any harm?

You can train rabbits when it is time to hop back into their home. I know this wont help at the moment, but perhaps it is something to think about in the future. My bunny happily hops around the garden in the day, but when tea time comes, I tell her' in your bed' and she duly runs across and hope in, waiting for her daily carrot. I have trained all of my bunnies over the years to do this, apart from one semi wild one I have at the moment, and the only way I can catch him is by creeping up from behind and putting a box over him,lol

I agree about the shed thing, get your bunny cornered in there, calm it down and then gently scoop up and pop back in the hutch

The longer you leave it out of the hutch, the more difficult it may be to catch it .It is also at risk from other animals.