Another Rabbit

[Bernard2020]

Hi! Some of you may remember me from 2020, I caught a rabbit, Bernard, in my backyard. Unfortunately, Bernard passed away suddenly February, 2021 and I haven’t been on here since.
Once again, I’ve found another homeless rabbit. Only this time it’s at my dads trailer park. We originally thought the neighbor owned it, but we’ve talked to all the neighbors today and found out it’s homeless and just wanders around the trailer park. My dad and the bunny have bonded, as the rabbit always comes to get pets while my dad is gardening. I told him that we need to catch it and find it a home but he is convinced it’s happy outside. I know domesticated rabbits shouldn’t be without a home but I know I won’t be able to catch it without my dads help, since it loves my dad. Are there any resources I can show him to convince him rabbits shouldn’t be outdoors? I’ve always thought rabbits shouldn’t be outside 100% of the time in a hutch either but am I wrong? I live in ca where weather goes between 40s-107. I may be able to talk him into a hutch outside. Or would it be better for me to try to catch it and take it to a shelter?
Sorry for the long post! Any advice is appreciated!

[DanaNM]

Welcome back! I’m so sorry for your loss of Bernard. 🙁 You did a great job with her and if I remember correctly she had a lot of issues.

We’ve dealt with similar situations at the rescue, where someone has a “pet” that is basically a stray bun in their yard or neighbor hood. This bun was most likely someone’s pet that either escaped or was “set free”. Usually the friendly ones are the ones that get recaptured successfully (several of my buns were found as strays as well). We’ve had some of the best success by slowly trying to improve the bun’s situation. You might start by telling him about RHDV2, which is a very deadly virus that’s spreading all over CA. This bun is very unlikely to be vaccinated, and so is at high risk of sudden death from this virus.

There are also many other predators and parasites that this bun would be exposed to.

A suggestion you might make is to first try to catch the bun so you can get it vaccinated at least. A good way to go about this is to set up an x-pen in the garden in kind of a half circle and start feeding the bun in the pen. Once the bun is comfortable with that make the opening a little smaller and keep up with the feeding. Then you should be able to trap the bun in the pen and make it smaller until you can pick them up without too much issue.

Then perhaps you could convince him to build a predator-proof run for the bunny in the yard, that it could be enclosed in when he’s not supervising in the garden. While a hutch in the yard would be safer from predators, that isn’t a good life for the bun either.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bernard2020]

Yeah, she had quite a few issues but I’m glad she was able to live more comfortably indoors for her last year.

I told him about RHDV2 and that it’s lifespan most likely will be cut short so he agreed that we should catch it and take it to get vaccinated. And sorry, yes I meant run, not hutch! I will talk to him about a run and if he doesn’t want that, I just won’t release the rabbit after it’s vaccinated. Though I feel horrible taking it to a shelter but I know if I keep it even for a little, I’ll get attached.
Thank you for the advice

[LBJ10]

I’m sorry to hear about Bernard. I’m sure she appreciated being an indoor bunny for the last part of her life.

I agree with Dana. Catch the bunny for the purpose of getting it vaccinated. If you dad doesn’t want to do the minimum requirements for keeping the bunny safe from predators and other bad things, then I would take it to a shelter. If it’s friendly, then I’m sure it will find a home.

[DanaNM]

I think that sounds like a good plan, I’m glad he agree to at least getting it vaccinated!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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