How do I catch my rabbit?

Question

I've got 2 rabbits (Charlie 8 months and Lola 6 months - both have been neutered/spayed) Both live in a large hutch in the shed and when we are at home we bring them in to run around the lounge as they are both litter trained.
We had Charlie first, Charlie is fantastic, he is really tame and affectionate and when its time to go back to the hutch he'll let us take him in.

then we got Lola. They get on great with eachother. However with us she is really timid. When we try to catch her (especially when we want to put her in her cage) she runs off and hides anywhere. It sometimes takes us over an hour to get her. When we do catch her we just have to suddenly grab her (by putting 2 hands on her back) and after a couple of seconds she stops kicking.
I dont want her to associate us with trying to catch her all the time. Plus i'm worried about hurting her by picking her up this way.
We've tried everything, any suggestions??

Answer 1

You can't afford to let her kick. Rabbits can easily break their backs kicking.
The previous suggestion about the blanket is dead on.
You need to get down on you rabbits' level. That means on your tummy, on the floor, or you kneeling beside whichever piece of furniture she's on. They want to feel comfortable with your size.You probably look like a big hawk to her, swooping down to catch her in your talons (ie. fingers.)
Get some 2 foot high plastic fences or whatever, and make a folding enclosure that you can put the bunnies in when you bring them inside. This will probably cut down on the chasing.
As well, get yourself a small cage or cardboard box. Place it in the room/enclosure for her to hide in when its time to go back to the hutch. Voila, one rabbit, in a box.

Answer 2

Purchase(from a pet store) a pond net with a long handle. You should be able to get one for about $8-10. Block off escape areas. Practice catching the rabbit in one small area by calling it by name. Rabbits are very smart. When the rabbit comes near you give it a small treat. Eventually, the rabbit will associate the food as reward and come to you all the time. Then you can give it treats occasionally for reinforcement.

Answer 3

Some are just a bugger like that. Reminds me of a spoiled kid that doesn't want to leave the park.

You could set up some kind of box. Don't have anything out in the room she can hide behind except that box.. leave it open so she can get in one side. When you go to catch them and put her away she will probably try hiding in the box and you will be able to catch her without all the chasing.

You probably won't get her to "want" to be caught and put away.. but at least you can make it easier for both of you.

Answer 4

i wouldn't agree with putting her in a plain empty room with no where for her to hide.

let her do whatever she wants and when she comes out, throw a blanket over her. she will not be able to see you to associate you with catching her and she will stopping moving for a second.
go down and pick her up with the blanket and then bring her to a place where she can't run away from you, sit down with her, and then pet her and calm her down and be all nice to her (the blanket doens't have to be over her face when you do this, let her see you being nice to her). then nicely put her in her hutch.

she will learn to trust that you are only doing that to help her, not hurt her.

Answer 5

Give her some alfalfa hay or whatever she likes best and hoax her over. Massage her and get her to associate your hands with nice things. It will take time and patience.

Or, the other extreme, get a big net and chase her down with it!

Answer 6

lol i had the same problem with my rabbit.
just put her in a room with not that many place to hide... or block off the places she could hide with pillows... thats what we did.

Answer 7

lure her wit a carrot