Catching my rabbit

Question
Hi Lee, I have 2 rabbits. One I bought as a 6 week kitten from a pet store and one I found abandoned in the bush only 2 days ago.  The first one, Biddles, is now about 16 weeks and is allowed to run around my apartment when I'm there to supervise and is then returned to her hutch when playtime is over.  The thing is, I have a devil of a time catching her! I can understand her reluctance but it's becoming a big problem for me.  I spend a good 15 minutes trying coax her, guide her back to her hutch and then finally getting hold of her which she fights with everything she's got. I worry that the more it happens the worse her dislike of being picked up will get, and yet I just need to get her safely into her hutch in a reasonable amount of time.  The new rabbit, Frankie, has no such objections at all!  Can you suggest anything?

Answer
Hi Catherine,

(update)

I should also say thanks for caring for your abandoned baby.  they are both young rabbits, one very young.  That is good in that you can get them used to being held better than older rabbits.  Especially the 6-week old one.

Keep in mind that your first rabbit will hit sexual maturity soon (if not already) and will need to be fixed in order to keep the personality and behavior she had before hitting sexual maturity.  It will also allow her to live a full 10-12 years as opposed to 5-6 (most unfixed females die by 5-6 from uterine cancer).  

You will need to separate the two rabbits once she hits sexual maturity, as she may become territorial and aggressive towards the other rabbit.  The other one being so small compared to her, you will need to keep them separate for safety reasons.  I'd probably separate them now, before something bad happens.

(end update)

one suggestion is to not give her food outside of her house (except some hay).  Get her used to going up at dinnertime, or at night when you give her a treat.  Something like that.  It is much easier to get them up if they want to go up.  If they only get pellets/treats in their house (and it must be done on a routine/consistent basis) then they will want to go up and not feel you are forcing them up.

Another suggestion is to use her portable carrier.  Keep it in her room and play area.  Keep it open so that she can go in and out.  You can get her to go into the carrier by placing a treat in it, or a hay cube.  Then transfer her from the carrier to her main cage/house.

If you can train her to understand what 'treat' is, you can also train her to know that she only gets them if she goes up into her house.  If the cage/house is of the ground a bit, consider making a wooden ramp for her to go up and down on her own, so that when you say 'treat' after she is trained, she will be able to go up on her own.

the final thing is that there are certain times of the day it is easier to pick up rabbits.  Particularly in the later afternoon hours.  This is their normal down time and you can pet her a bit, then pick her up.  I would not suggest just going for her outright.  I would try to act like you are going to just give her a normal pet, and then give her a normal pet.  Then pick her up.  

For rabbits that are squirmers, make sure you have her securely (but don't crush her).  Often rabbits struggle when they feel they are hanging.  Alsways support her rump and back so that she won't kick and possibly break her back.  I would consider placing a towel over her (her eyes) so that she can't see where she's going and get anxious and start struggling) - often they do that when they figure out where you are taking them.

Lee