A new rabbit who runs from you is not unfriendly — she is a prey animal doing exactly what keeps rabbits alive. Trust is built when she learns, through many uneventful repetitions, that you appear at predictable times, move slowly, bring food, and never grab. That learning happens at floor level and at her pace, measured in days and weeks rather than in one brave afternoon.
Start With Presence, Not Contact
For the first days, simply be near her without asking anything of her. Sit or lie on the floor beside her pen, side-on rather than facing her, and read a book or watch something quietly. Let her watch you, approach the bars, and retreat to her hidey house as often as she likes — retreating and returning is the bonding process working, not failing. Keep the hidey house in place permanently and never drag her out of it; a rabbit who knows she always has an escape route becomes braver about leaving it. Talk softly as you arrive and move around so your voice and footsteps stop being surprises.
Food Does the Introductions
Hand-feeding is the fastest honest route to a rabbit's trust. Offer a small piece of leafy green or a favourite herb through the bars first, then, once she takes it readily, open the pen and sit inside her space with greens resting on your leg or beside your hand. Let her stretch out, take the food, and hop away to eat it; resist stroking her during these early meals. Over days, most rabbits start arriving at the pen door when they hear you, then eating closer, then lingering. Only when she is eating calmly beside you should you try one brief stroke on the forehead or shoulder, stopping the moment she moves away.
Why Picking Up Undoes Your Progress
Being lifted off the ground is, to a rabbit, what being caught feels like, and one frightening scoop can reset a week of floor work. Avoid picking her up except when health checks or safety genuinely require it, support her whole body firmly if you must, and do as much care as possible at ground level — health checks on the floor, nail care introduced very gradually later. Children should meet her sitting on the floor with greens, never chasing or carrying her. The same rule applies to well-meaning visitors: watching quietly is a fine introduction.
Routine, Space, and Signs of Trust
Rabbits relax into predictable households. Keep feeding, floor time, and cleaning at roughly the same times daily, start with a smallish pen area so she is not overwhelmed, and expand her space as her confidence grows. Watch for the milestones: eating while you are present, exploring your clothes, a nose boop against your hand, stretching out with feet kicked to the side, and eventually flopping down to rest near you. A rabbit who stops eating, hides all day, or thumps constantly is overwhelmed or unwell — shrink her world back down, and see a vet if appetite does not return promptly, since rabbits deteriorate fast when they stop eating. KinsLe's Care Teams keeps this slow work consistent across the household by assigning feeding times and floor-time sessions to named people, timestamped as done, so your rabbit meets the same calm routine whoever is on duty.