Awwww Penelope, she’s so cute and angry!

My recent foster-fail Bonnie was the same way. She was very cage aggressive after being in the shelter for 3 years, poor thing.

What I did with her was I made sure she had her own space (a pen) that I didn’t mess with. For the first week or so, I only feed her, but didn’t try to pet her or anything. I cleaned her box a bit less that normal just so she could settle in.

Once she was comfortable enough to come out into the room to exercise (this took a couple weeks), I was sure to do her pen and box cleaning while she was not in the pen. I still didn’t try to pet her or anything, I just hung out in the same room with her and ignored her.

After a few more weeks, she would relax on the ground outside her pen near me, and then prob a week later she accepted some nose rubs. Every bunny has a different timeline, so I would say for Penelope, just give her space and don’t mess with her for now. Try not to do anything in her space while she’s in it if you can, or keep it minimal. She has gone through some trauma, but the more she realizes you aren’t going to grab her or hurt her, the more comfortable she will get.

Once she is more comfortable in general, you can also add some hand feeding of greens. Doing this through the fence bars can also help them feel safer and start to build some trust (because they feel protected by the barrier).

That sounds like a good plan, as long as it’s not too close to her pen. How long have you had her?

Ooh yeah, that’s no time at all, especially considering her history. I’m sure she’ll come around.

I’m sure the progress you make with her will really help her become more adoptable! Be careful though, that was my goal with Bonnie and we just fell in love with her. 🙂

It’s kind of odd, but sometimes I’ve experienced a closer bond with bunnies after having to give them medicine or syringe feed. If she doesn’t struggle in the towel, I would go with that option. Some bunnies seem calmer without the towel, but others it seems to work better. Giving a treat after her meds will help too.

For syringe feeding/medication adherence, I think it is personal to the rabbit, in terms of the best method. Some people have had success in using their chest to hold the rabbit in place against the ground while the rabbit is against their leg area so it cannot back up.

That’s great 🙂 I think sometimes after a few times they realize it’s not so bad.