getting close/bonding with bunny!

I have had my rabbit aptly named gizmo (colour and ears!) now for 5 days bunny has settled in very well, she will play and has learnt quickly the best ways to get in and out of the cage, i dont know yet if gizmo will like being stoked/cuddled, i dont know how long this will take, advice needed please!

How long do bunnys take to settle and bond? Gizmo will let me stroke her head a little and will acknowledge me by butting my hand and having a sniff the first two days she shyed away but now she seems to know when i am in the room and i open the cage it means play time! I usually say morning by opening the cage checking food,water and hay and bunny thinks its play time then too which is horrible cause i hate leaving for work then when all i want to do is play with her!

I use hay for the bedding but my book says this is bad as it can cause eye injuries due to sharp edges but she seems to be fine its good quality hay (dust extracted and such like)

thanks

when i first got sooty i spent an hour - 2 hours in his room, at first just sitting and talking to him or reading a book. When he approached me I'd give his nose a rub or a pellet and say "good boy". He now loves his nose rubs and when I go down to feed him in the morning (at 6:00 am ) he hops onto my lap to get his daily mini ration of pellets...it does mean sitting on the floor with suit and high heels on but hiho. When he's eating I cuddle him a little, stroke his back and all the time say good boy. Hopefully the reason becomes clear...

Once he was used to close contact with me I began to pick him up, once a day, for litterally seconds at first and not very high off the ground. Always saying "good boy" when he was in my arms and giving him a treat after like a few pellets. I've gradually increased the time. The best time seemed to be in the afternoon when he's a little sleepy, not dusk when all he wants to do is run around. Its not 100% sucessful and he does run off or kick out sometimes but he's Ok about 75% of the time now and getting better all the time.

A couple of things I did learn is if you do something that scares a rabbits thats new to you, it can a week to rebuild that trust. Sooty's a house bunny and we do not have a bunny proof garden. We have a run but i though he might enjoy running around the whole length. I bought a harness and introduced it gradually but the first time I tried to put it loosly round his waist, he flattened ran and wouldn't let me go near him to take it off. For a week after he was very skittish, thumpy and spent ages hiding. So my advice is slowly does it.

Of course, I'm not an expert so others may have much better advice, especially with picking up/cuddling.

many thanks for your advice i will make sure we have a few minutes every morning that way he will get used to me being mommy too! i have started to give him a treat at this time as well so that i make him happy for the day! i never realised how much fun owning a rabbit is!