First Bunny, Big Worrier, Experienced owner input would be helpful!

[RemWhite]

I have had my first bunny for around a month. She is a 6 month old Dutch bunny and I have never loved anything quite so much! Although she is still getting used to us, the apartment was recently fully bunny proofed so that she can run around the living room when we are sitting in there with her. We typically just open her cage door and she hops on out and will play until it's time to shut off the lights and sleep! She has recently become amazingly more comfortable to being pet and is reaching the point of approaching us when she wants a good rub. We only pick her up when necessary (to keep her out of something, etc). Today, I came home from work during lunch because I realized I had left the air conditioning off and was worried she might be overheated. She's too cute to ignore, so I ended up letting her out to play while I ate. I HAD to get back to work and attempted to coax her into her cage to no avail (I think it was starting to be a fun game). I succeeded in picking her up and just sat and calmed her for a minute before carrying her to her crate. When I went to kneel, she LEAPT from my arms, and took back off into the living room. She was visibly upset when I went to her hiding place under the table and let her be for a few minutes before laying on the floor with her, but she did something strange, she let me start petting her, and immediately laid flat against the baseboard, almost like her "relaxed" position. She made no attempt to get away when I went to get her but then resumed her normal freak out when I had her in my arms and situated my hand under her hind end. Again, I calmed her, then moved to the cage, intended to actually place her inside it this time. She AGAIN leapt, but into the cage. She hit the cage door and scampered into her igloo. After just a minute, she came out of the igloo, went to the other end of the cage and flopped down, breathing heavily. I noticed she had urinated on her bedding in the entrance to her cage. I have been sitting next to her for around an hour since and she resumed mostly normal activities, ate a small bit of hay, pawed and knawed at the cage door as she does when someone is here and she expects to be let to roam, and jumped on top of her igloo. Groomed, scratched, and appears to have urinated again in her normal "bathroom" corner. I have an extreme fear that she will ever be hurt and I will not know! How can I tell? I always try to pick her up from the middle, never fur, ears, legs, paws, tail, etc, so I am concerned if something is hurt it would be her midsection. What behaviors when playing or being pet signify internal stress?

 

[JBun]

It sounds to me like your rabbit is probably ok. One of the best signs to know there is something wrong with a rabbit, is if it won't eat something when it normally would. Lack of appetite or reduction of appetite(with corresponding reduction or no fecal poop), is a signal that a rabbit is experiencing pain and/or some sort of health issue. There are other subtle signs you can look for, such as sitting hunched up and not wanting to move much, laying down and getting right back up repeatedly, teeth grinding(not contented tooth purring), lethargy, continued increased respiratory rate, changes of behavior where they are behaving in a way that is abnormal for them(uncharacteristic excessive chewing, digging, aggression, etc).
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/knowing-when-your-rabbit-needs-emergency-treatment.html

Though it can be good to not pick up your rabbit too much when they don't like it(which most rabbits don't), it's also important to get your bun used to being handled and picked up, and for you as the owner to feel confident in picking up and handling your bun. And this just takes lots of repetition. Being in a small area like an xpen when practicing, can make this a bit easier. Keep in mind though, that there are a few rabbits that may respond negatively to this, usually ones that are skittish and not used to people. In which case they first need time to learn to trust you before you start trying to get them used to being handled. In the meantime, you will want to make sure you have a good hold on your bun when picking up. For my rabbits that dislike being picked up and are really squirmy, I scoop them up and quickly bring them right to my body, where I continue to keep a firm hold on them, usually with one hand under the bum and the other over the head shoulder area. It can also help some rabbits to use the hand to cover their eyes as well.

 

[ladysown]

she sounds just fine. when holding rabbits you need to be firm and in control when moving them. Covering the head when moving is a huge benefit.

 

[Azerane]

Rabbits are wriggly little beasts that can be impossible to hold onto. With time, she will get more used to you and the sensation of being picked up and put down. Bandit was an all out kicker and scrabbler when I first got him, and it took a month or two before that went away. Part of it was finding the right technique that worked for us, and part of it was learning to trust each other.

She sounds alright to me, it's possibly she simply urinated from the surprise of hitting the cage door, not from actually being injured. When she laid down flat under the table and let you pet her, that's a good thing. They become like a little bunny loaf and just absorb pets.