New bunny is not what we thought :(

We recently 'adopted' a rabbit (5 month old Lionhead female) from a lady who was not longer able to keep her. We were told that she loves people but this seems to be far from the truth. She came from a house with 2 young children (1 and 3) and the previous owner said her 3 year old would carry the rabbit around all the time but when my 10 year old daughter or myself try to pick her up, she kicks her back legs and runs off.
I did research this breed so I know they can be a little skittish and we have only had her for 7 days but is there anything I can do differently? I know that you are suppose to support their back legs and we are doing this but it doesn't help. She also hops off when she sees us coming her way. She was an indoor rabbit so we are keeping her in my daughters bedroom, with her cage (that came with her) open. Thanks for any suggestions!

You have to give her a few weeks to settle in. You just took her from her home and plopped her in a whole new unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people walking around, it's understandable that she'd be skittish and afraid. Give her 3 days locked in her cage, them give her 5 days to wander around your daughter's room with the door closed, then gradually give her more and more space so she can slowly get used to her new home. I'd recommend you do lots of sitting down spending time with her, letting her approach you on her own terms, so she learns that you are not threatening. Humans standing up are much scarier than humans closer to the ground! When my bunnies were new the only way I could approach them without them running away was crawling on all fours.

Also, at 5 months old she is undergoing puberty, and this tends to make bunnies more aggressive and unfriendly than usual. It's the perfect time to take her in for a spay. There are many good reasons for spaying bunnies and it's highly recommended.

Most rabbits hate being picked up, and always will. They are prey animals, so when they are picked up their instinct to struggle to avoid being eaten kicks in. You can't really train a rabbit to be docile about it, you have to train yourself to be quick and firm. We have a 5 year old who can pick up and hold the rabbits much more easily than I can. This is because young kids don't really grasp the concept of being gentle to others, and they often grab the rabbit up in bad positions and hold them so tight that they are too much in pain to struggle. This is what I suspect the 3 year old has been doing.

Your 10 year old, along with the rest of us, is probably much more mindful of hurting the bunny, so we are softer in grip, which allows the bunny to wiggle her way out. It's tricky to learn to be kind to the bunny while at the same time holding her firmly, but practice makes perfect! There are many ways to hold a bun, but here's what I do:

Sit on the floor and pet the bunny for a while so she is calm. Position yourself behind her, and firmly grasp her caging your fingers around her chest and neck area, making it so that she cannot leap forward, which is the first thing she will try to do. When she realises her front legs are caught in your finger cage and she can't move forward, she will then try to wiggle out backwards, towards you. This is when you quickly remove your left hand and swoop it under her tail. With one hand supporting her chest and the other supporting her bum, lift her up quickly!

Hold her firmly to your chest this way, upright and fully supported. When you want to let her down, don't just extend your arms down like you're putting down an object. She will start struggling when she sees the floor. Holding her to your chest, sit down on the floor, lower her into her lap and let her hop off.

I'm sure there are many other members who recommend different ways of holding your bun, but this is my scaredy-cat method! I used to be very afraid of hurting bunny and getting scratched or bitten myself, until I figured out this way to hold them. I hope it works for you and your daughter.

Whiskylollipop pretty much covered it all. The main reason you'll be having trouble is the bunny is suddenly in an entirely new environment and around new people. Rabbits are prey animals, so anything that is new is perceived as a possible threat. There is also the possibility that you were lied to about the bunny's disposition. A lot of people say things like that simply in order to get rid of unwanted pets.

Some good suggestions above though, spend time around the rabbit with her in the cage, just sitting quietly by the cage, maybe reading a book out loud softly so the rabbit gets used to your presence and voice. When you start letting her out, I agree to do it at her level, lay down on the floor and occupy yourself with something, eventually your bunny will get curious and approach, and let her do so without reaching out to her or attempting to pet her. In this way you can build their trust. Picking them up does take a bit of extra work though, I had to work with Bandit for quite some time before he stopped kicking and struggling every time. Sometimes now if he doesn't want to picked up he'll jump away before I have him secured, but any time that he struggled, I had to make sure I had a firm hold so that firstly, I wouldn't drop him, and secondly, so that he knew that struggling wasn't going to give him what he wanted (being put down). I also started rewarding him with some favourite foods once he was settled in my arms. He was liked a wild beast that flailed that kicked and struggled, but now he's super easy for me to pick up That doesn't mean that anybody would just be able to pick him up though, I imagine anyone new would still have trouble with it because he wouldn't know/trust them.

The best thing I found, after I let Shida settle in to her new home for a week, was lying on the floor with my iPad that gave me something to do and she became so curious the she jumped on my back and crawled up my shoulders just to see what I was doing lol!

Pretty much covers what I was going to say.

Only pointers I can add is:
Be at her level as much as possible and let her come to you. When she does, she gets a treat (little piece of yummy veg). Positive association- you are the bringer of good things.
And following on from that, when she does come up to you, which she will, dont try and pick her up. She'll start to associate coming near you with something she hates- being picked up.
I also find ignoring them works brilliantly. If she comes to your feet, just stand there, don't bend down to her or try and touch her- shell have her sniff, and when she's done she'll hop away. After a week or so of this, you can try then crouching when she comes to you, then slowly move to strokes etc. A rabbits trust is hard earned but when you have it it's wonderful.
Jen