hit head

Question
Hello,
Thank you for your honest and prompt response. I raised so many kittens that I have to remember that bunnies don't also always land on their feet! I just have one more question that I couldn't find an answer to in the links, how do I put her down? Also, she licks me alot, is this affection?
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
My dwarf bunny, Thumper, is just a few months old. This morning, as she was jumping off my shoulder into her cage, she crashed into the side of it and fell about a foot. This is not the first time she hit her head. Should i be concerned as far as damage to her brain or skull? She is acting normal, hopping around and eating as usual, but i can't help but to feel worried. She's just a baby bunny!
-----Answer-----
Dear Denise,

If she's acting normal now, then you can consider yourself lucky to have dodged this particular bullet.  But you need to train yourself to handle Thumper properly so she *cannot* jump away from you and potentially deal herself a fatal injury, if not to her head, then to another part of her body.

When you hold a bunny, be sure all four paws are securely against your chest and that you're supporting her back end firmly so she can't kick away.  The other hand should be on her shoulders, cupping them so that you can scruff her quickly in case of an emergency--such as if she scrabbles away and tries to jump.

You can find some helpful tips on proper handling of rabbits here:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/handling.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-11/lift.html

And an excellent site with pictures:

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/handling.asp

Rabbits, as prey animals, generally don't like to be picked up and carried around. They prefer to play at ground level, where they are in control of their own movements.  Learning to hold her safely and also to most often play at her level will go a long way towards preventing terrible injury such as the one you narrowly avoided this time.

I hope this helps!

Dana

Answer
Dear Denise,

Good question!  I'm surprised none of the sites show or explain that.  I'll see if I can.

When she's up against your chest, as in the pictures, kneel down so you're close to the ground.  Swivel the hand that's on her shoulders so it's under her chest, keeping the other hand firmly under her bum.  Lift her quickly and confidently away from you, rotating her to a normal "standing" position as you do so, and lower her to the ground.  She may wriggle a little, but if you are firmly holding her chest and bottom, she won't have leverage with her feet to kick away and jump.

And yes, her licking you means she loves you.  :)  Most rabbits are very picky about whom they lick, and will absolutely NOT lick someone they don't like.  So cute!

Happy New Year to you and Thumper!

Dana