Bunnies don’t like to be picked up. They each react diferently. My bunny Guin reacts similarly to what you are describing. She is good while I pick her up and as soon ad I have her in a good position, she struggles. Both the calm and the struggle mean the same thing. THe initial calm – is fear and dislike. The struggle is exactly the same. It is easier to struggle when there feet are against your body. Harder to struggle when the feet are in the air as they are being picked up and put down. Sometimes bunnies lick when they are nervous. Most of the time, we associate licking with affection, and indeed it is. But when bunnies are stressed, they often react by overdoing something. Like drinking toomuch water, over eating, excessive chewing, digging, licking… Any normal behavior can be done excessivly as a sign of stress. When Lancelot is lying on my lap relaxing, he licks my arm in affection. When I have him on my lap on his back to trim his sanitary area, he licks my arm out of stress. Some rabbits forgive our picking them up slowly. Others forgive quickly, and get back to tooth purring when we pet them – right after putting them down.