Aggression/Nestbuilding/Unweaned Babies

[Djakarta]

The babies that I'm fostering are now 5 weeks old. The mother bunny, Miranda, has suddenly become very territorial/ protective about the x pen as well as the cage.

Last night she pulled newspaper and hay from the litterboxes and began building a nest.

This morning I saw her nipping at one of her babies. She pulled at the fur on the hindquarters hard enough to lift the baby from the ground. She didn't pull out any fur or break the skin. The baby didn't appear too concerned.

What should I do?

Should I separate the babies from her? Aren't the babies too young to be weaned?

Should Miranda be spayed at this time? ( The original plan was to spay her when the babies were 8 weeks old)

How do I go about the usual business of cage cleaning?/ How do I handle her aggressiveness?

[bunnyluv17]

Is there any possibility she might be pregnant again? Was she in with a male when she gave birth?

I would give her some time to herself away from the babies. You can let her out of the pen for some playtime while you clean the cage; and that way she can have a break from her demanding kids. The babies are too young to be taken away from mom, but this might have to change if she does injure one of them. But since you said the baby was not hurt, then it would be best to allow them to stay together.

[Djakarta]

She came to the shelter on Wednesday 8/30. A male bunny also came in on that day, but I don't know if they were together. The next day she had a vet check. I saw her returned to her cage in the late afternoon 8/31. There were no babies at that time. I next saw her on Sunday 9/3 and there were 2 babies.

The babies eyes opened 9/12, so I would guess they had been born on Saturday 9/2.

She has been separated from male bunnies since her intake date 8/30.

Is it possible that there were more babies born before her intake date? People's comments have led me to believe that 2 babies is an unusually small number.

It wouldn't be possible for her to be impregnated before delivering all her babies would it?

She is calmer this afternoon. When I last checked on them, she and her babies were all snuggled together as usual for their afternoon nap.

[bunnyluv17]

Two babies is not a typical litter size, but it certainly does happen.
They cannot become pregnant again before giving birth, but they can get pregnant right after giving birth.

Originally Posted by Djakarta

It wouldn't be possible for her to be impregnated before delivering all her babies would it?

[Djakarta]

Miranda will be going in to be spayed sometime in the next 3 weeks. I've been advised to separate her from the babies (2) after the spay.

To further complicate matters, my MIL is coming to visit in about 3 weeks, which means that all the foster animals need to be moved out of the guest room.

So- looks like I'll be building/rebuilding a few cages. I'd like to create a configuration where Miranda and the babies share a wall so they can still see each other.

My idea is to create a 3 by 5 cage that is 3 levels high. Miranda will have a 2 by 3 with 3 levels. The babies would have a 3 by 3 single level that would be 2 levels high. The guinea pigs (2 pigs) would be above the babies in a 3 by 3.

Both bunny cages could be opened on the floor level and could be connected to the X pen during the day for exercise time.

Would this be enough space?