Mama bunny aggressive towards babies

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Akiosecret

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My bunny just had a litter of babies about 9 days ago. When she went to feed them today she would flinch and leave the nest box when the kits touched her. After sniffing them for a minute she would hop back in to nurse, repeating this process a few times. This isn't too bad, but most times she would growl and dig at them, and It seems like she bites them. It could just be grooming, but I'm not sure. Should I remove them from her cage?
 
First I would check her over if her nipples are red or inflamed.

If the kits are not injured (if she actually bites, you quite likely would see it) I would think that she just rearranges the nest, fluffing fur up and such, which can come with some noises. I wouldn't know what my does do since they really value privacy, someone around does stress them.
 
Growling and digging isn't grooming. If she isn't just doing some rearranging of the nest contents, but is actually going after the kits, she might injure them. Then you may need to remove the nest box except when the kits need to be nursed(usually early morning and/or late evening).

A possible reason for her reacting aggressively to their nursing at this stage, is if she has developed mastitis. That would make it painful to her when the kits try and nurse. So like Preitler mentioned, check her nipples for signs of mastitis. If she does have it, the kits will likely need to be removed from her and receive hand feeds, and she'll need the appropriate antibiotic treatment and possibly meloxicam(NSAID).

https://wagwalking.com/rabbit/condition/lactation-infection
(WARNING: LINK CONTAINS GRAPHIC NECROPSY MEDICAL PHOTOS)
Medirabbit: mastitis in nursing does
 

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