Is aggression normal in nursing winter white Mums

[chase]

I have been trying to get some more WW hamsters and maybe breed as have always wanted to try. I went to view some babies yesterday and i ASKED to see the mum and dad. The breeder had Mum and Dad but with another litter. I asked if the mum and dad were friendly and she said Mum normally is but she cant handle her while she is nursing as she will attack and bite the owner. When I asked to handle the Dad she was relectant to pick him up as he was with the mum and babies. I said not to upset them.Unfortunately I had fallen in love with one of the babies by then and paid. They are not ready to go yet and I keep wondering if I have done the wrong thing or if it is normal for the Mums to get stroppy as she assured me it was.I know alot of you breed on HC so needed some guidance.
Thanks

[souffle]

Absolutly she is protecting her young. The breeder sounds very responsible as in handling the dad you could put a strange scent in the cage which could upset the litter and even cause mum to kill them or break up the relationship in the cage. You should adopt the same procedure with your hamster babies in the future.

[chase]

Originally Posted by souffle

Absolutly she is protecting her young. The breeder sounds very responsible as in handling the dad you could put a strange scent in the cage which could upset the litter and even cause mum to kill them or break up the relationship in the cage. You should adopt the same procedure with your hamster babies in the future.

Ok thankyou very much was just a bit worried.

[babyboos]

I woudl never let anyone handle either parent in this situation, though depending on the hamsters I may be able to handle them myself. I don't think it is unusual for hamsters to get possessive when they have young, and I would especially reticent to hold them if they did show protective tendancies, and if it was their first litter for example when I would be clueless as to how they may react - it wouldn't be worth losing a litter over.