Sexing Rabbits

Sexing Rabbits
It is essential to learn how to sex a rabbit in order to be able to select the sex of your choice. This can be quite a difficult task with young rabbits, so even if you are buying your rabbit from an experienced breeder, it is important to be able to double check.

Unlike most animals, rabbits cannot be sexed at birth. It takes at least four or five weeks before it is possible to determine the sex of a baby rabbit. Large breeds are usually slightly easier to sex than smaller ones, simply because their genitals are larger.

The easiest way of determining the sex of a young rabbit is to place the rabbit on its back on the palm of one of your hands. Make sure that you have a good grip, as small rabbits can jump surprisingly well. With the other hand, gently press with two fingers around the sexual organ. A small opening will then be visible. In the buck rabbit, this will appear in the form of a circle, in the doe the opening will look like a V-shaped slit. If all the youngsters examined appear to have a circular opening, it may be because they are slightly too young to be sexed properly. If this is the case, wait a week and try again. If you still get the same result, then you can safely assume that they are all bucks! It is much easier to sex the adult rabbit. An adult buck will have two fairly large testicles that are clearly visible. The doe's vagina will show as a large V-shaped opening.

Buying Male or Female Rabbits
Bucks(males) will make better pets than does(females). A buck will often be slightly more easy-going and friendly than a doe. An adult doe rabbit who is not being bred from, will often become almost obsessed with breeding. If not bred from, she may become aggressive, and will often also develop so-called phantom pregnancies -- when she believes that she is pregnant, although she is not. A doe will also often be more territorial than a buck, defending her hutch from intruders(which may be the owner!)


Male Rabbit


Female Rabbit

A buck rabbit can also become aggressive and defend his territory, and the entire buck may develop the annoying habit of spraying. A spraying buck rabbit will literally spray urine over anything that he considers belongs to him, and that includes his owner! Not all bucks spray, but it is seldom possible to predict which young buck is going to become a sprayer as an adult, and which will not. There is, however, a way to get round most of the problems that may be associated with buck rabbits. If the rabbit is not intended for breeding, a vet can neuter him. This will usually calm the rabbit down considerably, stop him from spraying, and will most often improve a bad temper. Therefore, you are perhaps safer in acquiring a buck rather than a doe, as it is easier to correct any undesirable behaviour. Neutering of does is not normally done, as it is a very major operation for such a small animal.