Sexing Baby Rabbits

The Trick to Sexing your New Rabbit

Although it is not always the easiest task, sexing  baby rabbits is important and something anyone can learn with just a bit of practice.

Brothers and sisters should be separated by the time they’re sixteen weeks old at the latest to avoid unwanted litters.

To begin, turn your kit onto its back, holding him in your lap or on a flat surface that is not unreasonably cold. Hold its heads at a lower angle than its back legs and it should calm down within a few seconds or so.

Be gentle, stroke your rabbit. It is not going to be at all comfortable being held like this, and will more than likely struggle and protest at first.

The All Important Little Differences

You now need to locate the prepuce, a fuzzy mass found between the rabbit’s hind legs. If you put very slight pressure on this area, where the sexual organs are located, you will quite simply see a circle or a slit.

The circle shape indicates the rabbit you are holding is a boy. If the baby is starting to mature, a small penis may protrude, but that is often not the case with very young males.

This may be the reason that pet stores often get the sex of the rabbit they are selling completely wrong. Unless you are aware that a young buck may display no penis protrusion, it would be logical to conclude that they are female.

If you are dealing with a female rabbit that is a little more mature, a pink or red vulva usually indicates that she is ripe for breeding. This can be a good indicator for the breeder when trying to decide which days will be better for attempting to mate her with a suitable buck.

To Spay or Not to Spay?

Unless you are intending to breed your rabbit, it is better to have them spayed or neutered at the appropriate age, usually around eight to ten months.

An unneutered female who is not bred is at higher risk for reproductive cancers, conditions which unfortunately account for the death of 85% of female rabbits before they reach their fifth year.

Related posts:

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2. What should I look for when choosing rabbits for breeding? Most people choose to keep either a single buck (male),...
3. What sort of cage is best for Breeding Rabbits? One feature of a professional breeding hutch that can be...

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 at 11:44 pm and is filed under Rabbit Breeding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.