Many animal lovers want to purchase a rabbit of a certain gender. Some prefer males, others prefer females. In addition, domestic rabbits very often participate in breeding. Not all novice rabbit breeders can distinguish boys from girls. If the breeder did not disclose the gender of the rabbit when selling, the following tips will help you find out how to accurately determine whether it is male or female.
Why is it important to determine gender?
Knowing the gender of pets is necessary, first of all, for those pet lovers who are going to engage in their breeding and breeding work. When forming a maternal stock, it is necessary to purchase one rabbit for every 5-6 females. In order not to make a mistake in choosing, already at the purchase stage you need to know the distinctive features and be able to distinguish between males and females.
Those animal lovers who want to have a pair of pets, but do not want to have offspring from her, will also need to distinguish rabbits from female rabbits. In addition, when choosing an animal, you need to take into account that the maintenance and care of girls is somewhat different from the maintenance of boys. And individuals of opposite sexes behave differently.
Despite their cute appearance, males and females can injure each other during fights, so they should not be kept in the same cage. Shared housing can lead to unwanted offspring and inbreeding.
Optimal age for determining
You should not try to find out the gender of newborn rabbits. Their sizes are so small that even an experienced breeder will not be able to recognize where the boys are and where the girls are. In addition, up to 2-3 weeks, the external genitals of all babies look the same. Therefore, you should not once again disturb the nursing rabbit and take the babies in your arms. In this case, there is a threat that she may abandon the offspring.
You can check and separate the animals by gender when they reach 4-5 weeks of age. It is advisable to do this before 8-12 weeks, before the baby rabbits begin puberty and start fighting among themselves. It is believed that the most accurate way to determine the sex of an animal is at 12 weeks.
Determination methods
Females can be distinguished from males by the structure of their genitals. Experienced rabbit breeders can also do this based on external signs, including the animal’s body shape and behavior.
Sexual characteristics
To accurately distinguish a male from a female, you need to know what primary and secondary sexual characteristics correspond to them. Secondary sexual characteristics include two rows of mammary glands in females, the shape and proportions of the body, and head. As a rule, the physique of males is stronger, the head is more massive, and the croup is narrower than that of females.
Primary sexual characteristics
The primary signs include the genitals. In females and males they differ not only in location, but also in structure. The female genitalia is a loop with a slit in the middle. In young individuals 1-2 months old, it looks like a small pink tongue, widening on the sides and tapering towards the tail. It is located almost next to the anus. As the loop matures, it changes color to a darker color.
It is located a little further from the anus than in females. In young animals 1-2 months old, the color of the penis is almost white; as they grow older, the genitals become pink and periodically swell.
To determine the gender of grown animals, you need:
- Take the animal in your hands. Stroke and calm him down.
- Lay on your back. Do this on a flat surface or on your knees. The animal's head should be facing the owner.
- Gently hold your pet with one hand. With your other hand, spread the fur and skin in the genital area and press just below the anus.
- If the loop becomes clearly visible, then it is a female; if there is an elongated penis with a hole in the upper part, then it is a male. At puberty, they have two testicles; they do not look like the gonads of males or cats, but resemble small tumors not covered with hair. The testicles are clearly visible in males at 4-6 months of age.
Important! When the penis is hard to see, which happens in very young animals, you need to measure the distance from it to the anus. It exceeds 2 mm and reaches 5 mm.
Behavior
You can understand who is in front of you - a girl or a boy, by the behavior of your pet. Males behave as follows:
- rub their heads against the walls of the cage and feeder;
- spray urine over the entire area of the home;
- their urine has a rather pungent odor, as it contains a special secretion;
- Over time, males start fights with competitors.
The behavior of females differs in that they try:
- find a secluded corner and sit quietly there;
- they dig up the litter, trying to dig a hole;
- they pluck out the fluff and cover it with a home for future offspring.
During the hunting season, the behavior of females can change dramatically. They become excited. Like a male, they mount a partner. This is very confusing for inexperienced owners, because maturing ladies in the hunt do not care at all who is in front of them, a girl or a boy. Most likely, this is due to dominance and self-assertion among relatives.
Features of determining the sex of decorative breeds of rabbits
You can distinguish between sexual characteristics in decorative rabbits using the same method as in other breeds. But this process can be simplified somewhat. You can distinguish a decorative rabbit from a female rabbit in the simplest way.
It is enough to turn the pet with its paws up and lightly pull the skin of the tail down.
The genital slit is elongated; in the female it begins immediately near the anus. The genital opening in males is round. In decorative breeds it is located at a distance of 3-4 mm from the anus. If you do not plan to breed a decorative male, then he must be castrated. This operation is not complicated, after which the pets’ behavior becomes calmer. They stop marking their territory and spraying urine everywhere.
