How to determine if a rabbit is a girl or a boy? How to distinguish a boy rabbit from a girl

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Rabbits are kept both as farm animals and as pets. Inexperienced owners cannot always accurately determine the sex of the animal, and various problems can arise from this. For example, a novice farmer purchases animals for breeding, and an unscrupulous seller gives him two males. How to determine if a rabbit is a girl or a boy? Find out in this article.

At what age can sex be determined in rabbits?

Experienced herbivore owners recommend determining the sex of already grown babies 1-2 months old. At an earlier age, the probability of error is high. Of course, some breeders who have long bred rabbits often determine the sex of newborns. But in this case, the probability of a correct answer is about 80 percent.

How to tell if a rabbit is a boy or a girl? There are many ways, but not all of them are reliable. Especially often errors in sex determination are made when the age of the animals is too young. That is why experienced rabbit breeders never sell offspring that have not reached the age of 1.5 months. But there are also unscrupulous breeders who sell young animals that are barely a month old. At this age, it is quite difficult to determine the sex, so such farmers say it at random. For example, a buyer came for a female, and he was told that in this pen all females.

Why do I need to know the gender of a rabbit?

Regardless of the purpose for which the animals are bought, the owner needs to know if they are boys or girls. If rabbits are needed for meat, then it is better to start males of large breeds. They are larger than females, and sometimes several times larger. The yield of meat in males is also always greater. If the farmer plans to dress or sell the skins to dealers, then males are also more suitable for him. They have a better quality of fur, the wool is thicker and brighter. The skins of males are larger in size, so it is easier to make fur coats or hats from them.

If the farmer's goal is to breed rabbits, then he needs to acquire more females. He also needs males, but at first a few are enough. A young he althy rabbit is capable of serving a whole harem, but in case of his death or serious illness, the farmer usually keeps an understudy. If the owner plans to participate in agricultural exhibitions, then he should be primarily interested in the exterior, and not the floor. In any case, for what purposes would the animals be purchased, the farmershould know how to tell a rabbit boy from a girl. If you learn how to do this, then no dishonest sellers will be afraid anymore.

Determination of sex in adults

How to tell if a rabbit is a girl or a boy? Even a novice breeder will not be mistaken if he carefully examines his pet. It is recommended to pre-feed the animal so that it behaves more calmly. Do not forget that rabbits have very strong hind legs. If the pet becomes nervous and pushes off with its hind limbs, then it can injure the owner.

So put a well-fed rabbit on your knees, calm him down and pet him. Then, very carefully, take the herbivore by the scruff of the neck and turn it over on its back so that its head is on top. Then part the fur around the genital area of the rabbit, trying not to scare him. In the female, almost next to the anus, you can see a "loop" of a pinkish color. In a male, a cylinder-shaped penis will be clearly visible. You can also feel the testicles of the male, especially in older animals.

Determination of sex at birth

The genitals of little rabbits are very similar to each other, which causes some difficulties for breeders. Precisely determining the sex of newly born babies is very difficult. Often even very experienced breeders are mistaken in this matter. Naturally, the probability of an accurate sex determination by a professional is much higher than by an amateur farmer. You can, of course, apply for sex determination to experienced breeders,as a rule, they do not refuse and help beginners. But it will take time and additional funds to transport the babies.

How to determine if a rabbit is a boy or a girl if he was recently born? You need to take a ruler or centimeter tape and measure the distance from the anus to the genitals. In small females, it is usually 2 mm, while in males it is from 2 to 5 mm. But these measurements do not guarantee 100% determination of the floor. Even experienced breeders recommend waiting until the rabbits are at least 14 days old.

Sex characteristics at 1 month

At this age, it is already easier to determine the sex than at birth, but the probability of error is still high. This is why responsible breeders never sell 1 month old babies. How to determine if a rabbit is a boy or a girl from a photo? This is a question often asked by novice farmers. But experienced rabbit breeders do not advise even trying to do this, since the probability of a mistake is high even live, and even more so from the photo.

In order to determine the sex of the animal in 1 month, you need to make a visual inspection. The genitals of animals at this age have a paler color than in adults. You need to take the rabbit with one hand, and stretch the skin in the genital area with the other. Babies are very shy, so everything must be done very carefully. After it is possible to stretch the skin sufficiently, a small process will become visible in the male, resembling a small bullet in shape - this is the penis. The genitals of a female at this age from the side are very similar to a triangle. genital gapin females it gradually tapers towards the tail.

Gender determination at 2 months

At 2 months old, baby rabbits are weaned and put up for sale. That is why at this age it is especially important to know exactly the gender. Very soon, young individuals will be able to mate, so females are separated from males in order to avoid early fertilization. Usually a professional breeder has a lot of cells, so this is not a problem.

How to tell a boy rabbit from a girl? It is necessary to make a visual examination of the genital organs in the same way as described above. The genitals become larger by 2 months, so an experienced breeder will not be mistaken. Also at this age, you can already look at the behavior of animals. The female, sitting in a cage, behaves calmly, can communicate with representatives of her gender. Bunny boys can be aggressive and even attack their relatives.

How to determine the sex at 3 months?

At this age, puberty occurs in rabbits, but mating them is still undesirable. Most likely, the female will not be able to give birth and will die. But even if the lambing is successful, the offspring may be weak and unviable. Therefore, by 3 months, it is desirable to accurately determine the sex of pets in order to avoid problems in the future.

If males are left to live together after puberty, they can kill each other. How do you know if a rabbit is a boy or a girl? At the age of 3 months, it becomes much easier to determine the sex. Need to do a visual inspectionanimal genitalia, spreading the fur in the genital area. Since the rabbits are not yet too heavy, they can be taken with one hand and manipulated with the other. In males, at 3 months, it is already possible to feel the testicles, and their penis becomes similar to the genitals of an adult animal. In female animals, the loop becomes brighter than it was before.

Sex determination at 6 months

At this age, the rabbit is considered fully mature, but large breeds are not yet recommended for mating. At 6 months, sex can be determined by 2 methods, beginners often use a simpler one. How to understand whether a girl or a boy is a rabbit? It is enough to raise the individual with one hand up so that the genital area becomes visible. In males, by this age, the testicles have already descended into the scrotum, so they are clearly visible.

This method is accessible and understandable even to the most novice farmer. Therefore, if there are testicles, this is a male, if not, then this is a female. But sometimes males have defects, for example, cryptorchidism - a pathology in which one or both testicles are located in the abdominal cavity. Therefore, in addition to the first method, it is better to use the second one, in which, in addition to the testes, other genital organs are considered.

Determining the sex of a decorative rabbit

Small animals are great pets, they don't make a lot of noise and are nice to hold. Owners often come to the veterinarian with the question: “How to distinguish a decorative boy rabbit from a girl?”. Here you need to conduct the same examination of the genitalorgans, as well as for their meat counterparts. The only caveat is the small size of the animals, which makes it difficult to determine the sex.

The veterinarian may suggest that the owners neuter the rabbit. Many owners initially refuse this procedure, fearing for the life of a tender pet. But sexually mature decorative rabbits differ little in behavior from their agricultural counterparts. They begin to mark the territory, and they do it in a jump. This leads to the fact that urine is splashed on the things of the owners and interior items. Usually males mark the territory, but sometimes females also do this, especially if there are several of them. There is only one way out - castration.

Determination of gender by indirect signs

If it is not possible to examine the rabbit, then you can pay attention to other features. But you need to be aware that this method is not particularly reliable. How to tell if a rabbit is a boy or a girl? Males are usually visually larger, they are more powerful and muscular. The head of males is more angular, large and coarse. Often, males have a more beautiful and bright color. Also, experienced breeders advise paying attention to the croup - in males it is shorter.

Naturally, sex determination by indirect signs is possible only in adult animals, since the young are not yet sufficiently developed. Some breeders say that you can tell if a rabbit is a boy or a girl just by looking at it. But with the visual method of determining sex, errors are not uncommon, thereforeit would be more correct to look at the animal's genitals.

Features of behavior

How to check if a rabbit is a boy or a girl? You can find out the gender simply by observing the animal. Rabbits have a more balanced behavior. They rarely show aggression and sit quietly or eat most of the time. They begin to behave more actively only during the period of sexual hunting, when they are trying to attract the attention of the groom.

Male are more aggressive and assertive. They mark their territory and, if necessary, attack strangers. Young males are especially pugnacious and unbalanced, becoming a little calmer with age.

Sometimes the owner may notice that one of the rabbits jumps on the other and tries to make a cage. A novice farmer may mistakenly assume that the top animal is definitely a male. But this statement will not always be true. Females during sexual hunting can also mount other rabbits, regardless of their gender. Also, in some cases, in this way, an animal can show its superiority over a weaker relative.

Unmistakable gender identification

Experienced breeders can figure out in a few minutes whether they are male or female. It just takes practice. First, try to determine the sex of 10 adult rabbits. If you managed to successfully cope with this task, then you can choose younger individuals. Over time, the errors will become less and less, and then they will disappear altogether.

How to tell a rabbit-a boy from a girl in the photo? You can try to practice in this direction, but the probability of error will be high. Therefore, it is always better to determine the sex of an animal live.

Buying a rabbit

When purchasing an animal, it is very important to know both its gender and its age. Sometimes dishonest sellers take advantage of the gullibility of novice farmers and sell them illiquid goods. How to recognize if a rabbit is a boy or a girl? You need to carefully examine the genitals.

The seller can sell a sick and therefore small rabbit 4-6 months old as a baby. In this case, you can examine his genitals and use them to determine the approximate age of the animal.