Sexing Rabbits – Not Sexy Rabbits! part5

Get your mind out of the gutter! Now that you have stopped giggling, Let’s look into the art of sexing young rabbits.

Sexing rabbits is not really hard to do. You can usually do a good job identifying a buck from a doe, at least from the age of 3 weeks and on. An older buck is easy to identify. The head and body is generally more blocky than the doe. Does of the medium and large breeds often develop a fold of skin under their chins. This fold is called a dewlap. Older does are usually larger than bucks of the same breed. A buck’s testicles can be seen on a hot day. The testicles must be kept at a certain temperature in order for sperm to be produced. The testicles descend further on hot days and are brought back toward the body on cool days. In this way their temperature is regulated.

To identify the sex of a rabbit at a closer range, you must hold the rabbit upside down. If done correctly, this hypnotizes the rabbit and makes it easier to examine. Caution Always wear a long sleeve thick cloth shirt or jacket to avoid getting scratched by the rabbit.

With larger rabbits, you need to cradle them in one of your arms while you inspect their vent area. With small rabbits, you can cradle them in one hand.

To determine the sex of the rabbit, use your forefinger and middle finger to press down the vent area just in front of the anus. In both the doe and buck, the area will protrude. The doe will display a slit or central line running up and down. Each side of the slit will be banded in pink.

The buck, on the other hand, will display, if less than 5 weeks old, a blunt white tube without a central line. It will not have pink traversing either side of a center line. Older bucks will present a pink tube with a pointed end that resembles a bullet.

With younger rabbits, you must look very closely to see the difference.
Click photo to Zoom-In Peter Rabbit and Jane Doe rabbit