How to find out the sex of a rabbit by the differences in males and females, timing of determination
Many animal lovers wish to purchase a rabbit of a certain gender. Some prefer males, others - females. In addition, domestic rabbits are very often involved in breeding. Not all novice rabbit breeders can distinguish boys from girls. If the breeder did not report the sex of the rabbit during the sale, the following tips will help to find out how to accurately determine its belonging to males or females.
Why gender is important
Knowing the sex of pets is necessary, first of all, for those lovers of pets who are going to engage in breeding and breeding. When forming the maternal livestock, it is necessary to purchase one crawl for 5-6 females. In order not to be mistaken in the choice, already at the stage of purchase you need to know the distinctive features and be able to distinguish between males and females.
Distinguishing rabbits from rabbits will also be required for those animal lovers who want to have a couple of pets, but do not want to have offspring from her. 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 the cute appearance, males and females can injure each other during fights, so they should not be kept in the same cage. Joint keeping can cause unwanted offspring and closely related crossbreeding.
Optimal age to determine
Do not try to find out the gender of newborn rabbits. Their size is 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 outwardly, the genitals of all babies look the same. Therefore, you should not bother the nursing rabbit once again and take the babies in your arms. In this case, there is a threat that she may abandon offspring.
You can check and divide the animals by sex when their age reaches 4-5 weeks. It is desirable to do this before 8-12 weeks, until puberty began in the rabbits and they began to fight among themselves. It is believed that the most accurate way to determine the sex of the animal at 12 weeks.
Determination methods
You can distinguish females from males by the structure of the genitals. Experienced rabbit breeders can do this by external signs, including the shape of the body and behavior of the animal.
Sexual characteristics
To accurately distinguish a male from a female, you need to know which 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 trunk 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 genitals are a loop with a slit in the middle. In young individuals 1-2 months old, it looks like a small pink tongue, widening at the sides and tapering towards the tail. It is located almost next to the anus. As they grow older, the loop changes color to a darker one.
It is located slightly 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 sex of the grown up animals, you need:
- Take the animal in hand. Pat and soothe him.
- Lay on your back. Do this on a flat surface or on your knees. The head of the animal should be facing the owner.
- Gently hold the pet with one hand. With the other hand, spread the fur and skin in the genital area and press just below the anus.
- If the loop has become clearly visible, then this is a female, if there is an elongated penis with a hole in the upper part, then it is a male. They have two testicles at puberty, they do not look like the gonads of males or cats, but resemble small tumors that are not covered with wool. The testicles are clearly visible in males 4-6 months old.
Important! When the penis is poorly visible, 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 the pet. Males behave as follows:
- rub their head against the walls of the cage and feeder;
- spray urine over the entire area of the dwelling;
- their urine has a rather pungent odor, since it contains a special secret;
- over time, males get into fights with competitors.
The behavior of females differs in that they try to:
- find a secluded corner and sit quietly there;
- digging out the bedding, trying to dig a burrow;
- pluck out the fluff and cover it with a dwelling for future offspring.
During the hunt, the behavior of females can change dramatically. They get agitated. Like a male, they make cages for a partner. This is very embarrassing for inexperienced owners, because maturing ladies in the hunt do not care who is in front of them, a girl or a boy. Most likely, this is due to the dominance and self-affirmation among relatives.
Features of determining the sex of rabbits of decorative breeds
Distinguishing sex characteristics in decorative rabbits can be done using the same method as in other breeds. But this process can be simplified somewhat. You can distinguish a decorative rabbit from a rabbit in the simplest way.
It is enough to turn the pet upside down and gently 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 the decorative male is not planned to be knitted, then it must be neutered. This operation is simple, after which the behavior of pets becomes calmer. They stop marking their territory and splatter urine everywhere.
