How to determine the sex of a rabbit: differences between males and females, suitable timing

Many animal lovers want to get a rabbit of a certain gender. Some prefer males, others prefer 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 disclose the sex of the rabbit when selling, the following tips will help you find out how to accurately determine whether it belongs to males or females.

Why gender is important

Knowing the sex of pets is necessary, first of all, for those pet lovers who are going to engage in their breeding and breeding work.Forming the mother stock, it is necessary to purchase one rabbit for 5-6 females. In order not to make a mistake in choosing, already at the stage of purchase you need to know the distinguishing 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, one must take into account that the maintenance and care of girls is somewhat different from that of boys. Yes, people 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. Joint keeping can lead to unwanted offspring and inbreeding.

Optimal age for determination

Don't try to find out the sex of newborn rabbits. Their sizes are so small that even an experienced livestock breeder will not be able to recognize where the boys are and where the girls are.In addition, up to 2-3 weeks, externally, the genitals of all babies look the same. Therefore, you should not once again disturb the nursing rabbit and take the babies in your hands. In this case, there is a threat that she may refuse offspring.

You can check and separate the animals by gender when they reach 4-5 weeks of age. It is desirable to do this before 8-12 weeks, until puberty begins in the rabbits and they begin 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 genital organs. Experienced rabbit breeders can also do this by external signs, including the shape of the body and the behavior of the animal.

Gender 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 body, 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 gap in the middle. In young individuals aged 1-2 months, it looks like a small pink tongue, expanding on the sides and tapering towards the tail. It is located almost next to the anus. As it matures, the loop changes color to darker.

The male sexual organ in males looks like a small cylinder with a hole in the upper part.

It is located a little further from the anus than in females. In young animals aged 1-2 months, 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:

1. Take the animal in hand. Pet and comfort him.
2. Lay on your back. Do this on a flat surface or on your knees. The head of the animal must be facing the owner.
3. Gently hold the pet with one hand. With the other hand, push the hair and skin in the genital area and press just below the anus.
4. 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 a male. At puberty, they have two testicles, they do not look like the sex glands of males or cats, but resemble small tumors that are not covered with hair. The testicles are clearly visible in males 4-6 months old.

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 goes up to 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:

• rubbing their heads against the walls of the cage and feeders;
• spray urine all over the area of the dwelling;
• their urine has a rather pungent smell, as it contains a special secret;
• over time, males will fight with competitors.

The behavior of females is different in that they try:

• find a secluded corner and sit quietly there;
• dig up bedding, trying to dig a mink;
• pluck out fluff and cover it with a dwelling for future offspring.

During the hunting period, the behavior of females can change dramatically. They get excited.Like a male, they make cages for a partner. This is very confusing for inexperienced owners, because it is absolutely not important for maturing ladies in the hunt who is in front of them, a girl or a boy. Most likely, this is due to dominance and self-affirmation among relatives.

Features of sex determination of rabbits of decorative breeds

Distinguish sexual characteristics in decorative rabbits by the same method as in other breeds. But this process can be somewhat simplified. You can distinguish a decorative rabbit from a rabbit in the easiest way.

It is enough to turn the pet over with its paws up and gently pull the skin at 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 ornamental breeds, it is located at a distance of 3-4 mm from the anus. If a decorative male is not planned to be knitted, then it must be castrated. This operation is simple, after it the behavior of the pets becomes calmer.They stop marking their territory and spraying urine everywhere.

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