What's my Rabbit's Gender?
Did you buy a rabbit as a doe but are having second thoughts that it might be a buck? Want to double check just to be sure/safe? Or did you buy your rabbit from a pet store and the gender was unknown? Here's how to tell the sex of your rabbit.
Often, Holland Lop bucks will be smaller, and have bulkier heads then does. However, that is not always the case. The only full proof way to tell the gender of your rabbit is to check the genital regions.
Checking the genital regions is necessary not only for telling the sex, but for checking for diseases and to make sure the rabbit is healthy. The genitals should be checked whenever you do your regular health checks.
It's easy to tell the gender of a rabbit once it reaches 3-6 months. However, with a rabbit only 8 weeks or younger, it is much harder to tell. Not only is the rabbit smaller, and therefore the genitals are smaller and harder to see, but the rabbit is not sexually mature, and so all the parts are not fully formed. Some very good and long-time breeders can tell the sex of a baby bunny at only 1-3 days old. I can tell gender reliably at 4-5 weeks, sometimes as early as 3 weeks with bigger babies.
There you have it! If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you still can't get it, I will be more then happy to check the gender for you.
Often, Holland Lop bucks will be smaller, and have bulkier heads then does. However, that is not always the case. The only full proof way to tell the gender of your rabbit is to check the genital regions.
Checking the genital regions is necessary not only for telling the sex, but for checking for diseases and to make sure the rabbit is healthy. The genitals should be checked whenever you do your regular health checks.
- Take your rabbit out of its cage and put it on its back in your lap.
- Hold your rabbit down. This is often an uncomfortable position for your rabbit to be in, and you messing down there is not natural to him. Not all rabbits will struggle, but it is normal if yours does a little bit.
- Take your dominant hand and find the pink genitals on the bottom in between the legs.
- Put your thumb and forefinger on the genitals and gently push them apart. You will see that the genitals will "pop up" slightly.
- If there is a hole, and it pops up quite a bit (becomes like a tube), your rabbit is a buck.
- If your rabbit is over 3 months old and is not neutered, he should have testicles on either side of the genitals. These will be small on a small rabbit, and will be mostly covered with fur, so are sometimes easily missed.
- A doe will "pop out", but only slightly. They will have a slit all the way down.
It's easy to tell the gender of a rabbit once it reaches 3-6 months. However, with a rabbit only 8 weeks or younger, it is much harder to tell. Not only is the rabbit smaller, and therefore the genitals are smaller and harder to see, but the rabbit is not sexually mature, and so all the parts are not fully formed. Some very good and long-time breeders can tell the sex of a baby bunny at only 1-3 days old. I can tell gender reliably at 4-5 weeks, sometimes as early as 3 weeks with bigger babies.
There you have it! If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you still can't get it, I will be more then happy to check the gender for you.