CAUTION: In this article, I use the right words for male/female genitalia. If you can't cope with it, don't read the article. Thanks :)
Curious whether your rabbit is a buck or a doe? This is the right article for you! Sexing a rabbit means determining whether a rabbit is a buck or a doe. In most cases it is fairly straightforward, but it can be harder with young kits.
BUCKS:
A mature buck will have two testicles that will be very easy to see. A buck of any age will have a penis. The younger the buck, the harder it is to tell apart from a doe. In order to check for the penis, use your index finger and middle finger to gently 'scissor' the tail, and use your thumb to press down on other side of the genitalia. If you don't press hard enough, it may look like a doe, and the penis won't pop out.
An immature buck will not typically have both testicles descended. If they do, that's fine too, but they must have either both or none, or they will be disqualified on the show table. The only way you can check whether it's a buck or a doe is by checking for the penis, as described in the paragraph above.
DOES:
Does, obviously, don't have a penis or testicles (I hope you know this already...). A doe will have a vent that is slit-shaped. I checked for the vulva the same way I would check for a buck's penis. It should look like this in both mature and immature does:
Side note: The does that are the easiest to breed are ones with deep pink vents. In general, the lighter the vent, the less ready the doe is to breed and the lower her chance of getting pregnant. Often, a maiden doe will have a lighter colored vulva than one that has been bred before.
KITS:
Buck and doe kits can be quite hard to tell apart. Partly because they aren't fully formed, but mostly because everything's so much smaller! You can pretty much sex a kit at any age. It's just far harder with younger kits than older ones. Just don't keep on poking and prodding at them constantly. The trick with kits is to be very very gentle. I can sex my Hollands at about 2 weeks old, I've never tried younger and I don't really want to as it doesn't matter that much, and I don't want to mess with them.
To sex a kit, you do the same thing as with an adult (with the two fingers and thumb trick), but just a lot more gently. Definitely bring the kit close to a light source, otherwise it's even harder to tell.
A buck will have light colored genitals. Obviously, at this age he will not have testicles. The tip will be circular, and in very young buck kits, it will look like a tiny dot. The penis will stand up on end when exposed.
A doe will have pinker colored genitals when compared to a buck. It will pretty much look exactly like an adult doe, but in a smaller package. Her vent will look like a slit. I heard someone say once that does resemble tacos, whereas bucks resemble Cheerios. It sort of helps when sexing kits to keep that in mind.
RELATED DISQUALIFICATIONS:
In Intermediates and Seniors of any breed, bucks must have two descended testicles, otherwise they will be disqualified on the show table. In Juniors of any breed, bucks must either have both testicles descended, or neither. Any rabbit of any breed and any age that has only one descended testicle will be disqualified. A neutered buck's testicles will always be absent. Sometimes a buck under extreme stress will pull his testicles back into his abdomen. This is very uncommon.
A split penis is when the side of the urethra doesn't close completely, hence the split. Bucks with split penises are typically infertile, and can often pose as does until their testicles descend. It can be hard to tell a rabbit with a split penis apart from does, if for some reason its testicles aren't descended. About a year ago, my dad's friend brought over his pet rabbit that he had rescued off the streets, and when I sexed it, I thought it was a doe. Turned out it was a buck with a split penis and no descended testicles, according to the vet! We assume that the buck was probably neutered. My point in this story being that it can be very hard to tell, so don't feel too awful if you make a mistake! Split penises can either be genetic or environmental, but regardless, do not ever breed one of these rabbits. Pet out any rabbit that has a split penis or produced a rabbit with a split penis, and all of its offspring. Rabbits with split penises do not suffer from any associated health problems.
In both sexes, the genital area must be clean and free of hutch burn or vent disease. Both sexes have teats, but this isn't judged. Typically rabbits have 8 teats.
Curious whether your rabbit is a buck or a doe? This is the right article for you! Sexing a rabbit means determining whether a rabbit is a buck or a doe. In most cases it is fairly straightforward, but it can be harder with young kits.
BUCKS:
A mature buck will have two testicles that will be very easy to see. A buck of any age will have a penis. The younger the buck, the harder it is to tell apart from a doe. In order to check for the penis, use your index finger and middle finger to gently 'scissor' the tail, and use your thumb to press down on other side of the genitalia. If you don't press hard enough, it may look like a doe, and the penis won't pop out.
An immature buck will not typically have both testicles descended. If they do, that's fine too, but they must have either both or none, or they will be disqualified on the show table. The only way you can check whether it's a buck or a doe is by checking for the penis, as described in the paragraph above.
DOES:
Does, obviously, don't have a penis or testicles (I hope you know this already...). A doe will have a vent that is slit-shaped. I checked for the vulva the same way I would check for a buck's penis. It should look like this in both mature and immature does:
Side note: The does that are the easiest to breed are ones with deep pink vents. In general, the lighter the vent, the less ready the doe is to breed and the lower her chance of getting pregnant. Often, a maiden doe will have a lighter colored vulva than one that has been bred before.
KITS:
Buck and doe kits can be quite hard to tell apart. Partly because they aren't fully formed, but mostly because everything's so much smaller! You can pretty much sex a kit at any age. It's just far harder with younger kits than older ones. Just don't keep on poking and prodding at them constantly. The trick with kits is to be very very gentle. I can sex my Hollands at about 2 weeks old, I've never tried younger and I don't really want to as it doesn't matter that much, and I don't want to mess with them.
To sex a kit, you do the same thing as with an adult (with the two fingers and thumb trick), but just a lot more gently. Definitely bring the kit close to a light source, otherwise it's even harder to tell.
A buck will have light colored genitals. Obviously, at this age he will not have testicles. The tip will be circular, and in very young buck kits, it will look like a tiny dot. The penis will stand up on end when exposed.
A doe will have pinker colored genitals when compared to a buck. It will pretty much look exactly like an adult doe, but in a smaller package. Her vent will look like a slit. I heard someone say once that does resemble tacos, whereas bucks resemble Cheerios. It sort of helps when sexing kits to keep that in mind.
RELATED DISQUALIFICATIONS:
In Intermediates and Seniors of any breed, bucks must have two descended testicles, otherwise they will be disqualified on the show table. In Juniors of any breed, bucks must either have both testicles descended, or neither. Any rabbit of any breed and any age that has only one descended testicle will be disqualified. A neutered buck's testicles will always be absent. Sometimes a buck under extreme stress will pull his testicles back into his abdomen. This is very uncommon.
A split penis is when the side of the urethra doesn't close completely, hence the split. Bucks with split penises are typically infertile, and can often pose as does until their testicles descend. It can be hard to tell a rabbit with a split penis apart from does, if for some reason its testicles aren't descended. About a year ago, my dad's friend brought over his pet rabbit that he had rescued off the streets, and when I sexed it, I thought it was a doe. Turned out it was a buck with a split penis and no descended testicles, according to the vet! We assume that the buck was probably neutered. My point in this story being that it can be very hard to tell, so don't feel too awful if you make a mistake! Split penises can either be genetic or environmental, but regardless, do not ever breed one of these rabbits. Pet out any rabbit that has a split penis or produced a rabbit with a split penis, and all of its offspring. Rabbits with split penises do not suffer from any associated health problems.
In both sexes, the genital area must be clean and free of hutch burn or vent disease. Both sexes have teats, but this isn't judged. Typically rabbits have 8 teats.