# When can one sex kits with 100% accuracy?



## DianeS (Mar 22, 2011)

My angora kits are ten weeks old now, and I have believed since they were four weeks old that I had 5 girls and 3 boys. The woman who fostered them believed so, too. I even knew which was which, and double checked at around six weeks to be sure I had it right.

BUT - they are now 10 weeks old, and I set up their gender-separated hutches today. I re-sexed all of them to be sure I hadn't gotten any of them mixed up, and one of my "boys" is really a GIRL! I re-checked all of them twice to be sure, and sure enough I have 6 girls and 2 boys. One of the ones that sexed as a boy earlier is most definately a girl.

So I'm not sure what happened. I'm just as sure of the gender distribution now as I was before. None of them were "iffy" or swollen or anything that might have thrown it off. 

Any words of wisdom? Is it maybe easy to make a mistake when they're four or six weeks old? Or when they're ten weeks old? I'm certainly willing to be wrong on either the earlier or later sexing, I'm just wondering now which one to trust.


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## tortoise (Mar 22, 2011)

I haven't had surprises, but I do handle them daily and sex them daily (for my own curiousity) every day.  I don't trust my sexing at 10 days, so I keep checking and checking, lol.  I give gender-neutral names mostly, just in case, lol.

It's not unusual.  Some people call it the "sex-change fairy"    The breeder that I buy stock from has made mistakes.  It's not unusual for a breeder to have the seller verify sex on kits - that way the breeder isn't liable for mistakes.


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## Bunnylady (Mar 22, 2011)

I have seen _very_ experienced rabbit breeders get "humbled" by having entered a young buck in a junior doe class at many, many shows. We even joke about them changing sexes, and will say things like "it was a buck the last time I checked." It doesn't help that a buck with a really bad split (a DQ) can look very doelike when still a small kit. I would say that by the time you see testicles, you can be pretty sure whether or not it is a buck!


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## jessica117 (Mar 22, 2011)

Bunnylady said:
			
		

> I would say that by the time you see testicles, you can be pretty sure whether or not it is a buck!


That was what I was going to say.... hehehe


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## DianeS (Mar 22, 2011)

I burst out laughing when I read your replies! Thank you very much, they were strangely encouraging! 

Of course the one lilac rabbit that got awesome wool in before 4 weeks is still a boy.  It was a black one that got visited by the "sex change fairy". But the more does, the better for me, so I can't say I'm upset at all.


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