sexing rabbits...

[VickieB]

My babies are turning 4 weeks on Monday. As of yet I am unable to tell the difference between the males and females. I wasn't worried, because they were sooo young still. I just walked out and caught one of the babies on top of another in a hot embrace, if you know what I mean. I was shocked, I would have never guessed they would have started sexual activity this young. Well, it was obvious which was the male. Out of curiosity, is this normal for buns that aren't even 4 weeks yet?

 

[Citylife]

I have raised rabbits for 4 years and have never seen it. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen though. Just because one was on top, do not assume it was a buck. Even adult females will mount the bucks back end/head/side................. so could be either.
Sexing rabbits is something that will come to you the more you do it. There are your real obvious ones and then the ones where the sex-change monster came in the night. We have gotten better with it over the years and fortunately are occasionally wrong. Just keep checking weekly after 4 wks of age and make sure to be very! gentle. You will get it.

 

[VickieB]

CityLife, I may be wrong on this, I am very new at it. But, when my females would mount one another when they were younger and shared a cage, they did just that, just mounted. This little fella mounted and humped the other bunnies in the cage. I doubt anything happened, I don't think he's thoroughly equipped yet for anything to happen. I was just shocked that I had one already at a stage that it was wanting to hump the others. (He's not even 4 weeks yet!)

 

[secuono]

I had a 3wker, I believe, practice this spring. Never had it happen before nor have I had any litters breed before 6mo when left all together to grow up.

My rabbitry website has a Sexing page, check it out. Triangles are girls, tubes are boys.

 

[Moonshine]

Wow! After reading this post yesterday I went to secuono's website and found it very helpful and sexed my babies. Well this morning, drinking my coffee in front of my rabbitry and getting my morning dose of God's wonder, my 8 week old decided to go around and start humping various other kits. I was in awe, especially since I just read this yesterday. Lol. Craziness! Lol

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I've taught several rabbit classes and the way I explain it to the kids is when you hold the bun on it's back and gently pull forward on the skin in front of the private parts, if you see a slit or a canyon, it's a girl, but if you see a volcano it's a boy.

I am pretty darn near 100% on my sexing, except when you have the sex changing monsters, but that doesn't happen too often.

 

[painkillers]

it takes 2 or 3 weeks but if please hide there's babies from every one if you don't do this
this will take risk for theirs lives.
Thanks

 

[Beachbunny]

Vickie the mounting you witnessed may be more of a dominancy issue than breeding/sexual act. I have seen young litter mates do this to each other and once saw a 6 week old kit mount its mother. As Citylife said dont assume it was a buck as does will do this also. Sexing rabbits gets easier over time but we all still make mistakes...a few years ago we had the "miracle birthing"...went out to feed one morning and...ZOMG...the boys had babies...lots of babies...call the newspapers honey we've had a miracle happen here!! LOL

 

[VickieB]

lol... That would have been a shocker. Actually, I've gotten to where I can sex the babies pretty well now. I separate the males from the females in the grow out cages. I have dispatched 40 rabbits so far, doing the bucks first and does last, and it becomes obvious while dispatching whats doe and whats buck. I did find on this last batch a doe in the buck bunch. She had me fooled.