How to Determine a Rabbit's Gender

So, you have a new rabbit and you want to know if it is male or female. Determining the gender, or "sexing," your bunny is fairly simple.

Instructions

    • 1

      Sit down on the ground or stand over a table or counter. You will be turning your rabbit upside down. Many rabbits dislike this position and will struggle. If your rabbit manages to struggle away from you, you don't want him to fall to the ground.

    • 2

      Place one hand under your rabbit's chest, behind the front legs. Place the other hand under his back legs. Lift the rabbit up close to your body and hold him firmly, with his side against your chest.

    • 3

      Tilt your rabbit on to his back. You will want to maneuver him so that the entire weight of his body is being held in the crook of one arm, with the palm of that arm supporting the weight of his rump. To help him feel more secure, you can also tuck his head slightly under the same arm. Now you are ready to check your rabbit's gender.

    • 4

      Gently pull back your rabbit's tail with your free hand. You should see two openings near the tail. The opening close to the tail is the anus. The opening close to the belly is the genitals.

      If you have a large adult rabbit, your job will be easy. Adult male rabbits have extremely obvious, fleshy pink testicles. There will be one testicle on each side of the genitals. Push any long fur away from the genitals and look for the testicles. If you can't find them, then your rabbit is a girl.

    • 5

      If your rabbit is young, the testicles will not be as easy to see and you will need to examine the genitals. Place a finger very close to each side of the genital slit and gently press down. The slit should open up slightly between your fingers.

      If your rabbit is a boy, you might see a tiny penis appear in the opening, or the genital slit will pop out into a small tube with a round opening. It will look something like this on the top: (O)

      If your rabbit is a girl, the slit will turn inside out and may pop up a little bit as well, but it will not form a round tube. Instead, the slit will remain in a straight line. It will look something like this: (|)