How To Tell the Gender of Your Rabbit

So...today I started out going and meeting someone in a church parking lot to go with them to pick up a rabbit they were buying from craigslist.  This rabbit was a pregnant albino New Zealand who was extremely sweet. 

I then went over to a friends house were I looked at and told him the gender of his rabbits as he was unsure of how to tell the difference between a male and female bunny.  Anyway, it made me realize that a lot of people do not know how to tell the gender of their pet rabbits. 

Obviously you've done enough research to know you want a rabbit as either a pet or for breeding.

When you don't know what to look for, it can be challenging, especially if you're buying one off of craigslist. 

Lots of people on craigslist are truthful, wonderful people just trying to make a few extra dollars.  However, there are a few who like to 'slip one over you' as you say when it comes to your deal.

Say you want a female rabbit.  How do you know the rabbit you're buying from this stranger is really female?  You might be getting a male for all you know but by the time you figure it out, it's too late.  (Warning: some people might find this next section a little too TMI for their liking....just letting you know)

Well, let's say you're going to buy a male rabbit.  He's about 15 weeks or older.  Well, you should immediately notice his testicle's forming.  So, if you were going for a female and she's got them...you know that 'she' is really a 'he'. 

Let's say you want to buy a male who's around 8-10 weeks.  Now, there are 2 holes down there.  One is their 'disposing of waste' hole and the other is their 'let's have baby bunnies' hole.  Their 'love' hole is the one closer to their stomach and the 'waste' hole is the one closer to their tails. 

Pushing gently on the hole closer to their stomach, a long--tube like shape will come out.  However, if your rabbit is about 8 weeks or younger, you can tell your rabbit's sex by pushing on the same hole.  Except this time, it will look round. 

And the female? Well...she's easy!  Push gently down on the hole closest to her stomach, and it should be like a slit.  Or as a friend of mine always says "Boys are donut's, girls are taco's" And the girl will always look like this.  Although, a much easier way to tell that almost all female rabbits have, is the dewlap. 

As you can see by the picture to your right, the kind of heart shaped thing on her neck is a genuine dewlap!

As I said before, not all females have this, but quite a fair bit of them do.  And rest easy, ONLY females have these.  Males do NOT have dewlaps.

You might be wondering why females have dewlaps and what the purpose of a dewlap even is.  Well, dewlaps are really a 'store up' of fat that will help the mother and give her extra needed energy when she has a litter.

The dewlap also serves the purpose of allowing the female to pull fur from it along with her stomach and hind legs when it comes time to build her nest.

For those reasons, dewlaps are specially designed (and only designed) for female rabbits. 

And THAT is how you can tell the sex of your bunny!  No longer will you need to question if you're really getting the right gender bunny because you now know what to look for yourself.  And maybe you even have a rabbit who's an old pet, but you've never really known what gender it was.  Fear no more! For you can now safely say with confidence that you know the sex of your bunny.