sexing

Question
I have two rabbits they were housed together after I first got them until I read on here they should not be together. they are now approx 5 months old. the one that I think is female now has a rounded belly Charlotte, she has pulled hair and built a nest but soaked it with urine, so I cleaned all that out(not sure I should have) and put in timothy hay she is not peeing in it but has no hair in it now, but I'm not sure she is pg because my other rabbit Wilbur I don't know if its a boy or girl I tried to check and it looks like some thing pops out but it has a slit and a pointed tip at the top. Ive waited 25 days since they were together and put her back in with him just to see if they did something that would help me know if either is a male and Charlotte and Wilbur was licking her ears and sniffing but did not attempt to mount, Charlotte stopped her feet when her moved to the back her then she chased him around the cage stopping her feet once in a while. I separated them again. does any of this behavior mean a boy and girl, or could I have both girls??

Answer
Hi Connie:

Based on your description of the genitals, you have 2 females.  A 5 month old male rabbit would have rather large hanging testicles and when you place pressure on either side of the penis, it would protrude rather far from the sheath that protects it.

Females become sexually mature between 5 and 6 months of age and when they do, they get very, very hormonal.  Just being in the presence of another rabbit is enough for them to exhibit sexual behavior.  It sounds like Charlotte has experienced a false pregnancy simply because she wants to be bred (they all do at this age).  You should remove the nestbox from her cage to help her past thinking she is pregnant.  Chasing, mounting, stomping, are all signs of a very hormonal doe wanting to breed.  It is very common for one female to mount another.

If you don't plan to breed them, now is the time to spay them.  Unbred female rabbits have a high rate of uterine cancer and should be spayed if not being bred.  If you are not spaying them, then they should be kept in separate rooms so they can not see or smell one another.  If not, you will experience false pregnancies over and over from both of them.  False pregnancies often cause a rabbit to get rather aggressive and snippy, which is not fun.

You are correct that adult rabbits should not be housed together.  They are solitary dominant animals and will fight to the death over territory.  Sometimes, if you are very lucky, two rabbits in a VERY large cage can be housed together provided they are both spayed before they ever become hormonal (yours already have).  It's rare than they can stay together, they generally fight.

I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions.

Lisa L.