rabbit sex?

Question
i have two rabbits of same age 5 months, one kept indoors and one outdoors as they started to fight. we were told from the shop they were both female. we let them out in the garden together to see if they would get on in neutral territory. after a few weeks of this they seemed to play together fine. however one time the outdoor rabbit mounted the indoor rabbit, only for about 30 seconds before we seperated them. we thought maybe the outdoor rabbit may have been male then. now the outdoor rabbit has been pulling its hair out,and we found lots of it in her bedding area? could   my outdoor rabbit be male or female and could this be a phantom pregnancy?? thanks for any advice, we are extremly puzzled with this??!!  

Answer
Hi Lynsey

Well it could be either.  The mounting will happen even if they are both females and it could very well be a false pregnancy.  If you want to know for sure then take them both and flip them on their backs and look at their genitals.  At 5 months old you should see testicles if it is a male.  If they are females and you push gently on the vent area it will look like a slit.  If they are males and you push gently on the vent area a penis will protrude.

If one turns out to be a male its time to get out a nest box and let her have a safe place to have her babies.  If they are both doe's then its a false pregnancy.  

Now I am very pleased that they have successfully bonded but remember if they aren't fixed even if they are both doe's that they could end up fighting so always make sure to keep an eye on them.

I am attaching a site that should be able to show you pictures of how to sex rabbits.  I hope that the shop was right but sadly many times they don't know how to check on young rabbits and there is about a 50% chance that your little jon is a jonette.  

Good luck

Pam

http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/sexing.htm