Hello. I have a litter of just three 8 week old kits. Two I am sure are does, one I thought was a doe, but now I am wondering if this is actually a split penis? If it is a split penis, should we cull? This is a good sized baby we were hoping to save back and add to our meat breeding program. It's been many years since I last had rabbits, but I believe splits are genetic, right?
Splits are genetic but that doesn't look like one to me. What I think you're seeing there isn't the penis at all, but rather the sheath. The penis itself will be darker pink, and might not protrude for another week or two or three.
The organ begins as an open tube, and seals up as the buck grows. Some take longer than others to seal all the way up; I've had juniors that still looked split at 3 months but were completely normal by 5-6 months of age. But there are a few that never do seal up, and those are the ones that have an actual split penis.
That said, I do tend to prefer to keep and breed animals that are clear and easy to sex at a young age, because those slower-developing kits are the ones you end up selling as a doe but turn out not to be! Nobody likes to do that too many times!
Keep an eye on him, but he looks pretty normal to me (there is a fairly wide range that qualifies as normal).
