DOE  OR  BUCK ?  

This is the question I am most often asked.

I would say definitely a male buck.  The minilop bucks are generally more outgoing and friendly.   Some books talk about bucks being aggressive, but I've never seen that here amongst my minilops.  They are lovely and placid and I'm careful in choosing my breedlines.  They are the best if you have young children in the household as they are more steady going in their personalities and tolerant.  Personalities will vary, as some are like little puppies and follow you around and jump all over you, others are on the lazy side and prefer to be the lap bunny.  The downside of bucks is that as they age they may develop the unpleasant habbit of marking their territory, spraying their urine around the house or hutch on the vertical surfaces.   Having said that, it is usually the young fellas that do this.  As they age they settle down and rarely spray.  But the young bucks usually will at some point as they mature and go through their teenage stage.   I do however own bucks that never have so it is a bit of a lottery whether your buck will.  Be warned that spraying is often also directed at the person they like the best in the family, usually the one who cleans their cage and feeds them.  To them you are a desirable doe and they simply want the rest of the world to know that you are theirs, by marking you with their scent.  Little do they realise that we find it repulsive. This is one of the downsides of breeding rabbits, having to dodge the young fellas affections.  Fortunately for pet owners a solution exists.  Simply have your buck neutered by a local vet.  It is a simple procedure usually costing around $120 dollars.  It is best to shop around as some vets I've heard charge  as low as $75 for a buck who is easier to de-sex than a doe.  Bucks as they mature also develop a manly bunny scent.  Neutering them will also help alliviate this odour.

The female does can be sweet, placid and gentle when young, but once they begin to mature they often become territorial, as they would in the wild, and protect their hutch from others in preparation for raising a litter.  This would pose a problem if young children approach and lunge their hands into the hutch to touch the doe.  Often a doe may attack and give ones a nasty bite.  Many of my placid young does turn into draculas when they reach puberty, and often I receive an unexpected nasty bite from my girls.  Understand this is a natural instinctive protective behaviour.  In their minds they are preparing an area for a family and want to fend off any intruders, which is what rabbits would do in the wild. They usually come good again once they have been bred and their litter is older and running around.  To handle a territorial doe, remove her well away from her cage out of her territory and they are usually fine then.  However their moods fluctuate with their hormones and they should never be fully trusted, especially with young children.   If you need to clean a hormonal does cage it is best to remove them first so you don't aggrevate the situation and encourage aggressive behavour.   Does of breeding age will also often conjure up false pregnancies and spray urine to mark their territory like a buck unless they are de-sexed.  In conclusion, if your prepared to cope with a troublesome period and are planning on getting them desexed, as young as possible, does too can make wonderful pets like bucks.  I have some lovely gentle does that never get nasty despite their hormones going up and down.  The trouble is you just can't tell or predict what each doe will be like as they age, and how they will react to their fluctuating hormone levels. 

As you have probably come to realise now,  either sex is affected by raging hormones especially when young.  After all that is what rabbits are known for, their reproductive abilities.  So whatever sex you choose, the best solution is to have them desexed.  This will relieve you of the many behavioural problems related to their hormones.  It is best to have your minilop desexed as earliest as possible so they are more likely never to develop any bad behavioural problems that could become habitual.  There are some real advantages to de-sexing your pet minilop.  Neutered bucks are more likely to get along with other neutered bucks.  Otherwise you should never introduce two bucks together as they will fight and hurt one another.  Spaying  female does will eliminate the risk of mammary, ovarian and uterine cancers.  De-sexed minilops are easier to litter pan train and are cleaner as they won't have the desire to leave a scent trail to attract the opposite sex.  They also tend to be less destructive, more content, more affectionate, calmer and easier to train.