- Best ages for sexing babies (newborn - 2 weeks old)
- What to look and feel for when sexing babies (parents, outside, slits and penis ridge)
- Our courtesy sexing service explained (what we need and may ask for)
While some babies are unmistakeable from the day they are born, many babies are not quite easy to sex. Things usually become a bit clearer as the weeks go on, but some babies can really vex everybody.
Best ages for sexing babies
Newborn
With a bit of experience, you can sex newborns but please be aware not all babies are textbook. Sow flaps inside the slit can be still open. Blurry pictures do not help, either. Without hands-on access, what we can do remotely has its limits.
For that reason, we ask to please double-check the gender at 2 weeks old or wait until your babies are 2 weeks because the gender differences by that age are noticeably clearer and so is the inside of the slit.
Boar - sow (textbook arrangement at birth) - Pictures: @VickiA
2 weeks old
Sexing your babies or double-checking the gender by that age gives you a couple of days' leeway in order to get a clear picture of both, the outside arrangement and the inside of the slit, as well as you feeling for the presence or absence of a tiny penis ridge just above the penis button; it is about the size of a small broken bastmati rice grain in a pup.
Boar (outside and slit)
Sow (outside and slit)
Sexing wiggly babies and taking good pictures is ideally a two person job and ideally requires some decent daily light. Angle the lower body towards a strong source of light so that the area is well lit. It may take several attempts.
If you post pictures of several babies, please label them with numbers or names to avoid confusion. We ask for both pictures of the outside arrangement and the inside of the slit where the gender differences are so much more obvious. Since babies are very wiggly, you'd best have somebody else holding them firmly while you examine the genitalia.
What to look and feel for when sexing babies
Take a look at the mother or parents
Firstly, before sexing your babies, have a good look at mum and dad (if available) how their arrangements looks. Peer into the slit and feel for the ridge under the skin just above the penis where the shaft is.
Please never press directly down onto the shaft ridge when trying to express the penis; it is very painful for a boy! Gently push from just above the penis ridge on the belly side towards the genitalia; there is a magic spot when then things suddenly happen. However, it can be tricky, and you do not have to feel bad if it doesn't work for you. A visible penis is nice but we can and do sex without one.
PS: For tips on what to do with any dad during a pregnancy and for the long term, we have this practical guide here: What-to-do-with-a-dad? Your-short-and-long-term-options
This picture here shows you where to feel for the penis ridge under the skin. If you can't feel any broken rice corns under the skin and only bones, you have a sow. (Picture: @Wiebke )
- What to look and feel for when sexing babies (parents, outside, slits and penis ridge)
- Our courtesy sexing service explained (what we need and may ask for)
While some babies are unmistakeable from the day they are born, many babies are not quite easy to sex. Things usually become a bit clearer as the weeks go on, but some babies can really vex everybody.
Best ages for sexing babies
Newborn
With a bit of experience, you can sex newborns but please be aware not all babies are textbook. Sow flaps inside the slit can be still open. Blurry pictures do not help, either. Without hands-on access, what we can do remotely has its limits.
For that reason, we ask to please double-check the gender at 2 weeks old or wait until your babies are 2 weeks because the gender differences by that age are noticeably clearer and so is the inside of the slit.
Boar - sow (textbook arrangement at birth) - Pictures: @VickiA
2 weeks old
Sexing your babies or double-checking the gender by that age gives you a couple of days' leeway in order to get a clear picture of both, the outside arrangement and the inside of the slit, as well as you feeling for the presence or absence of a tiny penis ridge just above the penis button; it is about the size of a small broken bastmati rice grain in a pup.
Boar (outside and slit)
Sow (outside and slit)
Sexing wiggly babies and taking good pictures is ideally a two person job and ideally requires some decent daily light. Angle the lower body towards a strong source of light so that the area is well lit. It may take several attempts.
If you post pictures of several babies, please label them with numbers or names to avoid confusion. We ask for both pictures of the outside arrangement and the inside of the slit where the gender differences are so much more obvious. Since babies are very wiggly, you'd best have somebody else holding them firmly while you examine the genitalia.
What to look and feel for when sexing babies
Take a look at the mother or parents
Firstly, before sexing your babies, have a good look at mum and dad (if available) how their arrangements looks. Peer into the slit and feel for the ridge under the skin just above the penis where the shaft is.
Please never press directly down onto the shaft ridge when trying to express the penis; it is very painful for a boy! Gently push from just above the penis ridge on the belly side towards the genitalia; there is a magic spot when then things suddenly happen. However, it can be tricky, and you do not have to feel bad if it doesn't work for you. A visible penis is nice but we can and do sex without one.
PS: For tips on what to do with any dad during a pregnancy and for the long term, we have this practical guide here: What-to-do-with-a-dad? Your-short-and-long-term-options
This picture here shows you where to feel for the penis ridge under the skin. If you can't feel any broken rice corns under the skin and only bones, you have a sow. (Picture: @Wiebke )
