Effects of female urine on growth and sexual maturation in male rabbits

Abstract

Urine of adult males or adult females, or distilled water (control), was applied to the oro-nasal grooves of Dutch-belted male rabbits after weaning. The body and testicular weights of males treated with urine of females were significantly less than those of controls between 88 and 125, and 96 and 109 days, respectively. Sperm counts and the pattern of androgen-dependent production of gel-plugs in semen also differed significantly between treatments during the critical maturation period. These suppressant effects of urine of females on male development in rabbits may represent a mechanism by which females may manipulate the reproductive success of neighbouring conspecifics in free-living colonies.