What is the term for a female rat? - briefly
The correct term for an adult female rat is a doe. The word sow is also used, particularly in breeding contexts.
What is the term for a female rat? - in detail
The adult female of the species Rattus is most commonly referred to as a doe. This designation parallels the terminology used for other small mammals such as rabbits and hares. In breeding and laboratory environments the same word is employed to distinguish females from males, which are called bucks.
In some agricultural or commercial contexts the term sow appears in reference to breeding females, especially when the animals are kept for meat production. The usage of “sow” is less frequent in scientific literature, where “female rat” remains the standard descriptive phrase.
Key points of terminology:
- Doe – predominant term in pet‑keeping, research, and general discourse.
- Sow – occasional term in commercial breeding, primarily in the United States.
- Female rat – formal label in scientific papers, avoiding gender‑specific nouns.
The distinction matters for record‑keeping, genetic studies, and husbandry practices, where sex‑specific vocabulary clarifies experimental groups and breeding pairs.