Influence of genotype on post-weaning growth performance of domestic rabbits

Abstract

Data on 48 weaned New Zealand White (NZ), Chinchilla (CH) and Dutch (DU) breeds of rabbits and their crosses obtained from 6 to 14 weeks were used for this study. The genotypes were New Zealand White × New Zealand White (NZ×NZ), Chinchilla×Chinchilla (CH×CH), Dutch×Dutch (DU×DU), New Zealand White × Chinchilla (NZ×CH), New Zealand White × Dutch (NZ×DU) and Chinchilla × Dutch (CH×DU). Traits studied were body weight (BW), body length (BL), chest girth (CG), head-to-shoulder (HS), shoulder-to-tail drop (ST), length of hind leg (LHL), ear length (EL) and, height at withers (HTW). There were significant (P<0.05) differences among the genotypes at different ages. CH×CH was superior over other genotypes for most of the post-weaning growth traits studied at different ages (480.0g, 650.0g, 941.3g, 1206.0g and 1401.8g mean body weights at week 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14, respectively). This was followed by CH×DU (476.3g, 601.3g, 751.0g, 910.0g and 1086.3g for the same parameters. The results indicated that CH×CH and CH×DU genotypes could be most suitable for optimum genetic improvement. It can be concluded that CH×CH genotype performed better in most of the post-weaning growth traits. Therefore, CH×CH is recommended for higher body weight and linear body measurement after weaning.

Keywords: Genotype, Post-weaning, Growth performance, Domestic rabbits