Effect of sex on carcass and meat characteristics of New Zealand white rabbits aged 11 weeks

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to determine and compare some characteristics of the meat and carcass of rabbits aged 11 weeks according to sex. In the experiment thirty male and thirty female New Zealand White rabbits were slaughtered. The weights and percentages of cold carcasses, skin with head and limbs, liver, kidney, heart, lung, fore legs, hind legs, breast and ribs, loin and abdominal wall were recorded. The values for carcass length, lumbar circumference, pH in the muscles of Biceps femoris and Longissimus dorsi, meat to bone ratio and cooking loss were also determined. The mean values for cold carcass weight and cold dressing percentage were 832 g and 48.77% in male and 849 g and 48.69% in female, respectively. In this study no significant differences were shown between male and female rabbits in the characteristics of carcass and meat except the value of pH of Longissimus dorsi muscle which was markedly higher in males than that in females meat. Slaughter weight was positively correlated with the weights of carcass, skin with head and limbs, lung, liver, kidney, heart and weights of joints (p<0.01) and dressing percentage (p<0.05).