Influence of the genetic origin and sex on live performance and carcass traits in the rabbit. Preliminary results

Abstract

The study compared the growth performance and carcass traits of 41 rabbits of both sexes derived from 3 genetic origins (GO): sire Vienna Blue (B), sire Burgundy Fawn (F) and hybrid rabbits (H). From weaning they were reared indoor in bicellular cages and fed ad libitum the same pelleted diet until a fixed slaughter weight (2.8±0.11kg). The rabbits of the 3 GO differed in slaughter age (88 vs 109 vs 122d for H, B and F-GO, respectively; P<0.001). Growth performance of B was better than that of F, while that of H was better than B+F groups. Carcass traits were not modified by the GO; only perirenal fat percentage increased from H (1.2%) to B (1.7%) to F (2.5% of the reference carcass; P<0.05) accordingly to the slaughter age. The sex effect was significant only for the dressing out percentage, being higher in males than females (59.0 vs 57.6%; P<0.05).