A trail to grade New Zealand White rabbits for broiler production at marketing and breeding
Submitted: 2010-06-29
|Accepted: 2010-06-29
|Published: 2010-07-02
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Abstract:
Eighty healthy New Zealand White male rabbits, at marketing age (90 days), were used in this study. AII available measurements and their indices on the live animals with half of one standard deviation difference were used to classify the carcasses and their associated traits to definite classes according to fleshing and superiority of the prime cuts. With this aim in view, correlation coefficients between each pair of traits studied, coefficients of determination and prediction equations for sorne carcass traits by stepwise and simple methods, were estimated to define the 1mportant measurements in predicting mainly fleshing and prime cuts. Correlation coefficients between each pair of traits studied within each of the grades of live body weight (LBW)/thigh length (TL) and LBW/body length, were also calculated. Only the LBW/TL index succeeded in separation of the carcass traits and the associated body measurements to three grades. Within LBW/TL index, the mean traits and the edible meat were high in the first grade, followed by the second and third grades, respectively. The differences in traits between the various grades were highly significant (P<0.01). Within each of the grades of the same index, correlation coefficients between LBW and each of the high quality meat traits were generally high, positive and significant, and decrease from the first to the third grade, respectively.
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