Research on the Productive Performance of Hybrid Offspring of Rabbits Reared in Household System (I)

Abstract

In the experiment consisted in using 5 females hybrid which have been mated with 3 male pure-bred. Each couple was monitored for pup and mother body weight and also the consumption of succulent feed, bulky and concentrated. Both parents and offspring were kept in cages made of wood and wire mesh. Under the cages there was a tray of galvanized steel sheet for collecting manure. During the experiment, female New Zealand and the Californian Red hybrid have given birth 4 times, producing 43 cubs (cubs 10.75/birth) and 31 cubs (cubs 7.75/birth). The other 3 females gave birth only once a year. All pups survived until weaning (30 days). Weaned cubs from female New Zealand Red hybrid at time of weaning had a mean body mass of between 341.20 to 602.20 g/cubs, and those from female Californian hybrid were between 374.00 to 803.33 g/cub. At weaning, cubs from female Chinchilla Mare hybrid weighed on average 546.75 g/cub, the ones from the French hybrid female Great Silver weighed 433.00 g/cub, and those from the New Zealand Red primiparous female hybrid weighed784.00 g/weaned cubs. Between the 11th and the 30th day of lactation, most females have lost body weight, the highest being 489.00 g/lactating female.