EFFECT OF BREED ON MORPHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF TWO RABBIT GENOTYPES

Abstract

The study was conducted to examine the influence of breed on morphometric characteristics of two rabbit genotypes. In achieving the objectives, linear body measurements were taken on the rabbits using a flexible tape. The measurements were body weight (BW), body depth (BD), body length (BL), fore-limb length (FLL), hind-limb length (HLL), tail length (TL) and ear length (EL). The coefficient of variability of the traits showed low to moderate values which ranged from 5.78% for ear length to 14.59% for body depth and BW had highest variability (17.22%). Breed had significant influence on morphometric characteristics with New Zealand White generally showing the best performance. The average body weights were 1.84 and 1.63 for the NZW and GRY respectively. Pearson correlation coefficients among the morphometric traits showed strong, positive and significant relationships with r value ranging from 0.48 (BLxEL) to 0.86 (BW><BD). It can be concluded that morphology in the rabbits were influenced by breed. In addition, using linear body measurements to describe and evaluate body size would overcome the problems associated with visual evaluation and can be used to predict body weight.