EFFECTS OF BREED ON GROWTH AND HAEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF WEANER RABBITS

Abstract

This study was aimed at evaluating breed effects on the growth and haematology in weaner rabbits. Forty-eight weaner rabbits, 6-7 weeks old that comprised pure strains of Californian (CL), Rex hybrid (RX) and locally adapted breeds (LAB) were used at sixteen rabbits per breed in a completely randomized design. A feeding trial was conducted for eight weeks using formulated diet after an initial adaptability period of two weeks. Throughout the feeding trial, individual feed intake was recorded twice daily to determine daily feed intake while the body weights were taken weekly to determine weekly weight gain. At the end of the feeding trial, blood samples were collected from the ear vein for haematology and serum biochemical studies. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance using SPSS IBM version 26.0 while means were separated using Tukey’s honestly significant difference Test at the probability level of 5% (p<0.05). Results obtained showed no significant differences (P>0.05) in total feed consumed, total weight gain and feed conversion ratio among the breeds. There were also no significant differences (P>0.05) in the haematological indices except in the monocytes and eosinophils (P<0.05). The serum biochemistry composition showed no significant differences (P>0.05) except for triglyceride and urea which showed significant differences (P<0.05). From the results, breed plays no significant role in
growth and haematology composition of rabbits raised under the same climatic and management conditions. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve on other factors that are determinants of rabbit growth and welfare.