Mortality and milk yield of Burgundy Fawn, Flemish Giant and New Zealand White Rabbits and their Crosses

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of genotype on the rearing indices and milk yield of Burgundy Fawn (BF), Flemish Giant (FG) and New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits and their crosses. The experiment was performed according to the breeding program: FG FG = FG; NZW NZW = NZW; BF BF = BF, NZW FG = NZWFG; BF FG = BFFG; NZW BF = NZWBF. Litter size and litter weight were recorded from birth to weaning on the 35th day of life. The size of litter at birth was largest for purebred BF rabbits (9.20 kits), there were no significant differences in the size of the litter. The coefficient of milk yield of females remained on similar level for all genetic groups, and it ranged between 3.5 for purebred NZW females and 3.76 for the BF females crossed with Flemish Giant males. Rearing effectiveness was lowest for litters of purebred FG rabbits (79.12%), and highest for litters of BF females crossed with FG males (96.00%), however there were no significant differences between the groups. It was found that crossing of BF or NZW females with FG males results in a great effectiveness of rearing and high litter size, no significantly different from typical broiler breeds therefore, such crossing could be recommended for the production of rabbits.