Response to Selection for Body weight and Linear Body Traits in Breeds of Rabbit

Abstract

An assessment of the selection response of body weight and linear body traits in breeds of rabbit in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria was conducted. A population of 48 matured rabbits consisting of three breeds; New Zealand white, Chinchilla and Dutch was used in the experiment. Each breed represented a treatment group and was used to generate 288 rabbits in a nested design. The populations were selected at six weeks of age in all the generations. The growth traits considered were; body weight, ear length, nose to shoulder, body length, length of back leg, thigh length, and heart girth and thigh circumference. Data generated were subjected to analysis of variance using the SAS software. The New Zealand White had a higher body weight of 1157.92±22.75g and 1229.35±24.07g in generations one and two respectively, and heart girth of 20.09±0.14cm, thigh length of 15.93±0.09cm, body length of 44.52±0.48cm and thigh circumference 10.96±0.09cm in generation one. The length of back legs and heart girth in generation two were better expressed in Chinchilla and Dutch breeds, respectively. The selection response range was 19.45 - 22.20kg and 13.59 - 14.95kg in males and females respectively for body weight while the linear body traits ranged from 0.01 - 0.30cm and 0.01 - 0.28cm for males and females respectively in New Zealand white. For chinchilla, responses to selection for body weight were 9.45-10.33kg and 1.85 - 14.54kg for males and females respectively while linear body traits ranged from 0.01- 0.33cm for both males and females. The response to selection for body weight in Dutch ranged from 7.48 - 27.40kg and 18.38 - 18.66kg for males and females respectively, whereas for the linear body traits the range was 0.01 - 0.34cm and 0.02 - 0.40cm for males and females respectively. It was observed that the Dutch genotype had the best selection progress for body weight and linear body traits and therefore recommended for improvement of body weight and linear body traits