Influence of Some Non-Genetic Factors on Reproductive Performance of Rabbit Line in A University Farm

Julius Hagan; Benjamin Owusu; Bernard Hagan

Authors

Kofi University of Cape Coast
Mr. Oduro Owusu University of Cape Coast
Bernard Hagan a:1:{s:5:"en_US";s:43:"University of Energy and Natural Resources ";}

Keywords:

rabbit, reproductive traits, kit, dam parity, gestation length

Abstract

Rabbit meat, in recent times, is a popular alternative animal protein source that can help Ghana meet its food security needs. The increased production of rabbits as a partial replacement to the production of ruminants could contribute ta o reduction in total methane emissions by livestock. The influence of non-genetic factors on the reproductive performance of 26 does mated by 8 bucks at the University of Cape Coast Teaching and Research Farm were assessed. Data on various reproductive indicators of rabbits were collected over a period of 16 months and analysed using the general linear model procedure of Genstat. The mean litter size at birth (LSB), litter weight at birth (LWB), average kit weight at birth (KWB), mortality, litter size at weaning (LSW), average kit weight at weaning (KWW), percentage survivability (% survival), and gestation length (GL) were 5.39, 268.7 g, 54.18 g, 0.40, 4.28, 646.9 g, 84.8% and 32.2 days, respectively. Season of birth and dam parity had important effect on gestation length but not the other traits. Length of gestation, however, had appreciable influence on both LWW and % survival of kits. The correlations among the reproductive traits range from positive to negative and were mostly important. Negative correlations exist between mortality and all the reproductive indicators. The lack of substantial influence of season of birth on the reproductive indicators of rabbits suggests that breeding of rabbit could be done all year round under intensive system of production.

Author Biographies

Kofi, University of Cape Coast

Department of Animal Science

Associate Professor

Mr. Oduro Owusu, University of Cape Coast

Department of Animal Science

References

Abdel-Azeem, A., Abdel-Azim, A., Darwish, A. & Omar, E. (2007): Litter traits in four pure breeds of rabbits and their crosses under prevailing environmental conditions of Egypt. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Rabbit Production in Hot Climate.

Abdel-Monem, U., Mahrose, K.M. & Darwish, M. (2008): Response of New Zealand white and Californian rabbit does to different dietary protein levels under Egyptian conditions. Animal Production Research Advances. 4(1).

Alu, S., Ruma, R., Umbugadu, A., Adua, M. & Makinde, O. (2009): The effects of different dietary fibre sources on the haematological parameters and serum biochemical variables of growing rabbits. Paper presented at the Proc. 4th Annual Conf. Anim. Sci. Assoc. Nigeria. Ladoke Akintola Univ. Technol., Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Amao, S. (2020) Effects of breed and parity on reproductive performance of rabbits. Journal of Science Technology and Education. 4(10), 114-123.

Apori, S., Hagan, J. & Osei, D. (2014) The growth and reproductive performance of different breeds of rabbits kept under warm and humid environments in Ghana. Online Journal of Animal and Feed Research. 4, 51 - 59.

Askar, A. & Ismail, E. (2012) Impact of heat stress exposure on some reproductive and physiological traits of rabbit does. Egyptian Journal of Animal Production. 49, 151-159.

Ayo-Ajasa, O., Aina, A., Sowande, O., Egbeyale, L., Ozoje, M., Oso, A., Abiona, B.O. & Abel, F. (2015) Effect of generational differences, housing systems and seasonal variations on the reproductive performance of rabbits raised in humid tropics. Nigerian Journal of Animal Production. 42(2), 103-110.

Behiry, F.M., Shabaan, H.M. & Abdel-Kafy, E-S.M. (2021) Characterization, Genetic Evaluation, and Genetic Trends for Some Reproductive Traits of Baladi Black Rabbit Does. Egyptian Poultry Science Journal. 41(1), 189-208.

Bhatt, R.S., Sharma, S.R., Singh, U., Kumar, D. & Bhasin, V. (2002) Effect of different seasons on the performance of Grey Gaint rabbits under sub-temperate Himalayan conditions. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences. 15(6), 812-820.

Cherfaoui, D.J., Clément, M.T., Zerrouki, N. & Berchiche, M. (2013) Reproductive performance of male rabbits of Algerian local population. World Rabbit Science. 21(2), 91-99.

Egena, S., Akpa, G., Alemede, I. & Aremu, A. (2014) Genotype, gestation length, season, parity and sex effects on growth traits of two rabbit breeds and their crosses. Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry. 30(4), 717-729.

El-Deghadi, A. (2019) Factors affecting milk production and using Application Selection Indices to improve Productive traits of does in New Zealand White Rabbits. Egyptian Journal of Rabbit Science. 29(1), 61-78.

Elmaghraby, M.M.A. & Elkholya, S.Z. (2010) Characterizing litter losses in purebred New Zealand white rabbits. Lucrări Ştiinţifice.

Ezzeroug, R., Belabbas, R., Argente, M.J., Berbar, A., Diss, S., Boudjella, Z., Talaziza, D., Boudahdir, N. & de la Luz García, M. (2020) Genetic correlatiobs for reporductive and growth traits in rabbits. Canadian Journal of Animal Science. 100, 317-322.

Fadare, A. & Fatoba, T. (2018) Reproductive performance of four breeds of rabbit in the humid tropics. Livestock Research for Rural Development. 30(7), 114.

Fayeye, T. & Ayorinde, K. (2010) Effects of season, generation, number of mating, parity and doe number of teat on doe and litter birth characteristics in domestic rabbit. Research Journal of Animal Veterinary Sciences. 5, 6-9.

Fouda, S.F. & Ismail, R.F. (2018) Is Arabic Gum Supplementation as A Natural Antioxidant Useful In Improving Reproductive Performance and Antioxidant Capacity of Heat Stressed Rabbit Does In Egypt? Egyptian Journal of Nutrition Feeds. 21(3), 701-716.

Ghosh, S., Das, A., Bujarbaruah, K., Das, A., Dhiman, K. & Singh, N. (2008) Effect of breed and season on rabbit production under subtropical climate. World Rabbit Science. 16(1), 29-33.

Hidayat, C., Widiawati, Y., Tiesnamurti, B., Pramono, R., Krisnan, R. & Shiddieqy, M.I. (2021) Comparison of methane production from cattle, buffalo, goat, rabbit, chicken and duch manure. 1st International Conference on Sustainable Tropical Land Management. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 648.

Iraqi, M., Afifi, E., Nayera, Z. & Gad, S. (2007) Estimation of genetic parameters for litter traits in Gabali rabbits raised in the north-western coast of Egypt using multi-trait animal model. Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on Rabbit Production in Hot Climate. Hurghada, Egypt.

Karikari, P. & Asare, K. (2009) An economic analysis of a smallholder meat rabbit production system. American-Eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agriculture. 3(3), 502-506.

Kumar, D., Risam, K., Bhatt, R. & Singh, U. (2013) Reproductive performance of different breeds of broiler rabbits under sub-temperate climatic conditions. World Rabbit Science. 21(3), 169-173.

Kumar, D., Singh, U., Bhatt, R. & Risam, K. (2006) Reproductive efficiency of female German Angora rabbits under Indian sub-temperate climatic conditions. World Rabbit Science. 14(2).

Lazzaroni, C., Biagini, D., Redaelli, V. & Luzi, F. (2012) Year, season, and parity effect on weaning performance of the Carmagnola Grey Rabbit breed. World Rabbit Science. 20(1), 57-60.

Jiménez, M.F., García Diego, F.J. & Vicente Antón, J.S. (2017) Effect of gestational and lactational exposure to heat stress on performance in rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 25(1), 17-25.

Martínez-Paredes, E., Ródenas, L., Pascual, J. & Savietto, D. (2018) Early development and reproductive lifespan of rabbit females: implications of growth rate, rearing diet and body condition at first mating. Animal. 12(11), 2347-2355.

Mazouzi-Hadid, F., Abdelli-Larbi, O., Lebas, F., Berchiche, M. & Bolet, G. (2014) Influence of coat colour, season and physiological status on reproduction of rabbit does in an Algerian local population. Animal Reproduction Science. 150(1-2), 30-34.

Moustafa, H., El-Raffa, A., Shebl, M., El-Delebshany, A. & El-Sayed, N. (2014) Genetic evaluation of some economic traits in a maternal line of rabbits. Egyptian Poultry Science Journal. 34(1), 85-98.

Muciño, E., Bautista, A., Jiménez, I., Martínez‐Gómez, M. & Hudson, R. (2009) Differential development of body equilibrium among littermates in the newborn rabbit. Developmental Psychobiology: The Journal of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology. 51(1), 24-33.

Odubote, I.K. & Akinokun, J.O. (1991) Reproductive and body weight performance of the New Zealand White rabbits in the humid tropics of Nigeria. Nigeria Journal of Animal Production. 18, 61-65.

Osei, D., Apori, S. & Osafo, E. (2012) Rabbit production in selected urban areas of southern Ghana: status and implications for policy and research. Animal Production Research Advances. 14(2).

Pasupathi, K., Sakthivel, M., Gopi, H., Balasubramanyam, D. & Babu, M. (2014) Factors influencing pre-weaning growth of rabbits under farm condition. Int. J. Sci. Eng. Tech. Res. 3(9), 2301-2303.

Pollesel, M., Tassinari, M., Frabetti, A., Fornasini, D. & Cavallini, D. (2020) Effect of does parity order on litter homogeneity parameters. Italian Journal of Animal Science. 19(1), 1188-1194.

Rajapandi, S., Ramanathan, N., Pourouchottamane, R., Thiruvenkadan, A., Kumar, V.R.S., Pankaj, P. & Rajendiran, A. (2015) Analysis of reproductive traits of broiler rabbits reared in sub-temperate climate of Kodai hills, Tamil Nadu, India. Veterinary World. 8(9), 1045.

Reyes-Meza, V., Hudson, R., Martínez-Gómez, M., Nicolás, L., Rödel, H.G. & Bautista, A. (2011) Possible contribution of position in the litter huddle to long-term differences in behavioral style in the domestic rabbit. Physiology Behavior. 104(5), 778-785.

Salem, A.A. & Gomaa, Y.A. (2014) Effect of combination vitamin E and single long-acting progesterone dose on enhancing pregnancy outcomes in the first two parities of young rabbit does. Animal Reproduction Science. 150(1-2), 35-43.

Sivakumar, K., Thiruvenkadan, A., Kumar, V.R.S., Muralidharan, J., Singh, D.A.P., Saravanan, R. & Jeyakumar, M. (2013) Analysis of production and reproduction performances of Soviet Chinchilla and White Giant rabbits in tropical climatic conditions of India. World Rabbit Science. 21(2), 101-106.

Soliman, M. (2008) Productive and reproductive performance of doe rabbits as affected by feeding type and season of kindling under Egyptian conditions. Egyptian Journal of Rabbit Science. 18(2), 117-134.

Szendrő, Z., Cullere, M., Atkári, T. & Dalle Zotte, A. (2019) The birth weight of rabbits: Influencing factors and effect on behavioural, productive and reproductive traits: A review. Livestock Science. 230, 103841.

Topczewska, J., Rogowska, A. & Gacek, L. (2013) The effect of breed on reproductive performance in commodity rabbit production. Journal of Central European Agriculture. 14(2), 350-357.

Tůma, J., Tůmová, E. & Valášek, V. (2010) The effect of season and parity order on fertility of rabbit does and kit growth. Czech Journal of Animal Science. 55(8), 330-336.

Villalobos, O., Guillen, O. & Garcia, J. (2010) Effect of breeding system, cycle and cage size during fattening on rabbit doe and growing rabbit performance under heat stress. Animal. 4, 1568-1576.

Zerrouki, N., Chibah, K., Amroun, T. & Lebas, F. (2012) Effect of the average kits birth weight and of the number of born alive per litter on the milk production of Algerian white population rabbit does. Paper presented at the Proceeding of the 10th World Rabbit Congress, September.

Zotte, D.A. & Paci, G. (2013) Influence of rabbit sire genetic origin, season of birth and parity order on doe and litter performance in an organic production system. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences. 26(1), 43.