Effect of mother's inbreeding, size of litter and sex on new born rabbit's performance during lactation

Abstract

Seventy-two Norfolk rabbits were weighed at birth, 15 and 30 days of age, and divided in groups according to the degrees of mother's inbreeding, number of rabbits born and sex. The experimental desingn was complete by randomised in a factorial desingn 2 x 2 x 2 with different replication numbers and weight curves by the profile analysis. The main conclusions were: 1- The rabbit's born from a small litter had higher birth weight than those from a great litter. 2- The mother's inbreeding and the sex did not affect the performance of rabbits, but there was a significative interaction (P < 0.05) among the numbers of rabbits born and the inbreeding. 3- During the lactation period, the small litters showed better performance and average weight, increasing this difference between this and the other groups, during the period.