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Abstract
The study compared the growth performance and carcass traits of 41 rabbits of both sexes derived from 3 genetic origins (GO): sire Vienna Blue (B), sire Burgundy Fawn (F) and hybrid rabbits (H). From weaning they were reared indoor in bicellular cages and fed ad libitum the same pelleted diet until a fixed slaughter weight (2.8±0.11kg). The rabbits of the 3 GO differed in slaughter age (88 vs 109 vs 122d for H, B and F-GO, respectively; P<0.001). Growth performance of B was better than that of F, while that of H was better than B+F groups. Carcass traits were not modified by the GO; only perirenal fat percentage increased from H (1.2%) to B (1.7%) to F (2.5% of the reference carcass; P<0.05) accordingly to the slaughter age. The sex effect was significant only for the dressing out percentage, being higher in males than females (59.0 vs 57.6%; P<0.05).
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