Research Article

Analysis of conformation traits of New Zealand White rabbits on a breeding farm

Dorota Kołodziejczyk, Aldona Gontarz, Stanisław Socha

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 12(4), 2013, 17‒28

Abstract. The aim of the study was to analyze the conformation traits of rabbits in relation to the year of evaluation and sex of the animals. The analyzes involved a rabbit production farm located in south-eastern Poland. The farm is specialized in the following breeds: New Zealand White, Blanc de Termonde, Alaska, Californian White, Giant Chinchilla, and Popielno White. The study covered 858 New Zealand White rabbits (741 does and 117 bucks). The ANOVA results indicated statistically significant effect of sex on the quality of the coat, body frame and breed type. The year of evaluation statistically significantly influenced the body size, weight, hair coat quality, specific breed traits, body frame, breed type, and the total score attained by the rabbits. The interaction sex x year of evaluation significantly influenced body weight only, whereas no significant effect can be found if we look at the remaining traits. The variation of the traits, as measured with the coefficient of variability, ranged from 1.05 to 9.19%. The correlations were quite varied, ranging from –0.7715 (between the breed type and the year of evaluation) up to 0.6017 (between the body frame and the total score). The analyzed animals were characterized by very good body type and conformation parameters, which is demonstrated by a high score achieved for each trait.

Keywords: breeding farm, conformation traits, phenotypic correlations, rabbits, statistical analysis, variability