ABSTRACT

This study was carried out using New Zealand white (NZW) and Chinchilla (CH) at different ages (5 months and 6 months) to determine the effect of breed and age at first mating on growth traits of rabbits. Twenty three kitten resulting from first mating were used for the experiment and data collected at birth weight (BRW), litter size (LS), weaning weight (WW), body weight (BW), body length (BL), heart girth (HG), ear length (EL), head to shoulder (HS), height at wither (HW) and shoulder to tail drop (ST) were analyzed in CRD experiment. For reproductive performance, there was no significant difference (P>O.05) between the breed for BRW, LS and WW but there was significant difference (P<O.05) on BW, BL, and ST. For growth traits, there was no significant difference (P>O.05) on body weight, body length and shoulder to tail drop at week 6. The test on the age showed that there was significant (P<O.05) difference on all the traits studied except ear length. The interaction of breed and age showed significant difference (P<O.05) on all the traits studied. The test on the breed and age showed that Chinchilla gave significantly higher values compared to New Zealand White rabbit. Also, 6 months gave significantly higher values compared to 5 months old rabbit. Therefore, the result indicated that breed and age has a strong influence on growth traits.