Vol. 12, Issue 11 (2023)

Author(s):
Sarin K Kunnath and J Sai Prasanna

Abstract:
The present study was carried on data obtained from 49 litters of two rabbit genetic groups namely APAU-Fawn (FN) and APAU-Black (BL) reared at Rabbit Research Centre, Hyderabad. The objective of the research was to assess the impact of season and sex on pre and post weaning body weight gain among rabbits under study. The mean litter size at birth was 5.57±0.33 and 5.24±0.44 in FN and BL rabbits, respectively, whereas the litter size at weaning 3.96±0.23 and 3.57±0.31 for the same. Sex of the rabbit did not have any significant effect on pre-weaning body weights in FN rabbits, whereas female weighed significantly heavier than male at 4 weeks of age in BL rabbits. Winter season proved to be congenial for growth as evident in post weaning body weights among both FN and BL rabbits and differed significantly over the body weights measured in summer and rainy season. Significant differences in litter weights were observed among FN rabbits, with winter being more favourable followed by rainy season.