부산대학교 도서관

This study was designed to measure the live performance of “coloured dwarf” rabbits available in the Italian market during both the growing and adult maintenance periods to provide new insights on this breed, with specific regard to the gender effect. A further objective was to identify the morphometric characteristics of the selected population and compare them to the standard breeding requirements. Body weight (BW) and body morphometric development were monitored in 145 “coloured dwarf” rabbits (80 males and 65 females) during 2 different periods: 7-21 wk of age (growth) and 28-45 wk of age (adultmaintenance). The animals were housed in individual cages and fed ad libitum with a commercial pelleted diet. Individual BW and feed consumption were measured twice a week to determine weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion index, whereas the health status was monitored daily. At 20 and 45 wk of age, the skin fold width and body measurements were taken on each rabbit at predefined anatomical points. The body measurements included: body length (BL), ear length (EL), head height (HH), shoulder width (SW), rump width (RW), forehead width (FHW), head width (HW), tibia width (TW), thoracic circumference (TC), abdominal circumference (AC) and 3 body indices: RW/BL, TC/BL, AC/BL. At 20 wk of age, the body weight of females (F) was heavier than that of males (M) (F: 1.630 vs. M: 1.542 g, P