Reproductive Performance of New Zealand White, Dutch and Their Crosses Raised in Rivers State, Niger Delta of Nigeria

A total of twenty- four breeding rabbits of New Zealand White (NZW), Dutch (DUT) and their crosses (NZW x DUT) i.e. Eight (8) female rabbits (doe) for each genotype were used to determine the effects of breeds on the reproductive performance of rabbits in Rivers State, Niger Delta, Nigeria, as well as to investigate the correlation between the genotypes and the reproductive performance. The following reproductive performance were considered: Body weight before mating ( BWBM ), Body weight after mating ( BWAM ), Body weight before kindling (BWBK), Body weight after kindling (BWAK ), Litter size (LS), Litter weight (LW) and Average litter weight (ALW). Body weight was measured using weighing balance. Data generated were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The result showed significant different (p< 0.05) in BWBM and BWAM between DUT and NZW x DUT breeds of rabbits, DUT recorded the highest value of BWBM and BWAM while NZW x DUT had the least performance. However, there was no significant different (p>0.05) in reproductive performance between NZW and DUT. Furthermore, NZW recorded the highest value in BWBK, BWAK and ALW. There was no significant different (p> 0.05) among the genotypes for BWBK, L S, L W and ALW. BWAK showed a significant difference between DUT and NZW x DUT. More so, NZW x DUT recorded the highest values for L S and LW. The results also showed that genotypes effect had negative correlation with BWBW, BWAM, BWAK, BWBK and ALW with correlation values of -0.64, -0.64, -0.207, 0.385 and 0.045 respectively. The genotypes of rabbits also revealed a high correlation between BWBM and BWAM. BWAK showed a high correlation between BWAM and BWBK.