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ABSTRACT
Twelve (12) growing rabbits consisting of six (6) New Zealand white rabbits and six (6) Dutch rabbits were randomly selected and allocated into units and were placed on commercially compounded concentrates besides which forage was also supplied for a period of 56 days. The daily feed intake, weekly weight gain and feed conversion ratio were recorded, these data were later subjected to statistical analysis.
The results showed that the amount of feed intake and weight gain gradually increased generally. It was observed that the New Zealand White rabbits had better weight gain (1574.17±107.44) than the Dutch rabbits (1346.67±102.99), though the Dutch rabbits on the average; consumed more amount of feed than the New Zealand white rabbits, the New Zealand white rabbits produced more kilogram of meat with lesser amount of feed. The New Zealand white rabbits also had better feed conversion ratio than the Dutch rabbits. The FCR ranged from 2.06 to 3.22 and 3.22 to 4.01 for the New Zealand white and Dutch rabbits respectively and was significantly different (P < 0.05) across the breeds.
It was therefore concluded that the New Zealand White rabbit is a better breed for rabbit meat production while feeding cost is also maximised as it has a better rate of utilizing feed for optimum and profitable weight gain.
