DOI: 10.22620/agrisci.2011.05.009
Abstract
A study was carried out on the yield, carcass composition and characteristics of meat of 11 male and 11 female rabbits (F1 Californian x New Zealand). For 77 days the rabbits were kept under identical conditions and were fed with compound feed containing 18% crude protein. An average pre-slaughter live weight of the males of 2,462 ±(0,15) g and 2,472±(0,17) g of the females was achieved during the fattening period. The average participation of the clean carcass with and without the head compared to the live mass before slaughtering was 55.76±(0,22)% and 50.77±(0,20)% for the males, and 55.92±(0.24)% and 51.52±(0.19)% for the females.
Compared to the mass of the clean carcass with head on of the female rabbits the pelvic-thigh part participated with 30.67%, the flank part with 29.04%, the forelegs with 21.94% and the neck-breast part with 18.35%. The participation of the parts from male rabbits was as follows: the pelvic-thigh part 30.52%, the flank part 28.52%, the forelegs 21.88% and the neck-breast part 19.08%. The participation of the muscle tissue in the mass of the clean carcass without the head was 76.45±(2.18)% for the males and 75.70±(2.17)% for the females.