BREEDING AND EVALUATION OF CHOLESTEROL CONTENTS OF PURE AND CROSBRED RABBITS RAISED IN HUMID CLIMATE

The study was conducted using four purebred rabbits comprising New Zealand White (NZW), Chinchilla (CHL), Zealand Red (NZR) and the Beveren (BVN) through a diallele crossbreeding experiment that generated 16 genotypes involving four straight breeds and 12 crossbreds respectively. The crossbreeding program of these rabbit genotypes was monitored to evaluate the breeding effect on productive potentials in terms of average litter size (ALZ) average litter weight (ALW) and cholesterol content respectively. Genotypes significantly (P<0.05) affected all productive traits in which better performances were recorded in BVN, NZR and their crosses than the original parents, with the corresponding values of 7.85±0.07g, 8.87±0.03g, 7.90±0.08g, 8.00±0.04g, 8.93±0.03g, 8.96±0.00g. The litter weight, tissue and serum Cholesterol contents also followed similar pattern as obtained in litter size. Significant (P<0.05) differences in the cholesterol content among the various rabbit genetic groups implies that cholesterol content to large extent is a function of genetic variability. The study therefore underscored the importance of crossbreeding effect on the productive potentials and nutritive of rabbits for sustainable livestock development in Africa.