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Abstract

After 1950s, a continuous decline in the population of Oryctolagus cuniculus has urged the IUCN to declare it an endangered species. There is a serious need to take conservational steps for Oryctolagus cuniculus breeds by research work on their different morphological and physiological aspects. The current study evaluates the growth of European rabbit through morphometric profile at pre breeding, post 1st breeding and post 2nd breeding stages in order to find out the growth trends of the European rabbits at different breeding stages. The studied sample comprised of 42 pairs for each breed (New Zealand White and American Dutch) of different ages regarding their breeding. Seven morphometric parameters (Weight, Forelimb Length, Ear Length, Full Body Length, Body Diameter, Hind Limb Length, and Tail Length) are selected for the study. Data was analyzed through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and ANOVA statistical tools. PCA revealed the weight component with the highest eigenvalue (16.9567) and percentage variance of 99.777 % till post 2nd breeding. The ANOVA results revealed a non-significant difference between the growth rates of both breeds till post 2nd breeding. Morphometric profile presented a positive correlation till post 2nd breeding. The study traces the growth attributes of rabbits in a semi-domestic environment.

Article History

Received: May 13, 2023; Accepted: Feb 14, 2024; Published: March 26, 2024

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