Department of Livestock Production and Management, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Namakkal-2, Tamil Nadu, India
The influence of non-genetic factors namely breed, sex, age, season and cause of death on the mortality of rabbits were studied utilizing a total of 835 mortality records over a period of 20 years. The study revealed that there is a significant difference (P<0.05) in number of pre-weaning mortalities between seasons, with more mortality in summer and least in winter season. The preweaning mortality observed in Soviet Chinchilla in summer, south-west monsoon, north-west monsoon and winter seasons were 29.53, 28.37, 27.60 and 14.48 per cent, respectively and the values observed in White Giant were 32.80, 27.12, 32.49 and 7.57 per cent, respectively. The postweaning mortality did not differ significantly between breeds, sexes and seasons. The cause of death did not influence the number of mortality between four seasons of the year. However, pneumonia and enteritis resulted in more mortalities than other causes.
Non-genetic Factors, Mortality, Broiler Rabbits (Oryctologus Cuniculus)
