Effect of continuous mating on maternal and mating behaviour, conception rate, gestational length, litter size and kit’s growth alive in New Zealand White rabbits

Rabbit industry have a lot of potential due to high demand in rabbit meat and serve as an alternative to beef and mutton. In 2017, the global rabbit meat market sales were $6.4 billion, up 12% from the previous year, and is likely to continue growing in the near future. However, standard operating procedures (SOP) for breeding in rabbits to optimize productivity are still scarce. Mating continuously for three days was a common practice and believed to boost the doe's pregnancy rate among farmers. However, the frequency of ejaculations and repetitive service from buck may result in sexual weariness and affect conception rate. Therefore, the aims of the study were 1) to investigate the effect of different mating frequencies on mating behaviour, maternal behaviour and conception rate and 2) to determine its effect on gestational length, litter size and kit’s growth alive in New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits. A total of 8 does and 4 bucks of NZW were divided into 2 groups. Does were mated for 1 day (Group 1) and 3 days continuously (Group 2), respectively. Growth and maternal behaviours of does were analysed in 7 weeks. Abdominal palpation was carried out on Day 11 until Day 15 and while ultrasound on Day 21 respectively. Prior to analysis of kit’s growth for 10 days, conception rate, gestational length and litter size were observed. Results showed that no significant differences of difference mating frequencies on the mating behaviour, maternal behaviour and conception rate in NZW does. In addition, different frequencies of mating also showed no significant differences on gestational length, litter size and kit’s growth in NZW. Further work on the effect of difference frequency of mating on sperm quality is recommended to optimize the productivity of rabbit meat industry in Malaysia.