Performance of Meat and Wool Type Rabbits as Affected by Heat Stress and Microclimatic Modification

The experiment was conducted from May through September on eighteen males and equal number of females of Soviet Chinchilla and German Angora rabbits, randomly divided into three groups (treatments) so that each treatment consisted of 3 males and 3 females of each species. Group I (T1) was kept in a pen measuring 5.40 × 2.80 m and fitted with a ceiling fan only (48’’). Group II (T2) was kept in a pen having the same dimensions as T1 but cooled by a fan and a desert cooler. Group III (T3) was reared in large conventional shed measuring 25.20 × 12.80 m for about 300 animals and cooled with 12 air fans. The roof height of all the three pens was 2.90 m. T2 provided the most comfortable environmental conditions in terms of significantly lower dry bulb temperature (28.88±0.13°C), black globe thermometer temperature (30.57±0.49°C) and higher relative humidity (78.65±0.83%). Body weight was significantly (P<0.01) higher in T2. Similarly, was the trend in feed consumption and wool weight. Mortality rate (%) was lowest in T2 and highest in T3. It can be concluded that rearing of rabbits at temperatures lower than 30°C significantly improved the performance in terms of higher feed consumption, body gain, fur weight and lower mortality rate.