Grace Woyin-Imomoemi CLEMENT

This project was carried out to determine the Estimate of Heritability of Growth Rate in Rabbits" which endeavors to interpret the genetic basis governing the growth performance of rabbits, an important trait in the context of animal agriculture. The experiment was carried out at the rabbitry section of the University of Benin Farm Project, Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria. A total of
twenty rabbits (fifteen females and five males), of which five belong to one breed, were used for this experiment. The breeds used were New Zealand White, Chinchilla, Hyla and Dutch. The rabbits, which were 3 months of age, were kept for a duration of 18 weeks. Data collected were on Litter size at Birth, at two weeks and at weaning, Litter weight at Birth, at two weeks and at weaning were collected. encompassing a diverse population of rabbits, we aimed to quantify the heritability of growth rates, thereby discerning the relative influence of genetic factors. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis using GENSTAT, 12th edition and Heritability estimate was obtained by first Solving for variance components (due to sire, due to standard error and phenotype) using the result obtained from the analysis.