Meat quality of Czech White Rabbits in relation to housing

The aim of the experiment was to determine the influence of stocking densities on the quality of meat of the Czech White Rabbit breed. In the first group, rabbits were kept in pairs in cages measuring 40 x 50 x 43 cm, which constituted a concentration of 10 rabbits per m2. In the second group, rabbits were also kept in pairs, this time in cages measuring 60 x 80 x 43 cm (4 rabbits per m2). Rabbits were fed ad libitum from the time of weaning until the end of the fattening period (89th day of age) with a diet of a complete pelleted feed. From the results obtained it is evident that neither the final live weight of the rabbits nor the feed conversion over the whole research period were influenced by the number of animals per m2. Rabbits kept in cages with the lower stocking density had a significantly lower content of separable fat (P = 0.016). The thigh meat of this group of rabbits also displayed significantly lower contents of lauric acid (P = 0.008) and myristic acid (P = 0.033). Furthermore, this group of rabbits displayed a significantly higher number of muscle fibres (P = 0.002), their significantly smaller area (P = 0.015) and diameter (P = 0.006), compared with rabbits kept in cages with a higher stocking density.