Effetto della dieta e della durata del post-svezzamento sulla qualità della carcassa e della carne di coniglio.

Effect of the slaughter age, of the diet and the age of fattening on the carcass and meat quality in the rabbit - In order to test the effect of the slaughter age (80 and 87d), of the diet (A diet: 12.16 MJ DE/kg d.m.; B diet: 11.28 MJ DE/kg d.m.; G diet: 11.93 MJ DE/kg d.m., with added animal fat; S diet: 11.40 MJ DE/kg d.m.) and the age of fattening (I1: at 45d ; I2: at 55d), 176 hybrid rabbits of NZW origin were used. The zootechnical performance were recorded and some carcass and meat characteristics were analysed: dressing out %, % of the total dissectable fat, % of the m. l. dorsi, hindleg muscle to bone ratio, muscle pHu and L*, chemical composition of the m. l. dorsi. The beginning of the fattening period at 45 days reduced the % of the total dissectable fat (P<0.05) and increased that of the m. l. dorsi (P<0.001). The diet effect was moderate: the diets with higher DE content gave better feed conversion index and higher total dissectable fat content (P<0.01). The main carcass and meat parameters were influenced by the slaughter age.