Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality of Local Breeds and New Zealand White Rabbits

This article compares the slaughtered carcass characteristics and meat quality indicators of 90-day-old Minxinan black rabbit(MBR), Fujian white rabbit(FWR) and New Zealand white rabbit(NZWR). The results showed that (1) the live weight[(2044.79±129.86)g], evisceration weight[(941.89±65.27)g] and semi-evisceration weight[(1034.31±65.39)g] of NZWR were higher than those of MBR[(1568.56±103.99)g, (725.42±88.60)g and (784.94±145.07)g, respectively] and FWR[(1514.43±102.96)g, (675.55±54.91)g and(763.08±47.82)g, respectively] at P < 0.05, and the evisceration weight percentage[(44.59±1.84)%] and abdominal fat weight[(7.54±4.62)g] of FWR lower than those of MBR[(46.27±4.95)% and (8.06±4.19)g, respectively] and NZWR[(46.09±2.04)% and (9.48±5.23)g, respectively] at P < 0.05, while no significant differences in the proportions of semi-evisceration weight or the abdominal fat among all breeds at P>0.05; (2) the longissimus dorsi and biceps femori of MBR appeared redder in color than those of the other rabbits at P < 0.05; (3) 45 minutes after slaughter, the pH of longissimus dorsi of MBR (6.42±0.20) was lower than those of FWR (6.49±0.20) and NZWR (6.53±0.20) at P < 0.05, and no significant differenceon biceps femoriat P>0.05;whereas, 24 h after slaughter, the pH of longissimus dorsi (5.66±0.09) and biceps femori (5.84±0.15) of FWR were higher than those of MBR[(5.46±0.31) and (5.67±0.16), respectively] and NZWR[(5.47±0.27) and (5.64±0.07), respectively] at P < 0.05, indicating an acidification in the muscles of all 3 breeds occurred after slaughtering; (4) the longissimus dorsi of NZWR had the highest drip loss[(9.50±3.29)%, P < 0.05], and no significant differences in cooking losses among the breeds (P>0.05); (5) NZWR had a higher crude protein content in longissimus dorsi at (24.69±2.57)g·kg^-1 than the others, while MBR the lowest at (22.12±0.96)g·kg^-1(P < 0.05), whereas, the fat content being the opposite; (6) FWR had lower muscle area[(0.0014±0.0004)mm·unit^-1 on longissimus dorsi and (0.0017±0.0004)mm·unit^-1 on biceps femori] than the other breeds (P < 0.05), but no significant difference between MBR and NZWR(P>0.05), and the opposite on muscle fiber density among the breeds.