Breeding performance of newly acquired New Zealand white rabbits in Laboratory Animal Resource Unit (LARU), Institute for Medical Research (IMR) Malaysia

The rabbit breeding program conducted in 2021 at the Rabbit Breeding Unit of the Laboratory Animal Resource Unit (LARU), Instute for Medical Research (IMR), was designed to evaluate the reproducve performance of newly arrived New Zealand White rabbits within a structured breeding and management system.The key aspects of the study included random pairing and mang of rabbits every three weeks.All six rabbits in the program were housed under natural condions, with ambient temperature and a uniform feeding regimen.The findings revealed that does with larger liters exhibited higher pre-weaning mortality rates, indicang a potenal challenge associated with liter size.Interesngly, factors such as ambient temperature did not significantly impact gestaon length, concepon rate, kindling rate, or parental mortality rates.This suggests that the breeding success may be more closely linked to husbandry pracces and overall management rather than external environmental condions.Despite this being the first breeding cycle for all rabbits, the program's success underscores the importance of effecve husbandry, management, and dedicated care in achieving posive reproducve outcomes.This study emphasised the importance of proper husbandry and management pracces in ensuring breeding success while minimising stress on the animals.