Influence of Season and Sex on Growth and Carcass Performance of Local Rabbits in North-Eastern Algeria

Background: Rabbit farming in Algeria still occupies a modest place, but it presents interesting potential for meat production and income diversification in rural areas. Adapted to small farms, rabbit farming can contribute to improving the supply of animal protein. This study examines the effect of season and sex on the growth, live weight, hot carcass, cold carcass and associated yields of local rabbits raised in the El Tarf province. Methods: The study was conducted on a total of 83 rabbits raised in a traditional system in Ain Elkarma, El Tarf province (Northeast Algeria), from birth to 14 weeks. Result: Significant commercial growth occurred during the S7-S10 phase. The season × sex interaction was significant (p less than 0.01), with better performance in females born in winter (1567.3 g S14) in females, which also had the best cold carcasses (≈800 g). Rabbits of both sexes frequently exceed 1000 g by the 9th week in winter. A strong correlation between live weight and cold carcass weight (r = 0.867; p less than 0.001) was observed, confirming the link between body development and marketable muscle mass. Conversely, cold yields remain remarkably stable, with no significant influence of season, sex or live weight (p greater than 0.05; R2 less than 0.10), indicating a low sensitivity of these parameters to biological or climatic variations. This stability enhances the predictability of final yield and is a major asset for the technical and economic optimization of the rabbit farming sector. The results reveal an adaptive plasticity of this local population and indicate the interest of differentiated management strategies according to season and sex to optimize zootechnical value in a semi-humid environment.