Articles | Volume 61, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-61-463-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/aab-61-463-2018
Original study
 | 
06 Dec 2018
Original study |  | 06 Dec 2018

A new parameter describing fertility in rabbits at the farm level: the kit index

Steffen Hoy

Cited articles

Carluccio, A., Robbe, D., De Amicis, I., Contri, A., Tosi, U., Russo, F., and Paoletti, M.: Artificial insemination in rabbits: laboratory and field trial with three different semen extenders, World Rabbit Sci., 12, 65–79, 2004.
Castellini, C., Dal Bosco, A., Arias-Alvarez, M., Lorenzo, P., Cardinali, R., and Rebollar, P. C.: The main factors affecting the reproductive performance of rabbit does: a review, Animal Reprod. Sci., 122, 174–182, 2010.
Coutelet, G.: Performances moyennes des élevages cunicoles en France pour l'année 2014 Résultats RENACEB, Cuniculture Magazine, 42, 39–40, 2015.
Dimitrova, I., Angelov, G., Teneva, A., and Uzev, P.: Artificial insemination of rabbits, Biotechnol. Animal Husb., 25, 1249–1253, 2009.
Fouad, M. A.: Some management practices to improve reproductive performance of New Zealand rabbit does in hot climate, J. Egypt. Med. Assoc., 65, 317–329, 2005.
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Short summary
The rabbit kit index (KI) combines the kindling rate (KR) and the average litter size (LS) per group of rabbit does per year or per farm and represents the number of total or live-born kits per 100 inseminated does. The KR is the percentage of does kindling from the total number of inseminated does. The KI characterizes the complex fertility situation on a given rabbit farm. The KI can be used to demonstrate and solve problems with artificial insemination and general insemination management.