The aim of the study was to analyze the conformation traits of rabbits in relation to the year of evaluation and sex of the animals. The analyzes involved a rabbit production farm located in south-eastern Poland. The farm is specialized in the following breeds: New Zealand White, Blanc de Termonde, Alaska, Californian White, Giant Chinchilla, and Popielno White. The study covered 858 New Zealand White rabbits (741 does and 117 bucks). The ANOVA results indicated statistically significant effect of sex on the quality of the coat, body frame and breed type. The year of evaluation statistically significantly influenced the body size, weight, hair coat quality, specific breed traits, body frame, breed type, and the total score attained by the rabbits. The interaction sex x year of evaluation significantly influenced body weight only, whereas no significant effect can be found if we look at the remaining traits. The variation of the traits, as measured with the coefficient of variability, ranged from 1.05 to 9.19%. The correlations were quite varied, ranging from –0.7715 (between the breed type and the year of evaluation) up to 0.6017 (between the body frame and the total score). The analyzed animals were characterized by very good body type and conformation parameters, which is demonstrated by a high score achieved for each trait.
The purpose of this study was to reveal the apoptotic cell formation, using histopathological and immunohistochemical methods, in non-pregnant and pregnant New Zealand White rabbits, and in offspring of the pregnant group exposed to GSM modulated signal in 1,800 MHz frequency. Apoptotic cells were detected in the brain, eyes, kidneys, liver, lung, heart, and spleen by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling (TUNEL) staining. Histopathological changes were observed in the examined organs. TUNEL positivity was seen in the brain (group VI) and eyes (groups IV and VI). In groups I, II, III, and V, the positivity was lesser than 5% and was not taken into account.