2.3. Slaughter traits and carcass composition
At 59 days of age, 100 rabbits (20 per diet; 4 per diet and round)
were weighed (slaughter weight, SW), electrically stunned and
slaughtered at the abattoir in the farm. No fasting was applied. The
slaughtering and carcass dissection procedures followed the recommendations
of Blasco and Ouhayoun (1996).
The slaughtered rabbits were bled and the skin, genitals, urinary
bladder, full gastrointestinal tract and distal part of the legs were removed.
The full gastrointestinal tract was weighed and expressed as
percentage compared to SW (FGTP). The hot carcasses obtained were
weighed (HCW) and then chilled at +4 °C for 24 h in a ventilated