Influenza del tipo di allevamento, dell’età di macellazione e del sesso sulla qualità della carne di coniglio.

The influence of type of rearing, age at slaughter and sex on meat quality was investigated on 34 rabbits (15 male and 19 female) housed inside or outside (plein-air) and slaughtered at 13 weeks or 17 weeks of age. Samples joints from L. lumborum muscle were obtained at slaughter for meat quality assessment. Meats from rabbits reared outside had lower ultimate pH values and intramuscular lipid content, and higher lightness. Age at slaughter affected all the main qualitative traits of meat. Interaction between type of rearing and slaughter age evidenced that the meat quality can be improved when growing rabbits are reared in plein-air conditions and slaughtered over 13 weeks of age.