Improving rabbit performance, meat quality and composition through forages

A literature review was carried out in the main international databases (Redalyc, SciELO, Scopus, Elsevier, EBSCO, and Scholar Google) using rabbit meat, rabbit meat composition and chemical composition of rabbit meat, forages in rabbit feeding as the main keywords, in the period from 2000 to 2023, to identify tropical resources that have been studied for rabbit meat production, as well as the effects on carcass characteristics and meat quality. Twenty-five species of tropical resources that have been studied for rabbit meat production were identified. The reported studies were related to productive performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality. The use of forages in rabbit feeding has been highlighted by improving nutrient consumption and productive behavior in growing and fattening animals. Concerning the effects on carcass characteristics, improvements are reported in organoleptic aspects, as well as increases in carcass performance, percentage of carcass muscle, and muscle-bone ratio. Regarding meat composition, increases in protein content per 100 g of muscle, a decrease in fat content in the carcass, and an increase in the content of essential fatty acids and selenium are reported. In conclusion, the use of forages in rabbit meat production is viable and improves the quality of the carcass and meat.