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BLASTOCYST SIZE IN DUTCH-BELTED AND NEW ZEALAND RABBITS

In the rabbit, blastocyst size varies greatly from one doe to another, and is not apparently related to such factors as the weight of the dam and sire or the age of the dam (Beatty, 1958), and the parity of the female (Hafez & Rajakoski, 1964). On the other hand, lactation and stress cause a reduction in the size of the blastocyst and the diameter of the embryonic disc (Hafez & Ishibashi, 1965), and blastocyst diameter is directly related to the racial size of the parents (Castle & Gregory, 1929). The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the variation in blastocyst size between two breeds of rabbits of different body size.

Twenty-three New Zealand White (adult body weight 3·2 to 4·2 kg) and thirty-three Dutch-Belted (adult body weight