Resumen de Threonine: an essential amino acid not frequently used till now in rabbit feeds formulation. A review
Lactating doe and growing-finishing rabbit threonine requirements have been studied through a review of the original researches dealing with this topic. Threonine is confirmad as being an essential amino acid to rabbit milk production and growth. Threonine requirement can be evaluated at 0.64% of the feed for the lactating doe and at 0.60% for the growing-finishing rabbit. However, growth and milk production variations with dietary threonine level remain limitad. Expressed in percentage of the crude protein, the threonine requirement of the rabbit (3.7%) is higher than those for the pig or chicken. This fact may be a consequence of the high threonine level of rabbit meat. This study confirms a light depressing effect of an excess of threonine in the feed (above 0.65-0.70%). On a practical point of view, a purified threonine supplementation may be necessary particularly in the lactating does' feeds, mainly when low alfalfa incorporation is used.
