Download Ruminant - Seymour FFA

Digestive
Systems
A RUMINANT IS :
• An animal with four
distinct compartments
in its stomach, which
swallows its food
essentially unchewed,
regurgitates it, chews
it thoroughly and
reswallows it.
Examples Include :
• Cattle
• Sheep
• Goats
• Deer
• Elk
STOMACH COMPARTMENTS
Reticulum- honeycomb (5% of capacity)
Rumen- paunch
(80% of capacity)
Omasum-manyplies
(7% of capacity)
Abomasum- true stomach (8% of capacity)
Reticulum
• AKA: “The hardware stomach”
• The reticulum furnishes additional storage space and holds
foreign materials such as nails and wire which may cause
serious damage to the other body organs if they pass
through the system. Often a magnet is fed to ruminants to
catch and hold this foreign material in the reticulum.
Rumen
• The largest compartment with a capacity of
40 to 60 gallons in mature cattle.
• Serves as a storage area for feed.
• Millions of bacteria and protozoa break
down the feed in the rumen.
Bacteria:
• Enable ruminants to digest large quantities
of roughage
• Multiply by feeding on material in the
rumen
• Are digested later in the stomach and
intestines
• The rumen does not develop in the
young until they are weaned and
begin to eat solid feed
Omasum:
• A muscular section that
squeezes out the water from
the feed before it enters the
abomasum
Abomasum:
• Digestive juices cause chemical changes to
break down the proteins, carbohydrates, and
fats into simpler substances.
• These simpler substances can now pass into
the small intestine for further digestion and
absorption into the blood stream.
Regurgitation:
• Ruminants chew their food just enough to
make swallowing possible.
• After they are done eating, the food is
brought back up from the rumen and
rechewed.
A NON-RUMINANT IS:
• An animal having a
single compartment in
its stomach, which
swallows its food after
chewing and does not
regurgitate.
• Also known as a
monogastric
Examples Include :
• Pigs
• Humans
• Bears
• Dogs
Monogastrics:
• Swallow food directly into the
single compartment stomach,
where it is mixed with
digestive juice
• Are unable to digest large
quantities of fiber unless they
have an enlarged cecum
(horses, rabbits and guinea
pigs)
Cecum
• A blind pouch at the first
portion of the large intestine
• While the rumen is the main
place for bacterial
breakdown in ruminants, it
happens in the large
intestine and cecum of the
horse and rabbit
The End