Download Ruminant - Aubrey ISD

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
4STOMACH COMPARTMENTS
Rumen- pouch
(80% of capacity)
Reticulum- honeycomb & Hardware stomach
(5% of capacity)
Omasum-manyplies
(7% of capacity)
Abomasum- true stomach (8% of capacity)
Digestive System
• Small Intestine: long coiled tube connecting
stomach to large intestine
– rest of the digestion and absorption takes place
here
– surface covered with villi (surface area)
• Large Intestine: Cecum, colon, rectum
– absorbs water (makes feces more solid)
– some vitamins & minerals absorbed here
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.
• A 1200 pound cow may have the capacity of 300
pounds of feed in their stomach
Gas
Today’s Hay
Yesterday’s
Feed
Rumen
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.
Reticulum
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
Omasum
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.
• AKA: The TRUE STOMACH
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
The End