The Ruminant

Digestive System
 Ruminant animals
 A ruminant is an even-toed, hoofed, four-legged mammal that eats grass and
other plants (https://www.dictionary.com/)
  = Herbivores

 The word "ruminant" comes from the Latin ruminare, which means "to chew
over again“ (https://en.wikipedia.org/)

 Ruminants = Polygastric, have a stomach divided into four compartments (called the
rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum)

 Ruminants include cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, deer, giraffes, antelopes, and camels.
Taxonomy of Ruminants
 Subclass – Ungulata
 Order – Artiodactyla
 Suborders
 Ruminantia
 Families
 Tragulidae
 Chevrotain, mouse deer

 Giraffidae
 Giraffes

 Cervidae
 Deer, moose
 Bovidae
 Largest family (120 species)
 Pronghorn, african antelope, bison, buffalo, cattle, goats, sheep

 Tylopoda
 Family
 Camelidae
 Camels, Llamas
Domesticated ruminant species
 2.8 billion animals
 2.2 billion of these are cattle and sheep

 Domesticated ruminants outnumber wild ruminants

by 10:1

 Major domesticated ruminant species

 Cattle
 Sheep
 Goats
 Buffalo
 Reindeer
 Yak
Classification of ruminants by feeding
preference
 Classes of ruminants
 Concentrate selectors
 Intermediate feeders
 Roughage grazers

Source :
Hofmann, R.R. 1989. Evolutionary steps of ecophysiological adaptation and
diversification of ruminants: a comparative view of their digestive system.
Oecologia (1989) 78:443M57
Source :
Hofmann, R.R. 1989. Evolutionary steps of ecophysiological adaptation and diversification
of ruminants: a comparative view of their digestive system. Oecologia (1989) 78:443M57
Source : Hofmann (1989)
Concentrate selecting species
 Properties
 Evolved early
 Small rumens
 Poorly developed omasums
 Large livers
 Limited ability to digest fiber
 Classes
 Fruit and forage selectors
 Very selective feeders
 Duikers, sunis
 Tree and shrub browsers
 Eat highly lignifies plant tissues to extract cell solubles
 Deer, giraffes, kudus
Roughage grazing species
 Properties
 Late evolved
 Generally larger rumens
 Slows retention times
 Less selective
 Digests fermentable cells wall carbohydrates
 Classes
 Fresh grass grazers
 Buffalo, cattle, gnus
 Roughage grazers
 Hartebeests, topis
 Dry region grazers
 Camels, antelope, oryxes
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Functions of the digestive system of
animals include:
 ingestion (eating)
 chewing (mastication)
 swallowing (deglutition)
 Digestion of nutrients
 absorption of nutrients
 elimination of solid wastes (defecation)
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 The digestive system changes food
nutrients into compounds that are easily
absorbed into the bloodstream.
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 The digestive tract extends from the lips to
the anus. It includes the mouth, pharynx,
esophagus, stomach, and the small and
large intestines.
 Accessory glands include the salivary
glands, the liver, and the pancreas.
Ruminant Digestive Systems
Ruminant’s digestive tract
 Pancreas
Rectum Pharynx
Ruminant Digestive Systems
Cecum Kidney Liver Esophagus
Teeth

Anus Picture of digestive system of cow

Tongue
Colon Reticulum
Salivary
Rumen Gland
Small Intestine Omasum
Abomasum
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 The digestive system of ruminant animals
includes the :
 Mouth - grasps the food
 Teeth - grind the food
 Ruminants have only one set of teeth in the front of
the mouth (incisors), and two sets in the back
(molars).
 Dental formula for cattle and sheep
Jaw
Upper Lower
Incisor 0 4
Canine 0 0
Premolar 3 3
Molar 3 3
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Tongue - covered with finger-like projections
(papillae) that contain taste buds.
 Salivary glands - secrete saliva, that moistens
food and is mixed with the food material to aid
in swallowing and rumen buffer
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Pharynx - funnels food into the esophagus,
preventing food material from entering the
lungs.
 Esophagus - food tube that leads from the
mouth to the stomach.
Ruminant Stomach
Four-chambered “stomach” of ruminant animals
(Rumen, Reticulum, Omasum, and Abomasum)
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Rumen - the organ that allows for bacterial
and chemical breakdown of fiber.
 The rumen has a very thick, muscular wall.

 It fills most of the left-side of the abdomen

Ruminant Digestive Systems
 The walls of the rumen contain papillae (that can be
up to 1 cm. in length), where the bacteria that are
used to breakdown fiber live.

 Insome ruminants (dairy cattle) the rumen can have

a capacity of 55-65 gallons!
Papillae in Rumen
Papillae in Rumen
 Structures within the reticulorumen
 Folds
 Areas of tissue dividing the
reticulum and rumen into
different compartments
 Functions
 Mixing and particle sorting
 Prevent fluid from reaching the
cardia during eructation
 Pillars
 Highly muscled areas of the
rumen that form grooves on the
outside of the rumen
 Contains blood vessels, lymph,
and nerves
 Functions
 Contractions
 Rumen Zone and Motility

Primary
• Layers of different substances develop movements Secondary movements
• Muscular movement move and mix these layer
• Contain a lot muscle for movements  Figure 8 types movement  Wave of contraction – caudal to cranial
• Slurry contains bits of straw/hay mixed with liquid  pH maintained by saliva  Forces gas forward through oesophagus - Eructation
• Solid/ligther bits are the part that get regurgitated for remastication  Products: protein, fatty acids  CO2 and CH4 released
 Some bacteria and protozoa goes with ingesta – used as protein  Secondary movement follow primary movement
 A the “right size”, particles settle in slurry and then drop into reticulum  3 times per minute
 Reticulum contracts and pushes ingesta into omasum  Can feel on left paralumbar fossa
 Microbes contain cellulose enzyme to break down cellulose  Hear with stathoscope
 Bacteria: 1010
 Protozoa 106
 Produce volatile fatty acids
 Important movements for:
 Escape through oesophagus or reticulum
 Microbe – need to be in contact with ingesta for fermentation

Rumen motility allows:

1.Feed particles mixing
2.Eructation
3.Forming feed bolus for regurgitation
4.Feed particles leaving rumen to omasum
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Reticulum - honeycomb-like interior surface,
this part helps to remove foreign matter from
the food material.
Reticulum - full
Reticulum - cleaned
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Ruminants will “chew their cud” (regurgitate)
their food material and then grind it with their
molars at a time when the animal is resting.

 This is done until the food particles are small

enough to pass through the reticulum into the
rumen.
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Since ruminant animals do not “chew” their
food when it is taken in, at times foreign
material like rocks, nails, small pieces of wire,
can be swallowed.
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 While the animal is “chewing its cud” foreign
particles that are heavy are allowed to “sink”
in the reticulum, preventing many foreign
particles from entering the rest of the
digestive system.

 Once foreign material enters the reticulum, it

stays there for the life of the animal.
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 If enough of this foreign material remains
in the reticulum, it may cause damage and
infection of the reticulum (hardware
disease).
Telephone Cord
Wire
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Omasum - section that is round and
muscular.
 “Grinds” the food material and prepares the

food material for chemical breakdown

 No function in feed digestion but mostly for

water absorption and small portion of VFA

absorption.
Omasum - full
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Abomasum - very similar to the stomach of
non-ruminants.
 this is where the majority of chemical

breakdown of food material occurs.

 mixes in digestive enzymes (pepsin,

rennin, bile, etc.).

Abomasum – inside view
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Small Intestine - where most of the food
material is absorbed into the bloodstream
 Contains three sections:

 duodenum
 jejunum
 ileum
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 The food material is continually
squeezed as it is moved through the
small intestine, becoming more solid.
 The majority of the food material

absorption occurs in the duodenum and

the jejunum.
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Large Intestine - begins to prepare unused
food material for removal from the body

 a portion of the large intestine in some

animals contain pouches that may contain
enzymes for further species-specific
digestion (horses and rabbits (cecum)).
Ruminant Digestive Systems
 Colon - collects the unused food material that
is to be removed from the body
 Rectum - “poop chute”
 Anus - opening through which the waste is
removed.
 Controlled by sphincter muscles, that also

help protect the opening.

Feed digestion processes in ruminant
(summary)
Based on their digestive tracts dan digestion
processes, ruminants are considered as
pregrastric fermentation animals

Advantages of pregastric fermentation animals

 Make better use of alternative nutrients
 Cellulose
 Nonprotein nitrogen
 Ability to detoxify some poisonous compounds
 Oxalates, cyanide, alkaloids
 More effective use of fermentation end-products including:
 Volatile fatty acids, microbial protein, B vitamins
 Decrease in handling undigested residues
 In wild animals, it allows animals to eat and run
Disadvantages of pregastric fermentation animals
 Fermentation is inefficient
 Energy
 Loss Amount (% of total caloric value)
Methane 5-8
Heat of fermentation 5-6
 Relative efficiency is dependent on the diet NDF.
 Protein
 Protein
 Some ammonia resulting from microbial degradation will be absorbed and
excreted
 20% of the nitrogen in microbes is in the form of nucleic acids
 Ruminants are susceptible to ketosis
 Ruminants are susceptible to toxins produced by rumen microbes
 Nitrates Nitrites
 Urea Ammonia
 Nonstructural carbohydrates Lactic acid
 Tryptophan 3-methyl indole
 Isoflavonoid estrogens estrogen Coumestans