1. Animal Digestive Systems:
Ruminant Digestive System
Created By Megan Peterson, Utah State

2. Ruminant Digestive System Objectives
List the parts of the Ruminant Digestive System
Describe the functions of each of the parts of the Ruminant Digestive system
Label the parts of the Ruminant Digestive System

3. A Brief Overview

4. What is a Ruminant Digestive System?
Having a stomach divided into four compartments and chewing a cud consisting of regurgitated, partially digested food.

5. Who Has a Ruminant Stomach?
Cattle
Camels
Sheep
Alpaca
Goats
Llamas
Deer
Wildebeest
Giraffe
Antelope
Bison
Pronghorn
Yaks
Nilgai
Water Buffalo
Elk
Moose

6. Why is a ruminant system needed?
Ruminants can digest roughages that contain large amounts of fiber, such as:
Hay
Silage
Grass
Haylage

7. Why is a ruminant system needed?
They are able to use resources that are not in demand by humans but in turn provide us with a vital food source.
Ruminants are also useful in converting renewable resources from pasture into other products for human use such as hides, fertilizer, and other inedible products

9. Mouth and Esophagus
The mouth and teeth breaks, cuts and tears up the feed
Saliva contains enzymes, which speed up the digestive process
Transports feed to stomach, and cud to mouth

10. Rumen Solid part of the food goes here Largest of the 4 compartments
Solid feed is mixed and partially broken down by bacteria
Storage, soaking, physical mixing and breakdown, fermentation

11. Interior of the Rumen

12. Reticulum Bacterial action breaks feed farther down
Walls contract simultaneously with the rumen, forcing the feed back up to be chewed and swallowed again.
The “hardware” stomach
Hardware stomach because it catches metal and hardware

13. Interior of the Reticulum-honeycomb shape

14. Why does it seem like Cows are always chewing?
Once swallowed, the food goes to the rumen, where it is mixed with chemicals and softened. This softened food is called the cud, small balls of food.
Cattle chew their cud about 6-8 times per day!

15. Omasum
Small compartment that acts as a filter of materials for the abomasum
Grinding action on feed and removes some of the water
Hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes are mixed with feed

16. Interior of the Omasum

17. Abomasum The “true” stomach
Secretes gastric juices that digest the microbes passed on from the rumen

18. Interior of the Abomasum

19. Small Intestine
Partly digested feed that leaves the stomach enters the small intestine.
It is an acid, semi-fluid, gray, pulpy mass. This material is called chyme.
In the small intestine, the chyme is mixed with three digestive juices: pancreatic juices, bile, and intestinal juice.

20. Large Intestine
Continued fermentation and secretion

21. Relay Race! Line up with your team
When the “go” word is given, the first person in line will pick up one of the descriptors and race to the categories. Place the descriptor with the category that you think it matches with best
The next person in line can’t begin until the person before them slaps their hand

22. Animal Science Idol!
In pairs, come up with a second song that takes us through the ruminant digestive system
Rap it!
Rhyme it!
Sing opera!
Give us some country twang!
Be creative!