Digestive system of cows

2016-1-31
 Herbivores

 Which puts on mass by

consuming plants
 their diets are composed
primarily of plant material
Digestive system
Position of 4 stomachs
Digestive system
 Prehension
 A ruminant uses its mouth (oral cavity)
and tongue to harvest forages during
grazing or to consume harvested
feedstuffs
 They typically spend more than one
third of their time grazing, one-third of
their time ruminating (cud chewing),
and slightly less than one-third of their
time idling where they are, neither
grazing nor ruminating.
Rumen
 Rumination
 The process of swallowing, “un-
swallowing”, re-chewing, and re-
swallowing is called “rumination,” or
more commonly, “chewing the cud.”
 Rumination enables cows to chew grass
more completely, which improves
digestion.
 Cud chewing
 Rumination reduces particle size of fiber and
exposes sugars to microbial fermentation.
 Forage and other feedstuffs are forced back to
the mouth for further chewing and mixing with
saliva.
 This cud is then swallowed again and passed
into the reticulum.
 Then the solid portion slowly moves into the
rumen for fermentation, while most of the
liquid portion rapidly moves from the
reticulorumen into the omasum and then
abomasum.
 Rumination (break down of
particles) and saliva (buffers)
production
 Production of 160 to 180 liters of saliva
when a cow chews 6 to 8 hours per day,
but less than 30 to 50 liters if
rumination is not stimulated (too much
concentrate in the diet).
 Buffers in the saliva (bicarbonate and
phosphates) neutralize the acids
produced by microbial fermentation to
maintain a neutral acidity which favors
fiber digestion and microbial growth in
the rumen.
Reticulum
  Reticulo-rumen (fermentation)

 Retention of long forage particles that stimulate

rumination.
 Microbial fermentation produces: 1) volatile
fatty acids (VFA) as end-products of the
fermentation of cellulose and other sugars and
2) a microbial mass rich in a high quality
protein.
 Absorption of VFA through the rumen wall. The
VFA are used as the major energy source for
the cow and also for the synthesis of milk fat
(triglycerides) and milk sugar (lactose).
 Production and expulsion through belching of as
many as 1000 liters of gases per day.
Omassum
 Omasum (recycling of some
nutrients)

 Absorption of water, sodium, phosphorus

and residual VFA.
 This pouch acts like a giant filter to keep
plant particles inside the rumen while
allowing water to pass freely. By keeping
grass pieces and other feed inside the
rumen, bacteria have more time to
break them down, providing even more
nutrients for the cow
 Abomasum (acid digestion)

 Secretion of strong acids and digestive

enzymes.
 Rumen digestion
 The solid portion left behind in the
rumen typically remains for up to 48
hours and forms a dense mat in the
rumen, where microbes can use the
fibrous feedstuffs to make precursors for
energy.
 The rumen is the largest stomach
compartment, holding up to 40 gallons
in a mature cow.
. Rumen microorganisms (primarily
bacteria)
 Rumen microflora
 Digest cellulose from plant cell walls: There is
lot of energy in cellulose,
 Digest complex starch,
 Synthesize protein from nonprotein nitrogen,
 and synthesize B vitamins and vitamin K
 There are more bacteria in one rumen than
there are people on Earth.The no of microbes
in one drop of rumen fluid is more than 10
times bigger than the no of people on earth.
 1,000,000,000,000 org/ml.Total 160 litre
capacity
 Analysis of feed and fodder
S Type of food Nature Type
l

1 Grains like maize,Rice etc Dried & Rajasvic

Not wholesome

2 Oil seed cakes Dried , not wholesome Rajasvic &

& Tamasvic
Remnant
3 Green fodder (Grazing) Wholesome,juicy Sathvic

4 Paddy straw Dried,Not wholesome Rajasvic &

& Remnant Tamasvic
5 Salt ,Minerals & Vitamins added Dried,Not Rajasvic &
wholesome,Synthetic Tamasvic
6 Jower/Maize/Paddy fodder Wholesome Sathvic
which is fed fresh at the juicy
stage of grain
 HOUSE OF THE BUGS
RUMEN IS TO THE COW.
Ruminants are in a unique
position of being able to use
such resources that are not
in demand by humans but in
turn provide man with a
vital food source

SOIL IS TO THE PLANT

 “Ohm Surabhiyae namah”
 Thank you
The digestive system of ruminants

 Optimizes use of rumen microbe fermentation

products.
 This adaptation lets ruminants use resources
(such as high-fiber forage) that cannot be used
by or are not available to other animals
 Ruminants are in a unique position of being able
to use such resources that are not in demand
by humans but in turn provide man with a
vital food source.
 Useful in converting vast renewable resources
from pasture into other products for human
use