Laboratory Exercise No.

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DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF FARM ANIMALS

INTRODUCTION
The digestive system is compose of the organs that are involved in the process of
digestion of food This system is capable of procuring/grasping (prehension), chewing
(mastication), swallowing (deglutition), digestion, absorption of nutrients, secretion of
digestive enzymes and acids, and deposition of excretory functions.in the broad
sense, it may include mechanical forces (chewing and muscular contractions),
chemical actions (hydrochloric acid and bile), enzymatic (hydrolysis of the ingesta by
enzymes and microbial action (rumen, cecal or colon fermentation). The overall
function is to reduce food/feed to a molecular size or solubility that allows absorption
and utilization of the individual nutrients released in the process.

PROCEDURE
1. Get a sample of any animal (ruminant/ swine/pseudoruminant/avian)
digestive tract available in your area
2. Study the anatomy and physiology of the various organ of digestion.
3. Label the different parts of the specimen
4. Take a photo and paste on your activity sheet
5. Illustrate and label the detailed structures of the digestive system of the
following animals (except your specimen): a. Large ruminants-cattle/buffalo
b. Small ruminants-goat/sheep
c. Monogastric-swine
d. Pseudoruminants-rabbit/horse
e. Avian-chicken/duck

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:
1. Describe ruminant digestion
2. Young ruminants are said to be monogastrics, Explain why.
3. How is bloating developed in ruminant stomach? Explain possible approaches
to prevent this unwanted condition.
4. Trace the digestive system of monogastric stomach by citing the organs of
digestion with their corresponding function(s) and enzyme/juice secretion.
5. Illustrate and label the details of the inner linings of the intestine showing the
villi distribution as vehicles for nutrient absorption.
6. What is coprophagy? Explain and cite two (2) examples of animal doing it.
7. Explain the digestion process of animals classified as hindgut fermenters.

Laboratory Exercise No. 3

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 DIGESTIVE SYSTEM OF FARM ANIMALS

Name: ___Manuel, Kyrra Aliah F.______ Score: _________

Section : ________DVM2C_________ Date : __OCT 13, 2023___

A. Paste photo of your specimen

B. Illustrate and label detailed structures of the digestive system of the following
animals (except your specimen):

a. Large ruminants-cattle/buffalo

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b. Small ruminants-goat/sheep

c. Monogastric-swine

d. Pseudoruminants-rabbit/horse

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 e. Avian-chicken/duck

C. Guide Questions:

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 1. Describe ruminant digestion
Digestion in ruminants occurs sequentially in a four-chambered stomach. Plant
material is initially taken into the Rumen, where it is processed mechanically and
exposed to bacteria than can break down cellulose. The process of rumination or
“chewing the cud” is where 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. 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.
2. Young ruminants are said to be monogastrics. Explain why.
The rumen, reticulum and omasum remain undeveloped at birth and during the
first few weeks of life. The calf's largest stomach compartment is the abomasum.
At this stage of life, the rumen doesn't function and thus some feeds that mature
cows can digest, calves can not. A monogastric is an animal with a single-
compartmented stomach. Examples of monogastrics include humans, poultry,
pigs, horses, rabbits, dogs and cats. Most monogastrics are generally unable to
digest much cellulose food materials such as grasses.

3. How is bloating developed in ruminant stomach? Explain possible

approaches to prevent this unwanted condition.
Ruminant animals produce large volumes of gas during the normal process of
digestion. This gas either is belched up or passes through the gastrointestinal
tract. If something interferes with gas escape from the rumen, bloat occurs.
How to prevent:
Prevention of pasture bloat can be difficult. Management practices used to reduce the risk
of bloat include feeding hay, particularly orchard grass, before turning cattle on pasture,
maintaining grass dominance in the sward, or using strip grazing to restrict intake, with
movement of animals to a new strip in the afternoon, not the early morning. Hay must
constitute at least one-third of the diet to effectively reduce risk of bloat. Feeding hay or
strip grazing may be reliable when the pasture is only moderately dangerous, but these
methods are less reliable when the pasture is in the prebloom stage and the bloat potential
is high. Mature pastures are less likely to cause bloat than immature or rapidly growing
pastures.

4. Trace the digestive system of monogastric stomach by citing the organs of

digestion with their corresponding function(s) and enzyme/juice secretion.

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Monogastric digestive systems begin with the ingestion of food into their mouth. The
tongue and the teeth gather feed and break it down into smaller pieces in order to make it
easier for the animal to digest. Food travels down the esophagus, which is a long tube that
carries the feed from the mouth to the stomach. The stomach serves as a reservoir for
short term storage and digestion where enzymes break down the feed components so that
they may enter and be absorbed into the blood stream. Any remaining undigested food
travels into the small intestine, where it is broken down further. After the small intestine has
removed all available nutrients from the feed, the remaining material is passed into the
large intestine and finally excreted from the body through the rectum or anus.
Functions of the Monogastric Digestive System
1. Esophagus: Transports feed from the mouth to the stomach.
2. Stomach: Secretes acids and enzymes that begin digestion of food.
3. Small Intestine: Where most digestion occurs. Enzymes secreted by the small intestine
breakdown food and nutrients are absorbed into the blood stream.
4. Cecum: Where fiber is digested by microbes.
5. Large Intestine: As material passes through the large intestine, water is absorbed back
into the animal’s body.
6. Rectum: Waste is removed from the animal’s body via the rectum and anus.

5. Illustrate and label the details of the inner linings of the intestine showing the
villi distribution as vehicles for nutrient absorption

6. What is coprophagy? Explain and cite two (2) examples of animal doing it.
Coprophagy (from the Greek “to eat dung”) is a behavior where an animal reingests its own
excreted feces and it has been observed in the rabbit, rat, mouse, hamster, guinea pig, and
chinchilla. It is more correctly called cecotrophy.

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 7. Explain the digestion process of animals classified as hindgut fermenters.
Hindgut fermentation is a digestive process seen in monogastric herbivores, animals with a
simple, single-chambered stomach.

Cellulose is digested with the aid of

symbiotic bacteria. The microbial fermentation occurs in the digestive organs that follow the
small intestine: the large intestine and cecum.

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