Cattle (along with sheep, goats, and their wild cousins like water buffalo) have the most complicated digestive systems found in the animal kingdom. However, the complexity of the bovine digestive system also provides the great advantage of versatility, allowing it to digest even the most fibrous foods.
Unlike most animals that have a basic stomach with one compartment, cattle have a more complex stomach separated into four distinct chambers. (A cow that has multiple stomachs is actually a misnomer: it’s a four-chambered stomach.) Animals that have a stomach with compartments capable of digesting the large amount of cellulose found in very fibrous forage are known as ruminants. The term ruminant is related to the second chewing of large pieces of forage that return to the mouth from the stomach, which is known as rumination. While most animals secrete acids and enzymes in the stomach for digestion, ruminants use a unique fermentation process to break down food into useful nutrients.
Proper nutrition and feed management from a calf’s birth are important to develop the proper types and levels of microorganisms that aid in the fermentation and digestive process of ruminants. Let’s review how the ruminant’s digestive process works and how to keep it healthy, starting with the cow’s stomach.
The unique cow stomach
As noted above, cows have a stomach divided into four separate chambers or compartments listed below:
- reticle
- Belly
- omasum
- Abomasum
These four compartments work in concert to break down highly fibrous forage to release the sugars and proteins contained in the densely walled cells of the plant.
The reticulum and the rumen, the first two chambers, are closely connected and are continually exchanging contents, to the extent that they are commonly referred to together as the reticulum-rumen. The rumen, which is by far the largest section of the stomach in adult cattle, is where fermentation takes place and where an important mix of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms aid the slow two to four day fermentation process. The contents of the reticulum are continually mixed with the contents of the rumen. In the grid, the contents are classified; the larger pieces are returned to the mouth for further chewing and the smaller pieces are sent to the next chamber, the omasum, for the next stage of digestion. The rest remains in the rumen for later fermentation.
The omasum contains many folds that effectively absorb fluids, which pass into the bloodstream. The last compartment, the abomasum, is similar to the stomachs found in most animals. It uses acids and enzymes to further break down the particles so they can be absorbed into the bloodstream. It also breaks down proteins and other byproducts of the fermentation process.
The rest of the digestive tract is also similar to other animals. The small intestine continues the digestive process using a new set of enzymes secreted by the liver and pancreas, which break down fats and proteins and absorb them into the bloodstream. The large intestine absorbs the remaining fluids and forms stool.
Digestive development of the calf
Calves are not naturally born with the ability to properly ferment fibrous forage in their stomach. You must develop that capacity by nutritionally consuming foods that aid in proper fermentation. In fact, in the first few months of life, calves could technically be considered non-ruminants. In calves, the rumen is not the largest stomach compartment; a calf must develop a mature rumen.
During early lactation, the rumen basically acts as a part of the esophagus, passing protein-rich milk to the posterior chambers of the stomach. Only when the calf begins to eat forage after a few weeks, the rumen begins to develop. Therefore, providing forage during this crucial stage is critical for rumen development. A calf unable to develop a proper rumen and fermentation process at the proper age can develop severe digestive tract conditions and likely experience stunted growth.
In addition to creating the proper chemical content in the rumen for fermentation, eating roughage also develops the muscular lining in the rumen necessary for proper absorption.
Water is also critical at this early stage of rumen development. Without water, the bacteria and other microorganisms necessary for fermentation will not grow properly. Milk or other liquid feed does not help in rumen development as it does not pass through the rumen. Only water will help in rumen development.
Common Digestive Problems of Cattle
With a complex stomach to digest highly fibrous piercings, things can go wrong. As discussed above, for calves, not having access to forage and water will slow rumen development, possibly resulting in diarrhea or other digestive problems.
Other common digestive problems include:
Inflate-Excessive rumen gas can be caused by consuming too many vegetables/grains or too many fresh herbs. The digestive system of cattle relies on regular fibrous drilling to maintain its chemical balance.
Acidosis– The chemical balance that aids fermentation in the rumen is largely determined by the cow’s diet. A sudden change in diet, for example from mostly hay to mostly grain, can result in a rapid increase in rumen acidity. Acidosis can damage the lining of the rumen and cause digestive disorders and dehydration.
Maintain healthy cattle digestion
The best way to help a calf or herd maintain a healthy digestive system is to make sure you do the following:
1) Help a calf to properly develop its rumen and ruminal fermentation by regularly providing adequate forage and clean water when it is a few days old.
2) If you feed the herd vegetables and grains, maintain a proper and regular balance of forage in the diet.
3) Feed the herd hay before placing it on fresh, green pasture to prevent cows from bingeing on fresh grass.
A healthy digestive system means your herd and calves will likely stay healthy too. When problems occur, cattle may not maintain adequate nutrition, making them more prone to illness and disease. Now that you understand that a healthy digestive system is important, you need to view this information to learn more about how to have healthy calves.
