The Biochemistry of Ruminant Nutrition

Abstract

The ruminant animal has two special adaptations for which it is characteristically noted. The first of these is the adaptation of the digestive tract to the ingested nutrients. One part of this is anatomical in the form of the four-compartment stomach and one part is biochemical in the form of rumen fermentation.

The second is the adaptation of the tissues to the end products of digestion, notably the short chain, volatile fatty acids and the simultaneous production of large quantities of bacterial cell protein.

The animal thus has a capacity for utilization of feedstuffs not usable by other species. These include cellulose and inorganic nitrogen.

The large storage compartment made up mostly by the rumen also gives the animal a capacity for surviving comparatively long periods without feed or water.