When do cows ruminate? What is the reason?
When a cow finishes eating forage or lies down to rest, people will see the cow's mouth constantly chewing it into a food bolus and swallowing it again. Many people do not understand why this is, so when do cows ruminate? Why do they need to ruminate?
1. What is rumination
Rumination refers to certain animals returning semi-digested food from the stomach to the mouth for chewing again after some time has passed since eating. When a cow finishes eating forage or lies down to rest, people will see the cow's mouth constantly chewing it into a food bolus and swallowing it again. Each time takes about 1 to 2 minutes, and about 6 to 8 hours per day are needed for rumination. This can make large amounts of forage finer and softer and allow it to pass through the rumen more quickly into the later digestive tract, so that the cow can consume more forage.
2. When do cows ruminate
Rumination in cattle usually begins 30 to 60 minutes after feeding stops. Calves show rumination at about 21 to 30 days. Beef cattle ruminate at night, and the time used for rumination in a 24-hour period is 7 to 8 hours. Generally, 70% in winter and 54% in summer, with 10 to 15 rumination periods in a 24-hour period. Each rumination period takes 24 to 36 minutes for yellow cattle and 40 to 60 minutes for beef cattle. An ordinary cow chews one bolus an average of 48 times in the mouth, while beef cattle chew 30 to 60 times. When they eat coarse hard straw and more withered yellow pasture in winter, the number of chews also increases accordingly.
3. The process of rumination in cattle
Cattle generally eat rather hurriedly, especially coarse feed, and most of it is swallowed into the rumen without being fully chewed. After being soaked and softened in the rumen for some time, the food is regurgitated back into the mouth, chewed again, mixed with saliva again, and swallowed back into the rumen. When cattle are sick, overly fatigued, or subjected to strong external stimulation, rumination behavior can be weakened or stop completely. Once rumination stops, food remains in the rumen, and often because the gas produced by fermentation cannot be expelled, rumen bloating is caused.
4. Why do cows need to ruminate
Cows ruminate because of the special setup of the cow's stomach. The cow's stomach is divided into four parts: the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. Only the abomasum is the part that secretes gastric juice. The rumen has a volume of 100 to 300 liters, about 80% of the four-part stomach. The rumen contains a large number of microorganisms, including protozoa (mainly ciliates) and bacteria. The rumen itself does not secrete enzymes; all enzymes in the rumen are produced by microorganisms. The fiber in the forage is fermented and decomposed under the action of enzymes produced by these microorganisms, and most of the low-grade fatty acids formed are absorbed by the rumen wall. The reticulum is in front of the rumen, pressing against the diaphragm and liver. The inner wall of the reticulum is honeycomb-shaped, and microbial digestion also takes place in the reticulum.
The above is Tuliu.com's introduction to the reasons for and process of rumination in cattle. Rumination is one of the important digestive processes of cattle and other ruminants. Through rumination, feed is chewed fine and mixed with saliva, increasing the decomposition surface for rumen microorganisms, keeping rumen pH stable between 6 and 7, and creating good conditions for rumen fermentation, protein metabolism, and so on.