This document is an evaluation on the dietary requirements of hindgut fermenters and ruminants. Provides the details of a herbivores diet and nutritional needs in support and required by The Animal Welfare Act 2006 and other relative legislations of farmed animals.
Evaluate the effectiveness of the two different digestive systems, Ruminant and Hindgut Fermenters:
Strengths and Weakness with aiding the animal's survival
Create a supported judgement
Ruminant animal species have specific dietary requirements, they are herbivores with a four-
compartment stomach with the majority of the digestion of food occurring at the front of the
digestive system, starting at the Rumen. This is where fermentation of fibre and other feed is
undertaken in order to utilise the nutrients and minerals the animal requires; although before the
feed reaches the first compartment, the feed is chewed, swallowed, but regurgitated and then
chewed again. After the feed has reached the Rumen, large feed particles are trapped in the second
compartment, called the Reticulum; this compartment inhabits honeycomb structured walls which is
attached to the Rumen. The third compartment is the Omasum which acts as a filter, inhabiting
many folds which squeeze the moisture and water from the feed. This ensures that the water does
not travel to the other remaining parts of the digestive system. The fourth and final compartment is
the Obamasum, which inhabits a low PH level and enzymes that enable the digestion of proteins in
the feed. They are foregut fermenters, meaning that they extract nutrients by passing partially
broken-down feed between the four digestive compartments, which is a lengthy process.
Ruminant animal species require a high pasture quality; which is the amount of nutritional value
utilized by the animal. Haylage and Silage is fed to ruminant animals to maintain the dietary
requirements when the pasture quality has decreased. The Silage and Haylage is harvested within
the summer months when the quality of the feed product is high. This means they need constant
access to the correct foods for the correct frequency; they spend most of their time grazing and
foraging for sufficient amounts of feed in order to obtain the full amount of nutrients they require
from their food.
Hindgut fermenters are herbivores that inhabit a different type of digestive system to others,
resulting in specific dietary requirements that must be met to maintain their digestive system. Unlike
Ruminant animal species that have four stomach compartments, Hindgut Fermenters only have one
stomach compartment. Within this singular stomach compartment, cellulose is broken down after
the feed products have been passed through the stomach in the caecum and colon; these two are
enlarged to enable fermentation to take place and accompany the storage of microbes, which allow
further nutrients to be absorbed. This singular stomach compartment is smaller than a Ruminant
species stomach.
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