What do non ruminant animals eat

The terminal end of the gastrointestinal tract is the rectum. Its function is involved with defecation or elimination of the materials remaining after passage through the digestive system. Non-ruminant Herbivore Digestive Tract The digestive system of the non-ruminant herbivore such as the horse, rabbit and guinea pig combines features of both the ruminant and monogastric systems. The proximal part stomach, small intestine of the gastrointestinal tract is very similar to that of the monogastric.

The digestion of the dietary fractions which would also be available to the monogastric ie.. The more fibrous part of the feed, which in some situations is the majority of the diet, is passed through the small intestine to the hindgut caecum and colon where it undergoes digestive processes similar to those occurring in the rumen.

The bacteria which inhabit the caecum and colon of the horse are, in most cases, identical to those found in the rumen of cattle. The end products of bacterial fermentation are also very similar to those of the ruminant animal. Since the major site of bacterial fermentation in the hind-gut fermenters is distal to the small intestine the non-ruminant herbivore may not be as efficient in using fibrous foodstuffs as is the ruminant. Much of the bacterial protein and cell wall constituents which would be available to the ruminant are lost to the horse.

There is absorption from the hind-gut of by-products of bacterial fermentation such as volatile fatty acids, free amino acids, B-vitamins and minerals released from plant sources, but losses of these nutrients in the feces is greater in the horse than in the cow. The rate of passage of ingesta through the gastrointestinal tract of the horse is, however, more rapid than in the ruminant. This allows the horse to meet a great part of its requirements from fibrous sources by ingesting large quantities, digesting what is available and eliminating the remainder from the tract relatively quickly.

For horses with high nutrient requirements ie.. Monogastric Digestive Systems In animals like pigs, the lips, cheeks, palate and tongue are all involved with prehension and movement of feed in the mouth. Small feeds are usually ingested with the tongue, while the teeth shear off any large or long pieces.

Pigs can also suck up slurry feeds and water. Saliva is produced by three primary glands, and its volume and consistency can change with the nature of the food. Once food has been chewed and mixed with saliva to a proper consistency it is swallowed and passed down the esophagus to the stomach.

The motility of the stomach is necessary to mix the digesta with the gastric juices and to move the digesta into the small intestine. The small intestine, comprised of the duodenum, jejunum and the ileum, is the site where the majority of digestion takes place and most, if not all, nutrient absorption occurs.

The duodenum is the site for the mixing of digesta with intestinal, liver and pancreatic secretions. These secretions serve to buffer the contents as they leave the stomach, and to lubricate the bolus for ease of movement through the intestines. The caecum and colon hind gut retrieve any nutrients, primarily water and electrolytes, remaining in the digesta as it leaves the small intestine.

The caecum is a blind sac arising at the junction of the ileum and colon. Anaerobic fermentation of fiber in the caecum and colon produces some utilizable energy in the form of volatile fatty acids. The amount of energy produced is small in relation to the pig's total requirement but hind gut fermentation liberates substantial nutrients in horses and rabbits.

Avian Digestive Tract The avian oesophagus has an outpocket, the crop, which occurs about two-thirds of the way down its length, right before it enters the thorax. There are large numbers of mucous glands above the crop which serve to augment the small amount of saliva produced.

The crop functions mainly to store feed. From the oesophagus, the bolus moves into the proventriculus, where HCl and pepsinogen are produced at higher levels per unit body weight than most mammals. The gizzard, a very hard, muscular organ is the site for grinding of the ingesta and also for much of the gastric digestion. Movement of ingesta is related to a coordinated effort of the crop, lower oesophagus and gizzard, with little muscular contraction of the proventriculus involved.

The level of fibre in broiler rations has an effect on the size of the proventriculus and gizzard. The more fibre, the slower the rate of passage through the proventriculus. Thus the amount of gastric juices produced is less, the more the gizzard must grind the feed, so the larger the gizzard.

The gizzard further degrades the ingesta to prepare for digestion in the small intestine. The ingesta is mixed in the gizzard and when the particles are fine enough they are pushed out into the small intestine.

Intestinal contents are continually refluxed back into the gizzard which differs from most animals since the pylorus effectively blocks back-flow of fluid from the small intestine into the stomach. Grit was thought to be necessary for the digestion of coarse feedstuffs, but there seems to be no advantage to adding grit to a mash diet. The small intestine, about cm long in a mature chicken, is made up of the duodenum, jejunum and the ileum. The duodenum ends where the bile and pancreatic ducts empty into the intestine.

The jejunum and the ileum cannot be readily differentiated. The large intestine absorbs some of the nutrients, usually water and electrolytes, remaining in the digesta as it leaves the small intestine. The colon in avian species is very short and the ceca are much longer and are paired. Only fluids and very fine particles enter the ceca and once they are evacuated from the ceca are rapidly excreted.

Volatile fatty acids are by-products of anaerobic fermentation of fibre in the ceca. Ducks and geese have longer digestive tracts than do chickens. Thus, these species can be productive on diets that are higher in fiber. The energy derived from volatile fatty acid production is small compared to the chickens' total requirement but can be substantial in ducks and geese. The colon acts more as a passage of ileal and cecal digesta than as a fermenter or absorber.

The cloaca is the terminal end of the gastrointestinal urinary and reproductive systems. Voiding moves feces and uric acid out of the cloaca together. Check the Colorado State University site for additional information on avian digestion. Other Major Organs of Digestion. The pancreas and liver are two other organs intimately associated with digestion.

In addition to producing several hormones, the pancreas secretes a number of digestive enzymes lipase, amylase, trypsinogen, chymotrypsinogon that are essential for breaking down complex feed components and liberating the nutrients in forms that can be absorbed.

The liver adds bile to the ingesta as it passes through the small intestines. The bile emulsifies fats so they become soluble and detoxifies potentially harmful materials that gain entrance to or are formed within the body. Digestion and liberation of nutrients from animal tissues occurs quickly and efficiently during passage through the stomach and intestines.

In contrast, digestion of complex plant tissue requires retention of ingested feeds for a considerable period under conditions suitable for microbial fermentation. The gastrointestinal anatomy and related ability to promote fermentation allow classification of animals into general groups as shown in the following table.

The breakdown of lignocellulose in the rumen and other parts of the digestive system is limited by the crystallinity of cellulose fibres and the barrier to microbial attack created by the lignin and other related components of the mature plant wall. Various fungi with high lignin degrading activity are currently under study to increase understanding of the physical and enzymatic mechanisms employed in these processes.

On the basis of this knowledge, solid-substrate fermentation technologies have been developed and significant improvement of in vitro digestibility can now be achieved through use of fungi carefully selected for activity on particular substrate. A specific gene coding for lignin peroxidase has been isolated, cloned, incorporated into and expressed by bacteria, so genetic engineering to construct strains with increased in vitro lignin-degrading potential, and subsequent introduction of these into the rumen, may be feasible in the future.

Crude plant by-products are abundant throughout the world, with annual production of cereal grain straw, corn stover and sugar cane tops and bagasse each accounting for many millions of tonnes. However, since these all contain high proportions of lignin protected hemicellulose, and cellulose, digestibility is low even in ruminants.

Considerable research is being conducted on developing techniques that improve digestibility of low quality roughage grinding, chopping, pressure, explosion, irradiation, chemical treatments, etc. Animals must receive sufficient amounts of all essential nutrients water, energy, amino acids, vitamins, minerals to remain healthy, to grow and to produce.

Ration formulation involves combining the various ingredients so that an animal's nutritional requirements are met. Producers must always be aware that the nutritional requirements vary with species, age, production and even the season of the year.

One of the major challenges facing the livestock production industry today is providing adequate amounts of a balanced ration at a reasonable cost. Livestock feeds can be classified as roughages, cereals and supplements. Examine the individual components and mixed feeds to determine ingredients and which animal species might utilize these. Roughages The roughage or forage utilized in Canada comes from native rangelands and pastures, improved pastures, crops harvested and stored specifically for feeding to animals or residues of crops grown for other purposes.

Roughages are usually feeds that have a low bulk density, but because of the variety of crops which are considered to be roughages, there is a great deal of variation in composition.

Most feeds in this group have a high crude fibre content and a low digestible energy content. Corn silage is one exception since, although it has high levels of crude fibre, it also has high levels of digestible energy. The protein, mineral and vitamin contents can vary substantially between roughages and also between crops of one roughage. Forages form the major part of most ruminant rations, since they are less expensive than other feeds and the ruminant animal is able to digest most plant components.

However, some ruminants are fed very little roughage. Cattle and lambs being readied for market are often fed a ration based almost entirely on cereal grains. High producing dairy cows may also receive a very small roughage component in their diets.

Pasture or grazed forage is the most common roughage throughout Canada. All native and most cultivated pastures are composed of grass species alone or mixed with legumes and regional climate is the major consideration in deciding which types or combinations predominate.

Temperate pastures can only be used as a feed source for a few months of the year, so forages must be harvested and stored as hay, haylage or silage to provide feed during the nongrowing seasons. Hay, haylage and green chop are all made from grasses or grass-legume mixtures. Common legumes include alfalfa, clover and trefoil and, compared to grasses, these have higher protein and calcium levels.

With hay and haylage the goal in harvesting the plants is to optimize the yield, which increases with maturity, and also to maximize digestibility, which decreases rapidly with maturity. Forage quality is very dependent on the amount of moisture in the plant at harvest which affects the nutrient loss during storage. Phytase-related factors include type of phytase e. Dietary-related factors are mainly associated with dietary phytate content, feed ingredient composition and feed processing, and total P, Ca and Na content.

Animal-related factors include species, gender and age of animals. To eliminate the antinutritional effects of phytate IP6 , it needs to be hydrolyzed as quickly as possible by phytase in the upper part of the digestive tract. Undergraduate Research. Our Research. We strive to keep the industry and consumers informed with up-to-date research data and outreach efforts. Non-Ruminant Nutrition Non-ruminant animals are animals with a single-compartment stomach, such as swine, poultry, horses, dogs, cats, and humans.

Teaching Anyone interested in non-ruminant nutrition can pursue an animal science degree within our department.