Melinda Fury
Melinda.2002@hotmail.com
Becoming Familiar with Ruminant Nutrition
National Standards:
Student Learning Objectives:
 The learner will list the six classes of nutrients.
 The student will diagram a ruminant digestive system.
 The student will describe how ruminant digestion takes place.
Time:
50 minutes
Resources:
Ruminant Nutrition. Large Animal Science Library. Ag Ed Net.
<http://www.agednet.com/subs/la009.shtml>
Tools, Equipment, and Supplies:
 Copies of the ruminant digestive system for the students to fill in.
 Water bottle
 Pasta Product
 Vegetable Oil
 Peanuts
 Vitamin bottle
 Table Salt
 Notecards
Key Terms:
Ruminant, rumen, reticulum, abomasum, omasum, small intestine, large intestine,
rectum.
Interest Approach:
Provide the following scenario for the students to think about: Mr. Joe has never ranched
before, but he really wants to begin raising livestock. So, he went to the local sale barn
and purchased 20 head of angus crossbred cows and 10 duroc sows. He then decided that
he needed to feed his animals something. Therefore, he purchased 500 lbs of corn from
the local feed store. He then went home and fed his cows and sows the entire amount of
corn he purchased. The next day he woke up and found that all of his cows were sick,
but the sows seemed fine. They’re all farm animals, don’t they eat the same thing? Do
you agree? Why or why not?
(Explain to the students that although pigs and cattle are both farm animals, the types of
feed they need drastically differ because of their different digestive systems. Today, we
are going to talk about animals that have a special type of digestive system which allows
them to digest complex forages, but only a small amount of grain.)
Summary of Content and Teaching Strategies:
Objective 1: The learner will list the six classes of nutrients.
(Pass the following products out to the students: water bottle, peanuts, vegetable oil,
table salt, vitamin bottle, and pasta.)
Today, we are going to identify the six nutrients that are essential to animal nutrition. I
am passing around an example of each nutrient. By looking at these examples, who
thinks they know at least one nutrient? Two? Three? Four? Five? All six?
(Keep giving the students ideas until they narrow the list of nutrients to water,
carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. Then, present the following slides
while the students take notes.)
•Water
–Makes up the largest portion of each cell’s volume
–Needed for chemical reactions in the body
–Makes up 50-70% of the volume of most farm animals
•Carbohydrates
–Simple Carbohydrates
•Sugars and starches found in corn, wheat, and milo
–Complex Carbohydrates
•Cellulose and hemicellulose found in forages
•Can only be digested by ruminants
•Fats
–Energy source
–Contain 2 ½ times more energy than carbohydrates
•Proteins
–Consist of smaller units called amino acids
–Bacteria in the rumen can synthesize amino acids
•Vitamins
–Act as catalysts for reactions that occur in the body
–Two Categories
•Fat soluble (A, D, E, K)
•water soluble (B and C)
•Minerals
–Macro minerals
•CA, P, NA, Cl, K, Mg, S
–Micro Minerals
•Cobalt, iodine, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, selenium, chromium,
fluorine, molybedenum and silicon.
–Usually must be added to the diet in a vitamin/mineral premix
Objective 2: The student will diagram a ruminant digestive system.
You can see that around the room, I have done some redecorating. When I say
“ruminant” I you can get up from your seeds and gather the items posted on the walls.
Are there any questions? Good! “Ruminant!”
(Do a go-get-it e-moment where the students must go get names of various parts of the
ruminant digestive system located around the room.)
Each one of you now has a part of the ruminant digestive system. Now, when I count to
three, I want you to pair up with someone to find the function of your part. Write that
function on your card. You will have five minutes to complete this activity. Any
questions? One, two, three!
(Next, have the students present their part and tape it to the appropriate place on the cow
projected on the overhead.)
Objective 3: The student will describe how ruminant digestion takes place.
How does this system that we have labeled up here all work together. Let’s start from the
beginning.
(Display the powerpoint while the students write the information in their notes.)
•Ruminant swallows feed and it travels directly to the rumen.
•A feed bolus travels back up the esophagus for further chewing and mixing.
•Feed travels to the rumen where bacteria break down simple and complex carbohydrates.
•Water is absorbed in the omasum
•Feed travels to the acidic abomasum where bacteria are killed and proteins are broken
down.
•Feed mixture enters the small intestine where enzymes are secreted to absorb nutrients.
•Feed travels to the large intestine where more water is absored.
•Fecal material is excreted through the rectum.
Review/Summary:
Review today’s lesson with a 1,000 pyramid e-moment. Pass out a notecard to each
student. On one side of the card, the student should write a part of the digestive system
we discussed today (or you can assign for the list I have provided below). On the other
side of the card, the student should write the definition of that digestive system
component.
Application:
Extended Classroom Activity: Visit a local feedlot and have the owner discuss the
ration that they feed to the livestock.
SAE: Have students with ruminant animals as their SAE projects experiment with
different feed rations. What ration seems to provide the most growth and is best for the
overall health of the animal?
FFA: Have the students prepare a special presentation for elementary students on why
ruminants eat what they do during FFA week. Their presentation should contain visual
aids of real, preserved cattle stomachs, different types of feed fed to ruminants, and
hands-on activities for the students.
Terms for the Go-Get-It E-Moment
Mouth
Reticulum
Omasum
Abomasum
Small Intestine
Cecum
Rectum
Large Intestine
Rumen
Esophagus
Words for 10,000 Pyramid

Ruminant


Water
Carbohydrates


Fat
Protein

Minerals

Vitamins

Rumen

Reticulum

Omasum

Abomasum

Small Intestine

Large Intestine

Rectum
Ruminant Digestive System
Evaluation
Part A:
Directions: Match the terms below with their correct definition. (10 points)
1.____Animal with a four compartment stomach
2.____Calcium, phosphorus, cobalt
3.____Nutrient consisting of smaller units called amino acids.
4.____Contain 2 ½ times more energy than carbohydrates.
5.____Sugars and starches found in corn, wheat, and Milo.
6.____Cellulose and hemicellulose found in forages.
7.____Nutrient making up the largest volume of farm animals.
8.____Compartment where feed enters after the ruminant swallows.
9.____Compartment that collect non-feed, hardware before it travels farther down the
digestive tract.
10.___Known as the “true stomach”
Terms:
A. Abomasum
B. Ruminant
C. Reticulum
D. Simple Carbohydrates
E. Rumen
F. Water
G. Fat
H. Minerals
I. Complex Carbohydrates
J. Protein
Part B:
Directions: Label the digestive tract below.