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Absorption of Rumen Volatile Fatty Acids from the Forestomachs of Young dairy Calves Fed High Roughage Rations

Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station

ABSTRACT

The relatively small amount of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the abomasum of adult sheep compared to the amount found in the rumen (5) has been shown to be due to direct absorption of acetic, propionic, and butyric acid from the rumen, reticulum, and omasum (1). The volatile fatty acids resulting from rumen fermentation furnish a significant part of the total energy utilized by ruminants (4). It has been shown that young calves fed high roughage rations digested cellulose at an optimum rate and that adult levels of VFA in the rumen were attained during the 5- to 9-week age period (2, 3).

In order to obtain information on the absorption of VFA from the intestinal tract in calves of various ages, VFA was determined at different points along the tract at slaughter.

Five calves ranging from 5 to 15 weeks of age were slaughtered 4 to 6 hours after the morning feeding. Samples of the rumenoreticular, abomasal, and cecal contents were obtained for VFA determinations.