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Extent of Digestion in the Rumen-Reticulum-Omasum of Goats

Division of Animal Nutrition, National Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Chiba-shi, Japan

ABSTRACT

The extent of digestion in the rumen-reticulum-omasum was studied, using goats whose forestomachs were separated from the abomasum, in order to determine quantitatively the amount of omasal ingesta. Eleven digestion trials were conducted using three such forestomach-separated goats giving various kinds of feeds, e.g. roughage alone, hay with various concentrates, and a nonprotein diet.

The absorption of digestible organic matter from the forestomach ranged from 61.7 to 85.4%. The apparent digestibility coefficients of crude protein in the forestomach varied widely and were positively related to dietary protein levels. The absorption of digestible protein in the forestomach ranged from –20.0 to 52.1%. In animals fed roughage alone, 61.9 to 73.2% of digestible ether-extract disappeared from the forestomach but, in animals fed concentrates and hay, smaller amounts (–2.9 to 28.8%) were absorbed from the forestomach. Almost all of the digestible crude fiber disappeared from the forestomach and 65.7–96.9% of the digestible NFE was absorbed from the forestomach. Except in one trial, crude ash showed negative values, due to the large amount of saliva secreted into the rumen.

The true digestibility of protein in the forestomach, and the amount of saliva secreted, also were studied.