Latest Ruminant Stories
When it comes to breaking down plant matter and converting it to energy, the cow has it all figured out. Its digestive system allows it to eat more than 150 pounds of plant matter every day. Now researchers report that they have found dozens of previously unknown microbial enzymes in the bovine rumen "“ the cow's primary grass-digestion chamber "“ that contribute to the breakdown of switchgrass, a renewable biofuel energy source.The study, in the journal Science, tackles a major barrier...
An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist may have found a way to cut the amount of ammonia produced by cattle. To do it, he's using a key ingredient of the brewer's art: hops.Cattle, deer, sheep, goats and other ruminant animals depend on a slew of naturally occurring bacteria to aid digestion of grass and other fibrous plants in the first of their four stomach chambers, known as the rumen.The problem, according to ARS microbiologist Michael Flythe, comes from one group of bacteria,...
The natural-occurring biopolymer known as chitosan is being put forward as an effective alternative to growth-promoting antibiotics in the diet of ruminants, according to research carried out by scientists at the Basque technological center, Neiker-Tecnalia. The presence of these antibiotics as additives in the diet of ruminants has been prohibited in the European Union since 2006, given that their use is linked to developing microbial resistance to antibiotics.The main problem arising from...
Latest Ruminant Reference Libraries
Cattle (often called cows in contemporary usage) are domesticated ungulates (hoofed), a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal), dairy products (milk), leather and as draught animals (pulling carts, plows and the like). In some countries, such as India, they are subject to religious ceremonies and respect. It is estimated that there are 1.4 billion head of cattle in the world today. Cattle were originally...
