By David Selman - Tracker-Outdoors.com
Deer are ruminant animals which means they have a four chambered
stomach similar to cattle. A fascinating characteristic about the
ruminant's stomach is that it allows the animal to gather a lot of food
at once and then chew and digest it later. The four chambered stomach
is needed to process the large amounts of low nutrient food that deer
eat in order to get the most benefit possible.Depending on the type and
abundance of food, the deer can fill its stomach in about one or two
hours of grazing. When a deer eats, food is chewed just enough to
swallow and store it in the first stomach chamber.
The deer has a four section stomach similar to that of cattle. The food
goes into the first chamber which acts as a fermentation vat. Most of
the digestion occurs in this area of the stomach. Deer depend on
billions of microorganisms that live in its stomach to break down the
fibers, cellulose, and other basic plant components, and convert them
into materials that can be used by the deer's digestive system. Over 40
percent of a deer's energy is derived from the acids absorbed through
the walls of its first stomach.
After the deer has filled its first stomach, it will lie down to chew
its cud, like cattle do. After chewing its cud to further break down
the food materials, the deer re-swallows the food. It then passes into
the second chamber of the stomach. The food material then passes on to
the third and forth stomach sections for more digestion and absorption
of nutrients. The food material then goes through the intestines and
everything that isn't digested is passed as waste or "deer droppings".
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