Deer have a four-chambered stomach. The first chamber, called the rumen,is for storage. The rumen allows for the deer to gather a lot of food at onceand then digest it later. Deer are herbivors, which means they consume leafy plants. The deer bring the food back up into their mouth and chew it again. This process is called chewing their cud. It is also called ruminating, named after the rumen. Animals that can do this are called ruminants.
The reticulum is the second stomach chamber. This is where the microorganisms live. The microorganisms attack the chewed food that the deer has eaten. This process is called fermentation. This helps to break the cellulose down into simpler substances that can be absorbed by the deer and the microorganisms. Fermentation produces a gas (methane), which the deer must discharge very regularly. (They burp!) When deer chew their cud again, mixed in with the digested food are microorganisms. The deer chew the microorganisms and a lot of deer’s nutrition comes from them. There are plenty of microorganisms left in the reticulum.
This time when it goes back down, the chewed food goes to the third chamber the omasum . This is where water is absorbed. Finally, the resulting cud enters the last chamber, (the abomasum), where gastric juices continue digestion. Gastric juices are liquids, like the acids in your stomach, that help digest food. Last, it moves on to the intestines. This is where the food is absorbed by the animal’s body. This is where the animal receives the nutrients for his body. The deer’s intestines are 28 feet long!
The reticulum is the second stomach chamber. This is where the microorganisms live. The microorganisms attack the chewed food that the deer has eaten. This process is called fermentation. This helps to break the cellulose down into simpler substances that can be absorbed by the deer and the microorganisms. Fermentation produces a gas (methane), which the deer must discharge very regularly. (They burp!) When deer chew their cud again, mixed in with the digested food are microorganisms. The deer chew the microorganisms and a lot of deer’s nutrition comes from them. There are plenty of microorganisms left in the reticulum.
This time when it goes back down, the chewed food goes to the third chamber the omasum . This is where water is absorbed. Finally, the resulting cud enters the last chamber, (the abomasum), where gastric juices continue digestion. Gastric juices are liquids, like the acids in your stomach, that help digest food. Last, it moves on to the intestines. This is where the food is absorbed by the animal’s body. This is where the animal receives the nutrients for his body. The deer’s intestines are 28 feet long!