ANATOMY

Detailed explanation-1: -It takes one to three days for food to pass through a cow’s digestive tract, depending upon what she eats. A cow briefly chews food as she eats, breaking it into smaller particles. As she chews, digestive enzymes in her saliva are mixed with the food before it passes down the esophagus into the reticulum and rumen.

Detailed explanation-2: -It takes about 36 hours for food to move through the entire colon. All in all, the whole process-from the time you swallow food to the time it leaves your body as feces-takes about two to five days, depending on the individual.

Detailed explanation-3: -The cow has four stomachs and undergoes a special digestive process to break down the tough and coarse food it eats. When the cow first eats, it chews the food just enough to swallow it. The unchewed food travels to the first two stomachs, the rumen and the reticulum, where it is stored until later.

Detailed explanation-4: -A cow’s rumen is different because it functions like a large food processor. In fact, millions of tiny organisms (mainly bacteria) naturally live in the rumen and help the cow by breaking down plant parts that cannot be digested otherwise. These tiny organisms then release nutrients into the rumen.

Detailed explanation-5: -Quick facts. Ruminant stomachs have four compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum. Rumen microbes ferment feed and produce volatile fatty acids, which is the cow’s main energy source. Rumen microbes also produce B vitamins, vitamin K and amino acids.