Whitetail Deer's Digestive System

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".



Article By Tracker Outdoors www.tracker-outdoors.com