Calf starter vital to rumen development

摘要

BABY calves have evolved to drink milk. Although they have a digestive system comprised of the same four "stomachs" or compartments as an adult ruminant, three of these stomachs - the rumen, reticulum and omasum - are non-functional at birth. Calves are born as mono-gastrics, utilising only their abomasums to digest milk. The abomasum functions much like a human stomach, in that hydrochloric acid and enzymes such as pepsin and chymosin (rennet) are secreted into the stomach. Other enzymes, such as lipase and bile, secreted by the pancreas and liver, further aid the digestion of milk in the abomasum and in the intestine. If a calf were to be fed only milk until slaughter there would be no change to the function or development of its other three stomachs but its abomasum would increase in size to accommodate the growing volume of milk needed to support maintenance and growth.