The Digestive System

In order to make use of the nutrients stored in feedstuffs, all animals must first break down (digest) feed into a form that can be absorbed by the body. The focus of this chapter is to provide a basic overview of the structures, abilities, and limitations of the sheep’s digestive system. Sheep belong to a group of herbivores called ruminants. Ruminants are able to digest a large portion of the nutrients contained in fibrous plant material due to their unique digestive system, which integrates a large microbial population with the animal’s own system. Although this system is remarkably efficient, proper feeding management is needed to maintain healthy and productive animals. Mismanagement of a ruminant’s diet can be disastrous.