Effects of experimentally-impaired reticular contractions on digesta passage in sheep.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the functional role of reticular contractions for digesta passage in sheep. Feed intake, mean retention time of fluid and plastic particles in the reticulo-rumen, rumen fluid volume, forestomach motility and particle size distribution in the faeces were determined in five rumen-fistulated sheep fed on hay ad libitum (Expt 1). The same variables were determined when reticular movements were impaired for 10 d by introducing a silicone-covered lead weight (500 g) into the reticulum (Expt 2). As feed intake dropped in Expt 2 by 27% compared with Expt 1, the sheep received in an additional experiment exactly the amount of feed which had been consumed during Expt 2 and measurements were repeated without impairing reticular movements (Expt 3). The introduction of the weight did not affect the frequency of A- or B-cycles, but elevation of the reticular floor in a cranio-dorsal direction during the biphasic contraction was markedly reduced. The pattern of marker excretion indicated a drastically changed composition of reticular outflow in Expt 2 compared with Expts 1 and 3. During Expt 2, rumen fluid volume was similar to that in Expt 1 but about 25% higher than that in Expt 3; the amount of large feed particles in the faeces was increased compared with Expt 1 (+49%) and Expt 3 (+76%). In at least two sheep, abomasal emptying was inhibited during Expt 2, as indicated by an enlarged impacted abomasum. In conclusion, the results emphasize the central role of reticular motility for the separation of particles in the forestomach, the outflow of digesta from the reticulo-rumen and transpyloric digesta flow.