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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".
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