TEMPLATE 3: Module Template

Module No. & Title Module 1: Introduction to Ruminant Production and

Management

Module Overview Understanding the basic principle in Ruminant Production and

management is very important especially for college student in
Agriculture like you. This is very important as it forms the
foundation of many successful production amongst other things.
This module is intended for you to gain more knowledge about the
production and management of ruminant animals.

Module
Objectives/Outcomes After the completion of this module, you will be able to:

 Explain the management principles involved in the rearing of

ruminant animals.
 Compare the anatomical structure of the gastro-intestinal
tract of ruminant animals.
 Identify the different breeds of large and small ruminant,
and;
 Describe the different characteristics according to
classification.

Lessons in the module

Lesson 1: General Features of Ruminant Animals
Lesson 2: Digestive Anatomy of Ruminants
Lesson 3: Breeds of Large Ruminants
Lesson 4: Breeds of Small Ruminant

Module No. and Title Module 1: Introduction to Ruminant Production and

Management

Lesson No. and Title Lesson 1: General Features of Ruminant Animals

Learning Outcomes Differentiate Ruminant animals from non- ruminant Animals,

and;
Enumerate the economic importance of keeping Ruminant
animals
Time Frame Just simply indicate the expected time for students to complete
the lesson
Introduction Animal rearing is an age long activity that man carries out
basically for food and the production of raw materials for agro-
industries. Animals are categorized into ruminants and non-
ruminants based on some anatomical and physiological
differences. Apart from being a source of meat as other animals,
ruminant animals are the main sources of raw materials such as
wool, fur, hides and skin, milk and many others for the
production of clothing materials, leather materials (such as foot
wears like shoes, belt, shawl), milk products like yoghurt, butter,
cheese, and many other products.

Activity 1. Why ruminant animals are different from other animals.

2. Why do we need to keep ruminant animals? Give any

economic reasons for keeping ruminant animals.

Analysis 1. What is the special features in the digestion process of

ruminant animals that other animals don’t have? Discuss
its process.

Abstraction What Is Ruminant?

Ruminant animals are mammals that belong to the order

Artiodactyla. They are animals with a complex stomach unlike
the non-ruminants that have simple stomach. They eat and digest
forages or plant based feed by swallowing it first and allowing it
to get moistened in the rumen which is the first compartment of
the complex stomach. The swallowed food is later regurgitated by
the animal and re-chewed to break down the plant materials for
digestion. This process is called rumination or chewing the cud.
The cud is a semi-solid and semi-degraded digesta usually in a
bolus form which is regurgitated from the reticulorumen of the
animal. Examples of ruminant animals are cattle, sheep, goats,
camel, water buffalo, giraffes, and antelopes to mention but a
few. However, we shall limit our discussion in this study to cattle,
sheep and goats that are commonly found in our environment.
The diagrams below show the labelled parts of cattle and goat

Labeled parts of a cow

Labeled parts of a Goat

The Differences between Ruminant and Non- Ruminant

As mentioned above, the main difference between

ruminant animals and non-ruminants is the anatomy of their

stomach.
Figure shows the four compartment of ruminant
stomach

The stomach if ruminant animal is divided into four

compartments or chambers unlike the simple stomach of the non-
ruminants that has no division. The compartments are rumen,
reticulum, omasum and abomasum. The last of the compartments
is the true stomach in ruminants while the rumen and reticulum
perform the function of moistening the swallowed forage. In the
omasum, water and inorganic materials are absorbed before the
digesta is passed into the true stomach.

Classes of Ruminant Animals

Ruminant animals are categorized into two main classes

based on their body size namely, the large ruminant animals and
small ruminant animals. Examples of large ruminants are cattle,
water buffalo, and others, while small ruminants are sheep and
goat. Ruminants have an advantage of the ability to eat and utilize
low quality fibrous food that cannot be eaten by human or non-
ruminants.

Economic Importance of Keeping Ruminant Animals

 Ruminant animals and their products as mentioned in the
introduction have tremendous nutritional and economic values to
man as stated below:

 Meat and milk of cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminants

are good sources of animal protein to man which are of
better quality than plant protein.
 They serve as sources of raw materials used in industries
e.g. leather goods respectively. Goat hair is also used for
making carpets, bag and ropes. Wool is a raw material for
the production of clothings for human wear.
 They serve as source of income to subsistence farmers.
 These animals are able to survive on fallow lands and
others that are not good for arable crop farming thereby
maximizing the use of the available land resource.
 The manure/dung from these animals can be used as a
source of organic fertilizer.

Application

Closure Congratulations: you just have finished the lesson 1. You may
now proceed to lesson 2.