Ruminant Digestive System Explained | Rumen for the win!

Hello! Today we're talking about how the stomach (really the entire ruminant digestive system) of how the ruminant animal works. We have a drawing of a sheep to demonstrate how the anatomy works but it also applies to cows, goats, buffalo, deer, elk, camels and giraffes! (Yes folks, I'd love to have giraffes running around on our little 1.25 acre plot.)

Why is it helpful to know how ruminant anatomy works? It really comes down to the fact that you ought to be letting them eat forage and grass to allow them do what they do best: drop amazing probiotics on the soil in the form of manure. Ruminant animals can heal the earth (and specifically, your plot of land!)! They've been doing it for millennia and can still do it if you allow them to graze on grass. Ruminants did not evolve eating grain, the ruminant digestive system just doesn't have the best stomach to digest grain. What they do have is the ruminant digestive powerhouse of a stomach that turns grass into something that will heal your land and help regenerate the earth!

I hope this information helps you in your quest to do better by your land, your animals, your health and the earth.

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A bit about us:

My wife and I grew up in sunny southern California, 15 minutes away from the beach. As amazing as that was, we both dreamed of a life closer to land and animals. After getting married and moving to Utah, our family slowly grew. We had become a family of 4 living in a townhome with a small backyard filled with potted plants and a swing. In October of 2019 we decided it was time to make the dream a reality and move to a homesteading property. We came here with a 6 month old and a 3 year old and a fish. We now have a 18 month old and 5 year old, 4 pregnant sheep, 30 chickens, 20 (or so) rabbits and a garden that has the potential to sustain us and our animals, and a fish. There's lots of learning to do! And we've been happy to do it as we pursue a more enjoyable and sustainable life here on "the farm."


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