Nutritional drivers of rumen development: A review

Abstract

Proper development of the rumen is an imperative chore that can be controlled to benefit both the calf and producer. The process of rumen development can be enhanced with right nutrition and management that can reduce the cost of raising a calf. Important considerations in regard to nutrition at the time of rumen growth (birth to approximately three months) can lead to faster rumen development and better growth rate of neonatal calves. Additionally, calves with well developed rumen at weaning are less susceptible to diseases and gain more body weight with lower management and labor costs. Therefore present review discusses the different nutritional factors affecting earlier rumen development.

Growth performance and health of nursing lambs supplemented with inulin and Lactobacillus casei

“…Moreover, the use of lactic acid bacteria during nursing stimulates microbial growth and use of nutrients in the rumen [9]. Thus, the intake of solid diets and physiological development of the rumen is accelerated [21], shortening time to weaning and favoring productive response.…”

“…Before birth, the lamb digestive tube is sterile, after that it is colonized by microorganisms from the birthing channel and the environment. At that moment, establishment of ruminal and intestinal flora begins [21], and the contribution of prebiotics and probiotics is important. The results of our study show that lambs supplemented with inulin and L. casei together had lower total coliform populations, which could be related to the effect of lactic acid bacteria when they produce bacteriocins, hydrogen peroxide and lower pH, causing competitive exclusion of enteropathogens [11].…”

“…In the control group, 11.67% of the lambs had diarrhea, whereas 5.0% of the lambs supplemented with inulin and L. casei had diarrhea during the second and third period of evaluation (Table 8). This is associated with the transition from pre-ruminant to ruminant [21], during which the basic feed of the lambs is their mothers’ milk. However, when ewe milk production diminishes as lactation progresses, the lambs increase intake of solid feed to satisfy their nutritional requirements.…”

Aspartame supplementation in starter accelerates small intestinal epithelial cell cycle and stimulates secretion of glucagon‐like peptide‐2 in pre‐weaned lambs

“…The small intestine is not only the functional organ responsible for nutrient digestion and absorption, but also an important immune organ in the mammal. However, for ruminants, most of the present research studies have mainly focused on the development of rumen due to its more important digestion and absorption function (Gupta, Khan, Rastogi, Haq, & Varun, ). There is little information available about small intestine development.…”

Identification and Characterization of MicroRNAs in the Goat (Capra hircus) Rumen during Embryonic Development

“…In goats ( Capra hircus ), rumen papillae appear to be separated by clear boundaries at embryonic day 64 (E64); by embryonic day 150 (E150), rumen papillae are fully developed and show signs of surface keratinization ( Franco et al, 1992 ). To date, studies have focused on the effect of dietary composition and nutrition on rumen development ( Coverdale et al, 2004 ; Gupta et al, 2016 ; Suarez-Mena et al, 2016 ). Naeem et al (2012) also evaluated the expression of genes involved in rumen development, while several microRNAs (miRNAs) associated with development of the digestive tract have been reported ( Hino et al, 2008 ; McKenna et al, 2010 ; Nguyen et al, 2010 ; Dalmasso et al, 2011 ; Kim et al, 2011 ; Ye et al, 2011 ; Chen et al, 2013 ).…”