Whitetail Deer's Digestive System

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".

Article By Tracker Outdoors
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