Describing the pre-ruminant

At birth, kid-goats are not yet functioning ruminants – the rumen develops over time.  The newborn kid-goat has an omasum and abomasum that comprises 70% of their digestive system compared to the adult goat where the rumen and reticulum make up 70% of their digestive system (Figure 1).  At birth, they have difficulty digesting sugars/starches until the rumen develops. They do have the digestive enzymes to break down lactose, the naturally occurring sugar in milk.

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