Enumeration of Rumen Micro-organisms

Abstract

SUMMARY: Techniques are described for counting and differentiating the rumen microbial population. The rumen liquor is fixed and preserved in formol saline, and counts are made in two counting chambers, whose dimensions depend on the size of the organism to be counted; stained smears of the bacteria are also examined. Counts made on small samples of rumen liquor obtained through a fistula have been compared with counts on samples of the entire rumen contents; the ratio of these counts seemed to depend on the particular organism counted, the ration and the time after feeding. The importance of differential as opposed to total counts is emphasized.