Changes in motility and ph in the digestive tract of experimentally overfed sheep.

Abstract

Motility of the digestive tract of 4 sheep was studied with radiotelemetric equipment. After base line records were made, each sheep was overfed with 70 g of grain per kilogram of body weight. The ruminoreticulum did not become static until the ingesta pH was less than 5. The cecum had the same patterns of motility and pH as did the ruminoreticulum, but these returned to normal more quickly in surviving sheep. The motility patterns of the abomasum and the small intestine were more erratic. Results indicated that considerable quantities of grain (substrate for microbial growth) reached the cecum before ruminoreticular motility was inhibited.