Influence of Farming Conditions on the Rumen of Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

Abstract

Simple SummaryThe diet offered to an animal in captivity may considerably differ from the natural one; this can affect the development of the digestive system, with connected influence on the health condition and welfare of the animal. Through a comparison of morphological and environmental characteristics of the rumen of red deer, we found out that, during autumn season, farmed deer have a limited choice of diet compared to wild ones living in the forest; this condition affected the morphology of the rumen wall and the composition of the rumen microbial population in the farmed animals. We recommend increasing the diversity of food offered to animals in captivity, with the aim of minimizing the negative effects of a poor variety of the diet on the digestive system.AbstractThe red deer is an intermediate feeder, showing a marked degree of forage selectivity, with seasonal morphological adaptations due to changes in food quality and availability. In captivity, deer have a limited choice of habitat and food, and we hypothesize that this condition affects the rumen environment. Rumen samples were collected from 20 farmed and 11 wild red deer in autumn 2018 in Poland, and analyzed for chemical composition, food residues, microbial population, and rumen papillation. Farmed deer had the highest Campylobacter spp., and total anaerobic bacteria, but lower Clostridium spp. Moreover, they showed a decrease in Diplodininae protozoa, and the presence of holotrichs that were absent in the wild animals. The rumen digesta of farmed animals had lower dry matter and acid detergent fiber than the wild ones. The analysis of food residues underlined the poor variety of the diet for animals in the farm. This apparently affected the papillation of the rumen, with animals of the farm having the shortest papillae of the Atrium ruminis. Overall, results suggest that red deer kept in farms, with a diet based mainly on grass, tree leaves, and some concentrate supplements, undergo a small modification of the rumen compared to the wild conspecifics.

Rumen Volatile Fatty Acids and Morphology of the Rumen Mucosa of Swamp Buffalo Raised under Semi-Intensive and Extensive System in Tropical Environment

“…As a general agreement, the papillary size is associated with the absorption capacity, which occurs in a large amount of rich in carbohydrate diet, resulting in excessive VFA concentration and low pH (de Resende-Junior et al, 2006). Mason et al (2019) reported that farmed deer have lesser papillae characteristics than wild deer, slightly different from the current study. The evaluation of the absorptive and motility capacities is required for macro and micro levels to support our findings as suggested by Consalvo et al (2016) that microscopic evaluation gave a better description of rumen mucosae morphology.…”

“…At the same time, the pH also changed accordingly. Thus, feed consumed in the rearing practices significantly influences rumen physiology (Diao et al, 2019;Ferreira et al, 2017;Kay et al, 1980;Steele et al, 2011) and the digestive morphology of the ruminants (Mason et al, 2019).…”

“…H. Wang et al, 2009), sheep (Álvarez-Rodríguez et al, 2012;Baldwin, 1999), dairy cattle (Steele et al, 2011;Storm et al, 2012), beef (Kern et al, 2016), and wild ruminants (Mason et al, 2019). In addition, they also influence the growth of the earlier age of lamb (Y. H. Wang et al, 2009), kids (Kotresh Prasad et al, 2019) or calves (Consalvo et al, 2016;Suárez et al, 2007).…”

The phenotypic costs of captivity

“…Captive lions Panthera leo fed soft foods exhibit smaller mandibular and maxillary regions of the skull and weaker bite force than wild conspecifics (Zuccarelli, 2004). Diets in captivity also change gastrointestinal organ morphology, including the rumen (Mason et al ., 2019), length of the intestines and other digestive organs (Moore & Battley, 2006), kidney and spleen mass (Courtney Jones, Munn & Byrne, 2018). There is also evidence that the brains of fish (Kihslinger, Lema & Nevitt, 2006; Marchetti & Nevitt, 2003; Mayer et al ., 2011), birds (Guay & Iwaniuk, 2008; Smulders et al ., 2000) and mammals (Kruska, 1996) decrease in size in captivity relative to wild conspecifics, but how these changes affect cognition and behaviour is unclear.…”

Sex-Related Differences in UT-B Urea Transporter Abundance in Fallow Deer Rumen

“…Secondly, these studies are based in controlled farm environments, where animals are on strictly regimented diets [3,4]. Therefore, it is no surprise that these studies may not realistically depict rumen condition in an uncontrolled or wild setting, especially in non-traditional farming species, such as deer [5]. Hence, studies performing exploratory assessment of the rumens of wild ruminants are currently needed to fill this fundamental gap in the literature.…”