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Rumen Bacteria in Cattle and Sheep on Practical Farm Rations¹

Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station

Abstract

Rumen bacteria of 21 cattle and 12 sheep on practical winter rations and 11 cattle and 6 sheep on pasture were studied by means of direct slide counts, Gram stains and anaerobic cultural technics.

Bacterial slide counts on rumen contents from cattle and sheep on the several winter rations averaged about 50 billion per gram of fresh rumen contents, while cattle and sheep on pasture averaged 96.1 billion and 85.4 billion respectively.

The bacterial picture as seen on Gram stains from cattle and sheep on the several winter rations resembled each other closely; the bacteria from animals on pasture appeared morphologically similar to those on winter ration but a few different types of bacteria were seen in addition.

Cultural results from both species on all rations presented a rather uniform pattern in many respects, but there was a noticeable increase in fast-growing organisms correlated with an increase in the amount of grain in the ration.

Cattle and sheep did not appear to have markedly different bacterial population or rumen pH when fed similar rations.

¹ Supported in part by a grant from Swift and Company, Chicago, Illinois.

² Present address National Dairy Research Laboratories, Long Island, New York.