Cancer

Ruminants

About Ruminants

Cattle, sheep and goats, as well as other ruminant animals, are useful as subjects in certain special research projects. Polygastric animals utilize large populations of microorganisms, which break down cellulose to form short-chain, volatile, fatty acids commonly called VFA. These volatile fatty acids provide the ruminant with 60-80% of its energy needs.

Break down of the cellulose walls of plants by bacteria makes the other cellular food constituents such as fat, starch and protein available for further digestion as they move through the gastrointestinal tract. Ruminants are not popular laboratory research animals because they are expensive to maintain.

The size of the animals increases their cost of maintenance due to:

Space allocation per animal
Feeding cost per animal
Value of each animal
Labor and maintenance time

However, these domesticated animals are easy to work with because of their gentle dispositions and consistency of their biological performance. They are also more conducive to long-term research studies because they have a much longer life span than rats and mice.

Care, Feeding, & Physiology

Care and Feeding
Experimental Conditions	Space dimensions vary with each experiment according to animal size. Refer to ILAR guidelines.*

Feeding Recommendations	Daily Feed Usage			Water Requirement
	2-3% of body weight			Clean water continuously

Environmental Data	Room Temp.	Humidity	Light	Litter Material
	Ambient 10-25 °C	45-55%	8-14 hrs/day	Straw, hay, shavings, cobs

Biological Values
Blood Chemical Composition	Water	Calcium	Sodium	Chloride	Phosphorus	Potassium
Sheep Goats Cattle	82.3 gm/100ml 80.4 81.5	11.4 mg/100ml 10.3 10.6	156 mEq/L 138.8±2 132-152	116 mEq/L 97±3.2 114	6.5 mEq/L 7.5 5.6-6.5	5.3 mEq/L 3.9±0.9 4.8
	Magnesium	Cholesterol	Glucose	Serum Protein	Albumin	Globulin
Sheep Goats Cattle	2.8 mg/100ml 3.0 2.0	240 mg/100ml 170 125	40 mg/100ml 64.6±8.5 85	7.0 gm/100ml 6.7±0.5 8.3	3.8 gm/100ml 3.6±0.15 3.4	3.2 gm/100ml 3.0±0.35 2.8
Values are for plasma, except where noted

Vital Data	Temp- erature	Breathing Rate	Heart Beat
Sheep Goats Cattle	39.1 °C 38.0 °C 38.3 °C	16.22 /minute 18.23 /minute 18.28 /minute	70-80 /minute 75-90 /minute 60-70 /minute

Hematological Values	Whole Blood Volume (T-1824 dye)	Clotting Time	RBC Life Span
Sheep Goats Cattle	58 ml/kg 70 ml/kg 57 ml/kg	92±16 sec. - -	4.8 microns 4.0 microns 5.9 microns
	Blood pH	RBC	Hematocrit	Platelets	Hb
Sheep Goats Cattle	7.4 7.43 7.35-7.50	10.3 10⁶/mm³ 10.66±0.56 8.1	36 ml/100ml 26±1 38.6	437±91 10³/mm³ - 684	11.5-15.5 gm/100ml 10.1±0.56 10.8

Total and Differential White Blood Cell Counts	Leucocytes	Neutros	Eosinos	Basos	Lymphos	Monos
Sheep Goats Cattle	7.8 10³/mm³ 12.04 7.84	35.7 % 40.4±1.6 % 32.5 %	2.5 % 0.6±0.4% 5.2 %	0.4 % 0.4 % 0.6 %	56.9 % 55.8±2 % 54.3 %	6.0 % 2.8±1.2 % 5.7 %

Life Cycle Information
	Weight Adult Male	Weight Adult Female	Weight at Birth	Breeding Age Male	Breeding Age Female	Estrus Cycle
Sheep Goats	175-200 lb. 100 lb.	150 lb. 85-90 lb.	10 lb. 5.7 lb.	8-12 mos. 8-10 mos.	8-12 mos. 8-10 mos.	14 days 21 days
	Gestation	Weaning Age	Litter Size	Rebreed After Parturition	Breeding Life Male	Breeding Life Female
Sheep Goats	148 days 150 days	60-90 days 60-75 days	1-2 1-2	Seasonal Seasonal	6-8 years 6-8 years	6-8 years 6-8 years
	Mating Data: Sheep or Goats: 1 male per 50 females

*	Refer to the "Guide for the Care and use of Laboratory Animals" - NIH Publication No. 85-23, Revised 1985.
	Prepared by the Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20418
**	Reference sources: A. Kumar and J. C. Thurman, Lab.An.Sci.. 29:486-491 (1979)
	"Blood and other Body Fluids," P. L. Altman and D. S. Dittmer, FASEB, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814 (1961).
	E. C. Melby, Jr. and N. H. Altman "Handbook of Laboratory Animal Science," CRC Press, Cleveland, OH, Volume II (1974), Volume III (1976).
	Biological Values and Life Cycle information is limited. Variability is greater than desired. Data should be viewed as guidelines subject to additional values.