• Question: Is it a good or bad thing that cows have so many stomachs??

    Asked by anon-175412 to Alex, Ella, hayleypincott, Thomas on 21 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Hayley Pincott

      Hayley Pincott answered on 21 Jun 2018:

      It’s good for them that’s why they’ve evolved this way. From what I understand the reason they have so many is because they can’t digest grass too well so it has to pass through all the stomachs so the cow can get whatever nutrients it needs from it.

    • Photo: Thomas Perriment

      Thomas Perriment answered on 22 Jun 2018:

      Cool question! So it’s very good! It can be difficult for some animals to get enough calories and nutrients from the grass as it is pretty tough and coarse! So the grass has to be broken down enough to be able to digest it properly. Cows eat in two stages, they chew a little and then the grass travels to and is stored in the first two stomachs, before basically coughing it up so they can chew it again (disgusting, bleugh) before swallowing for the second time where it goes through the other two stomachs!
      The grass both nourishes the cow and helps them to produce milk if they are female!

Comments