Let's ruminate on it

Sheep belong to the ruminant classification of animals. Ruminants are characterized by their four-chambered stomach and "cud-chewing" behavior. Cud is a food bolus that is regurgitated, rechewed, and reswallowed. 

Ruminants
There are about 150 different domestic and wild ruminant species including cows, goats, deer, buffalo, bison, giraffe, moose and elk. Ruminant animals are further classified by the foraging behavior: grazers, browsers, or intermediate grazers. Grazers, such as cattle, consume mostly lower quality grasses while browsers such as moose and mule deer stay in the woods and eat highly nutritious twigs and shrubs.

Intermediats, such as sheep, goats, and white tail deer, have nutritional requirements midway between grazers and browsers. Of this group, sheep are more of a grazer, while goats and deer are browsers.

The primary difference between ruminants and simple-stomach animals (called monogastrics), such as people, dogs, and pigs is the presense of a four-compartment stomach. The four parts are the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. Often it's said that ruminants have four stomachs. In reality, their "stomach" has four parts.

The rumen is a large fermentation vat. It contains billions of microorganisms, including bacteria and protozoa, which allow ruminants to digest fibrous feeds such as grass, hay, and silage that other animals cannot efficiently utilize. Fermentation in the rumen produces enormous quantities of gas that ruminants get rid of by belching (burping). Anything that interferes with belching is life-threatening to the ruminant and may result in a condition called bloat. Mild cases of bloat can usually be successful treated with an antacid or sodium bicarbonate.

www.ruminantsraisser.com