Factors Influencing Growth of Rumen, Liver, and Other Organs in Kids Weaned from Milk Replacers to Solid Foods

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Abstract
From pooled data of many feeding trials with kids fed various types of solid foods from 37 days of age until slaughter relationships between independent variables (i.e., age, cumulative intake of solid food, weight gain and/or final body weight) and dependent variables (i.e., weights of stomach-compartments, heart, liver, kidneys and spleen) were analyzed. Growth of fore-stomachs and rumen mucosa, relative to body weight, was stimulated only in feeding periods of solid foods. Gain, intake of solid food and final body weight were the best predictors for growth of forestomach-compartments, liver and heart, respectively. Correlations were large between ruminoreticulum weight and liver weight and among weights of forestomach-compartments. Second degree polynomials were fitted to predict the curvilinear relationships between solid-food intake and either ruminoreticulum weight or rumen mucosal weight, and a linear equation was fitted to predict the relationship between solid-food intake and liver weight. Feeding of roughage increased rumen muscular and omasal weights. Growth of the rumen under stimulation of solid-food intake may be regulated by the same biological factors contributing to increased growth rate of the whole animal. Growth of the rumen may be correlated closely with growth of the liver.