Sheep’s stomach

A sheep’s stomach has four compartments: the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum. The rumen and reticulum act as fermentation chambers, where microbes break down fibrous plant material like grass, producing nutrients and gases. The sheep then rechews this material, called "cud," to aid digestion. The omasum absorbs water and nutrients, while the abomasum functions as the true stomach, using acids and enzymes to digest proteins. This specialized system allows sheep to efficiently extract nutrients from tough, fibrous plant material that many other animals cannot digest.