Venerable

Digestive system of rabbit process begins in the rabbit’s mouth. The rabbit’s prehensile lips grab the plant material first and then the front teeth called incisors — four upper and two lower — neatly slice off pieces of plant material. The food is then passed to the molars (the back teeth), where it’s chewed into small particles. A rabbit chews food about 300 cycles side to side and then it finally gets swallowed down the esophagus. The nibbling/grinding action of eating the hay keeps the teeth worn down and the calcium helps to keep teeth and jaw structure strong.
digestive system of rabbit
digestive system of rabbit

The food goes into the stomach, but the real action isn’t there. The stomach stores the food and the contents are sterilized before moving to the small intestine. Rabbits have a large stomach for their body size to enable them to eat large amounts of plant material quickly. They graze primarily in the a.m. and p.m. with little else during the rest of the day, depending on what’s available, the weather, and so on. Taking a purely scientific look at the digestive system of a rabbit reveals a fascinating process. These animals have a particularly efficient way of dealing with the indigestible parts of their plant diet.

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