Relationship between rumen bacterial concentrations and total numbers

Based on data from 33 sheep, bacterial concentrations per gram of rumen contents were correlated highly with total bacterial numbers (r = .99). Diets ranged from all forage to 90% concentrate. Similar data were obtained from cattle fed a corn silage diet (r = .95); however, the slope of the regression lines differed between species. Weight of rumen contents was correlated poorly with total bacterial numbers.