Rumenal and Reticular Foreign Bodies in Small Ruminants Slaughtered at Jimma Municipal Abattoir, Southwestern Ethiopia

The study was conducted on small ruminants slaughtered at Jimma municipal abattoir from November 2010 to March 2011 in Jimma town. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and nature of foreign bodies in rumen and reticulum of small ruminants in the area. A total of 576 small ruminants were selected using simple random sampling method and 53 of them (9.2%) were found positive for foreign bodies in their rumen and/or reticulum. From each 288 sheep and goats examined, 28(9.7%) and 25(8.7%) were positive for various types of foreign bodies, respectively. There was no statistically significant (p > 0.05) difference between the two species for the occurrence of fore stomach foreign bodies. Prevalence of foreign body recorded in < 3 years, 3-4 years and > 4 years old was observed to have no significant difference (p > 0.05). Prevalence of foreign body recorded in thin, medium and fat small ruminants was 10%, 8.9% and 9.6%, respectively. However, the variation in the prevalence of foreign bodies among the body condition groups was also not significantly different (p > 0.05). From 53 animals positive for foreign bodies, rumen showed a significantly (p < 0.05, OR=4.04) higher occurrence (79.2%) than reticulum (20.8%). Increase in the rate of urbanization and lack of proper waste disposal system in the area seems to be major factors for the occurrence of foreign bodies in small ruminants. Therefore, strict regulation on proper waste disposal system need to be applied; whereas, veterinarians and animal health workers should consider foreign bodies as differential diagnosis for gastro intestinal abnormalities in the area.