Prevalence of Foreign in Rumen and Reticulum of Cattle Slaughtered at Bedele Municipal Abattoir

Abstract

A Cross sectional study was conducted on 384 slaugtered cattle at Bedele municipal abattoir to determine the prevalence of foreign bodies in their rumen and reticulum and to identify the common risk factors associated with their occurrence. Rumen and reticulum were thoroughly examined by visual inspection and palpation and all the contents were inspected. The types of foreign bodies were identified after washing. From a total of 384 animals examined, 52 (13.5) were found positive for the presence of foreign bodies in rumen and no foreign body was found in reticulum. The types of foreign bodies detected were piece of cloth, plastics, rope and shoelace. Piece of cloth were the most common with a prevalence of 10.2%. Prevalence of foreign bodies were significantly associated with ade and body condition of the animals (p<0.05). Foreign bodies were more frequent in older cattle (>8years) than in younger (4-8years). The prevalence of ruminal foreign bodies were highest in poor body conditioned animals compared to cattle with better body condition. The prevalence of foreign body ingestion found in cattle by this study show that littering the environment with piece of cloth and other indigestible materials could pose health problem for free grazing cattle.