Abstract
The study was conducted to investigate rumen impaction in goats slaughtered at Katsina Metropolitan Abattoir by administering 147 questionnaires and making weekly visits to the abattoir for information retrieval for eleven weeks. In addition, live-weights of sampled animals, weight of rumen contents and empty rumen were determined. The data indicated that 60% of the animal keepers allow their animals to scavenge on refuse and majority (93%) of the respondents observed some effects of rumen infection, which include death of the animals (34%). The result revealed that the problem was more common among the age range of 16 and 18 months of age and that sex also has effect on the rate of impaction occurring more in females. Types and quantity of non-degradable materials in the affected animals were identified and polythene materials occurred more. Frequency of non-degradable materials was also observed in goats. The study recommends cleanup of the environment in that, it will substantially reduce foreign bodies syndrome in goats, proper feeding, addition of mineral constituents in the diet, hence there is need for state legislature to enforce proper disposal of non-degradable synthetic polythene materials to make the environment safe for ruminants.
Highlights
In subsistent production systems, in which the primary purpose is to meet family needs, many urban families keep a few chickens, two to three sheep and goats for occasional consumption
Underfed animals are attracted to feed on them because pasture is not usually available during the dry season. These biologically non-degradable polythene materials which may include shreds of bailing twine, leather, ropes and rags, when ingested by animals get lodged in the rumen, thereby occupying the ruminal space interfering with normal physiological function of the rumen (Muhammad, 2002)
Anonymous (2010) reported that eating polythene bags resulted in death of 100 ruminant animals per day in India, and as much as 35kg of polythene was found in the rumen of one of the dead cows
Summary
In which the primary purpose is to meet family needs, many urban families keep a few chickens, two to three sheep and goats for occasional consumption. This Table showed that the correlation coefficients of live weight, empty rumen, rumen contents and weight of non-biodegradable materials in goat sex and age. A highly significant weak positive relationship existed between sex and weight of empty rumen contents (r2 = 0.398).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
