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Rumen impaction in sheep with indigestible foreign bodies (IFB) was studied in Maiduguri, a town in the semi-arid region of Nigeria. Twenty-seven refuse dumps around the town were visited by 405 sheep consisting of Yankasa (40.3%), Uda (26.4%) and cross (33.3%) breeds. Rumen IFB were found in 19.3% of the 540 sheep slaughtered at the Maiduguri abattoir. A greater proportion of Yankasa (25.3%) had rumen 11713 than Uda (14.5%) and cross (14.6%) breeds. More females (28.3%) were affected than males (8.5%). The IIFB were polythene/cellophane materials, ropes, dry seeds, caked sand, metallic objects, paper, fiber and hair balls. The polythene/cellophane materials occurred in 81.6% of the sheep. The other types of IFB occurred in 7.4-47.1% of the sheep, usually impacted with or without polythene/cellophane.

Clinical rumen IFB impaction was characterized by emaciation, abdominal distension and asymmetry, lack of feces in the rectum, foamy salivation, recumbency and inappetence. Hyperglycaemia, alkalosis, hyponatraemia, hypochloridaemia, hypocalcaemia, hypoproteinaemia and hypoalbuminaemia occurred in some of the clinical cases. It was concluded that the rumen impaction with IFB was related to the sheep scavenging on refuse dumps and that the blood biochemical changes, along with the clinical signs, might be of some diagnostic assistance. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.