Therapeutic efficacy trial for different treatment regimens due to induced ruminal acidosis in sheep in Addis zemen Town, Ethiopia

Abstract Background: In ruminants, ruminal acidosis is defined as the biochemical and physiological stresses caused by the overconsumption of easily fermentable carbohydrate-rich feed materials. An experimental trial was conducted from January to May 2018 in Addis Zemen town to assess clinical, ruminal fluid, and hematological changes in sheep associated with ruminal acidosis and to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of different treatment regimens in local breed sheep. A total of 32 sheep in Addis Zemen town were selected randomly. For the therapeutic study, all animals were randomly divided into 4 groups of 8 animals, and the group I, II, and III were given 80 g of wheat flour per kg of body weight then treatment was allocated randomly, and group IV was maintained as negative control sheep. Results: The experimental trial showed that all ruminal acidotic sheep had significantly (p<0.05) lower rectal temperature, rumen motility, protozoa activity, and ruminal fluid pH before treatment as compared to the negative control group. However, there were significant (p<0.05) increments in hematological and some clinical parameters before treatment in ruminal acidotic sheep as compared to the negative control. The current experimental trial revealed that digestion powder was the most effective therapy since 100% of animals recovered on day 3, followed by magnesium hydroxide with which all animals recovered on day 4, followed by sodium bicarbonate in which 87.5% of animals recovered on day 4. Conclusion: The therapeutic efficacy indicated that all treatment regimens were able to correct the acidotic condition, which was evident from the increment in ruminal and blood pH as a result of alkalizing and buffering activity of the treatments. However, digestion powder has different compositions which are absorbed into the body and balance the disturbed clinical and hematological parameters. Therefore, digestion powder could be used as a treatment choice for ruminal acidosis.