The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Sheep => Topic started by: woollyval on January 08, 2012, 01:54:44 pm
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We have pink eye sweeping the area......very unusual at this time of the year but with the mild weather :-\ must be carried by something other than sheep as I have one field where the rams are that has no sheep nearby yet they have got it too.......but not from contact with us :-\
We have occaisionally had this before in the odd sheep or 2 but this time we have been fighting it for weeks! Several neighbours sheep have it too and we are all getting quite fed up with it. I have a ram and my wether who are totally visually challenged and really fed up and so now in small enclosure to stop them hitting things! Its getting better but...
Anyone any ideas? They are being treated with opticlox eye ointment and several have had a couple of shots of pen/strep!
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My sheep have had pink eye nasty and sore looking. It can sometimes take some animals a wee while to recover. The virus can be transmitted by fly and dust but mostly by close contact some sheep can be carriers and show no signs usually new sheep bring it in.
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Isn't Terramycin a better injection than Penicillin for eyes?
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Well I had a bottle of pen/strep sitting on my shelf so used it up...off to vet for some terramycin tomorrow!.....interesting re flies....there are midges and flies everywhere due to the warmish weather ::)
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Oh good luck!
When I had my first sheep pink eye arrived and It was a bloody nightmare!
I think everyone got it, we tried separating, not separating everything. We used opticlox and amoxicillin which did ease symptoms but it went through the whole flock ::)
Then as quick as it arrived, it was gone ???
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Thanks.....Its doing the rounds here....keep a look out ur not that far from me!
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I used Orbenin ointment in the one and only case I ever had, during the summer it was. I cant remember if I also used an antibiotic, not have my medicine records book to hand now. The ewes eye still looks a bit cloudy, but she can see me (and the food bucket) about 50 yards off, so I think she is not (that) blind anymore....
I certainly have seen midges around recently, and we are much further up north than you are!
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Quickest and easiest treatment for pink eye is a spray of alamycin spray (blue coloured spray that you get from the vet). I know what the instructions say! but it works really well and very quickly. Don't be too heavy handed with it (the solvent could damage the eye), just a 2 second burst into the eye and surrounding area and it clears up really well. Also quite cheap and easy to administer. they can sometimes get similar infectiond from eating long forage, especially silage and haylage. seems to scratch their eyes.
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Thanks Dougal.....I was wondering about that.....just the worst one left now and he had long acting ABs yesterday.....but will consider that if still not looking good