[firther]

+1 for terramycin spray, it usually does clear them up after a couple of days. a few years ago they used to be a powder you put on but they stopped making it for some reason. was really good though, but someone told me johnsons baby powder did the same trick. never tried that method though

[Hellybee]

If you want the Terramycin to drip rather than be aerosol, try putting a clean spray top on it the one with the extra little bit of pipe on it, marker sprays usually have them. I noticed this by accident, not what I wanted at the time, was just changing spray tops, as the original was really gummed up. But gentler in delicate situations?    Good luck xx

[Fleecewife]

Has anyone tried spraying terramycin or sprinkling baby powder into their own eyes just to make sure they are not causing pain to the sheep?

[Me]

Yes as discussed earlier shep53 has had terramycin in his eyes (as have a great many sheep after last year). No doubt treatment will cause stress and pain to the sheep - as will lack of treatment or continued use of ineffective treatment which IMO is by far the greater evil.

[Anke]

Yes as discussed earlier shep53 has had terramycin in his eyes (as have a great many sheep after last year). No doubt treatment will cause stress and pain to the sheep - as will lack of treatment which IMO is by far the greater evil.

I think we are often over-evaluating the "pain" issue for treating farm animals. To treat a number of human illnesses we have no problems causing pain in order to cure/improve... but with animals we are told you cannot do it...

[firther]

Has anyone tried spraying terramycin or sprinkling baby powder into their own eyes just to make sure they are not causing pain to the sheep?

its better than to go blind though, never tried baby powder my self but the original powder they brought out for pink eye were better than the medicines available now

[devonlady]

Perhaps try Brolene , drops or ointment from the chemist. Cheap and effective.

[Fleecewife]

Yes as discussed earlier shep53 has had terramycin in his eyes (as have a great many sheep after last year). No doubt treatment will cause stress and pain to the sheep - as will lack of treatment which IMO is by far the greater evil.

I think we are often over-evaluating the "pain" issue for treating farm animals. To treat a number of human illnesses we have no problems causing pain in order to cure/improve... but with animals we are told you cannot do it...

Please don't include me in your 'we' Anke.  I spent my entire career making sure not to cause extra pain to humans who were ill or required surgery, and I do the same for my animals.

A big difference between animals and humans is that for anyone above baby age we can explain just what we are doing, how it will benefit the person, then we get CONSENT to go ahead.

Frankly I'm shocked at the cavalier attitude expressed here by animal keepers, including a vet.

[Me]

I don't think anyone has shown a cavalier attitude at all Fleecewife, quite the opposite if you look through
our previous posts. We have discussed at length the possibility of causing pain and stress through treating vs. failing to treat, the OP has failed to control the problem and has asked for alternative suggestions and not surprisingly a commonly used alternative has been mentioned by a few.

Well, thank you all for your input and challenges on various issues on TAS. I have learnt a few things here and believe I have added something here and there too. A few of my friends have stopped posting and I think it is time I joined them (you can start the party now Fleecewife ).   

Me   

[GrannyAching]

Well [member=35918]Me[/member], I was coming on to ask you if there isn't a teramycin spray/drop that doesn't include the purple dye? Sorry if I missed this in previous posts. If you don't reply, I'll ask when I see you.  Only interested......

[shep53]

 I find the compassion and animal welfare to be of a very high standard on this forum , and the discussions with contributions from all levels of experience  often thought provoking  ,  after 50+ years of sheep keeping  I hope I can adapt and try new ideas .      Since all farm animals are prey animals they are very very good at hiding pain ,  the people on this forum seem to do the best they can to care for them  .       

[Anke]

Quick (sharp) pain but with faster healing - surely must be better than a drawn-out gathering of the flock on a daily basis, repeated IM injections and repeatedly putting stuff in their eye... well I know which I would do if necessary. And I do care about my flock!

[Hellybee]

Please don't fall out lovelies, Me you stay put lol


Hope you get to bottom of it all OP, and hope you looking after your own peepers too 

[harmony]

I have seen this sometimes in the fell sheep when out riding. It only affects a small pocket probably because they are so spread out and generally not gathering together to feed so not passing it on to all. Without a full fell gather and the risk of spreading it further I guess the sheep are left to get over it. They seem to stay in a small area until the symptoms pass and are fine.


I am not commenting on anything said or suggested on here just passing an observation.

[ladyK]

Lots to think about here, thank you again for all your input.
I've done some more research and spoken to a different vet, so here's an update for whatever it's worth:

Decided to hold off the ABs as a first call treatment to allow an immune response to develop (but I have the Alamycin bottle at the ready will inject if there is severe deterioration and concerns about secondary infections). Topically I'm now trying an antiseptic rather than antibiotic (Leucillin, similar to Vetericyn, indicated for safe use around the eyes ). Continuing the supportive treatment with vitamins and cod liver oil to boost the immune system.

In the field where I had the original outbreak 5 weeks ago the situation seems stabilized now, no more relapses this week, and all eyes seem to be healing. The 3 worst affected ewes still have milky eyes and only partially regained their sight, but they seem back to their normal self not looking miserable or distressed. Just keeping my fingers crossed there will be no relapse. Could be that the improvement is down to just time passing, who knows...
On the other field where it broke out last week I haven't used any ABs - it's still spreading, but seems it's not affecting animals quite as aggressively. Initial recovery is slower, but no relapses so far which must be a good thing. But then I don't know yet how it will go... fingers crossed...

More bits from my research if anyone is interested:
- eye ointment with Terramycin is only available in the US it seems, and ordering it from there would incur a £35 shipping charge (so I'm not).

- I have looked into Vetericyn mentioned by [member=9755]shep53[/member] earlier on as 'worked well but very expensive'
Very expensive it is indeed and it's coming from the US too, but a bit more research brought up a cheaper UK-made product (Leucillin)mthat is based on the same hypochlorous acid technology. It's specifically indicated for safe use around eyes, and I happened to have a bottle of that around anyway, intended for wound treatment.
Can't say the effects are dramatic after two days, although those animals that I treated with it do not seem to be getting worse. With all this handling of horned sheep I ended up with a gash on my lip so I've used this stuff on myself now and can confirm it doesn't sting at all, and tastes rather like tears.