[crobertson]

Hi Guys

Just looking for some help to get rid of conjunctivitis / pink eye in sheep.

We brought in some new pedigree stock (10 ewes) at the end of August, 2 weeks later 1 and then 2 ewes started showing signs of conjunctivitis / pink eye. We separated and got some antibiotic injection from the vet who advised if any more get it to treat the lot as its likely they'll just keep passing it around. Typically a few more started to show signs so I rounded them up and treated the lot, within a day or 2 they all looked clear (the weekend before I went on holiday).
I came back off holiday and the parents hadn't noticed one ewe seems to be re-infected and also had cloudy white eyes. I immediately brought her in and gave a 2nd jab of antibiotics worrying in case the blindness will be permanent, vet said it was the right thing to do and it should clear up .......... Now we're 1 week later, the whiteness in the cloudy eyes, the swelling and pinkness has gone but there is still slight cloudiness with a blueish tinge (starting stages) so it has improved but not entirely ! The ewe also appears to have some vision.

My question mainly .... does she need another antibiotic injection to clear the remainder up ? ? That would mean going back to the vets as we've used the last of the antibiotics.  I'm worried about re-introducing her to the flock in case it all starts off again as the others seem to be fine now.

[Keelan H]

Hope you're sorted with the pink eye now, its a horrible thing and is very easy to get down about it! I brought in some Shetland ewes 3 weeks ago and they started showing signs of pink eye. They were a nightmare to catch so i left them, anyway it was clear after a few days that the condition had just got worse to the extent three ewes were so blind they ran into me. Once caught i used opticlox prescribed from the vet, however there was no clear improvement. They had it for two weeks, the last few days i have used a ferret shampoo (Apart from dog the only animal friendly one we have!) which was antiseptic and without much else working i thought it was worth a go. I know the bacteria that causes Pink eye hangs around there faces so we washed their faces not worrying about it going in there eyes, however we didnt purposely get it in them. After that i dropped a drop of pen and strep in their eyes, and since then there has been vast improvement and all can see again. Its hard to say whether the condition just ran its course or my method worked, but if you're still struggling with it i think it would be worth a go!

[bj_cardiff]

I had it a few years ago thanks to some brought in lambs. Don't feed them or gather them if possible - basicly avoid any close contact situations. I let it run its course without antibiotics, one ewe was particularly badly affected and was so blind and couldn't see her lambs, which was worrying. I brought those ones in and used baby shampoo to wash the eyes. within a week she could see enough to go back out.

[crobertson]

Thank you for the responses

Not to speak too soon, I'm cautiously optimistic as we've gone a full week since the last case cleared up. Its been an absolute nightmare going around them for about 6 weeks, even after treating all with antibiotics on the advice of the vet, whether it was a bad case I don't know but a couple needed housing individually and 3 shots of antibiotics to shift it! They were too bad to leave untreated, blind, swollen eyes, rubbing on fence posts through soreness and irritation etc = We even resorted to washing faces with baby shampoo in case there was bacteria on their faces !