Sheep eye problem

[Dkb]

Had it last year in store lambs. It never went away until the weather dried in march.

I was segregating and using Alamycin la and tubes and also disinfecting feeders etc with sorgene

Looking back on it maybe an across the board injection of alamycin would of worked but I didn't want to overuse antibiotics. In the end I used several bottles anyway so it didn't matter

 

[aangus]

If it's the same thing my flock had, what worked was housing everything and injecting everything at the same time with 4ml LA alamycin I think it was. Segregating & treating individually didn't work - incidentally I ran that aspect of what happened here by another vet, who thought I may have been transmitting it on clothing. Nasty dose either way.

Was that 4ml into the muscle

 

[JohnGalway]

Was that 4ml into the muscle

Yep

 

[Dodge777]

opticlox in the eye and LA Alamycin into muscle sorts it out. if you do house them all feeders, troughs etc need disinfected after they go out again to stop reinfection the next time they are in.

 

[Bones]

opticlox in the eye and LA Alamycin into muscle sorts it out. if you do house them all feeders, troughs etc need disinfected after they go out again to stop reinfection the next time they are in.

How long do you think it would live in the shed, with no sheep in it ,

 

[Dodge777]

Not sure exactly but better to b safe than sorry. Disinfectant isn't expensive. Easiest way is to fill a back sprayer and spray all surfaces with it.

 

[JohnGalway]

I didn't want to overuse antibiotics. In the end I used several bottles anyway so it didn't matter

Neither did I, but comes a point where sometimes you just have to.

 

[Dkb]

Neither did I, but comes a point where sometimes you just have to.

I would of probably used less if I had just blanket done them at the start (if that worked for me of course)

Ended up using about 40 bottles of alamycin la. First time in my farming career that antibiotics actually became a large cost of the lamb production

 

[reverand]

I would of probably used less if I had just blanket done them at the start (if that worked for me of course)

Ended up using about 40 bottles of alamycin la. First time in my farming career that antibiotics actually became a large cost of the lamb production

 

[JohnGalway]

I would of probably used less if I had just blanket done them at the start (if that worked for me of course)

Ended up using about 40 bottles of alamycin la. First time in my farming career that antibiotics actually became a large cost of the lamb production

That's not a happy thought at all Thought myself I had nothing to lose by housing them given all the factors including very bad weather, zero grass, and obviously couldn't let them to the hill, vet was at best lukewarm worrying about it spreading. However it was spreading happily outside anyway and had at that stage been on the farm nearly two months I think. Seeing a couple of sheep getting reinfected 4 times was more than I wanted to be seeing. Having near 100 sheep on 17 (mostly bad) acres from mid October until May was not a fun time. Thankfully, on this farm anyway, housing and injecting worked.

 

[m4rc88]

A few years ago we had an outbreak of pinkeye in a group of about 50 replacement ewe lambs. Lots of blind sheep and cloudy eyes. We injected affected sheep with alamycin which cleared up the problem initially but then the sheep would recatch it from the others and it just kept going around the group. We then injected all of them at the same time (cost a fortune!) and they all recovered but after a while they all started getting it back again. I read somewhere about washing with Johnsons baby shampoo so we tried that as we were at the point of thinking about culling them. We washed the faces and heads of all 50 with the baby shampoo in the race rubbing well into the eyes and particularly into the holes under the eyes and at the same time jabbed any with alamycin with cloudy eyes. This completely cured the problem and we have been clear ever since. Apparently even if they have no sign of it in their eyes the bacteria live on the heads and when they rub against each other they transfer it. It took us a couple of hours to wash all of them but better than killing them all!

Hi Ruth, just want to try out this johnsons method. Having a really tough time and we have gone to a lot of expense trying to get rid of pinkeye. What sort dilution rate are you working with, or do you simply wash with the baby shampoo directly from the bottle.
Any reply welcome, thanks

 

[GrannyAching]

Hi Ruth, just want to try out this johnsons method. Having a really tough time and we have gone to a lot of expense trying to get rid of pinkeye. What sort dilution rate are you working with, or do you simply wash with the baby shampoo directly from the bottle.
Any reply welcome, thanks

Hiya - ruth hasn't been on here for ages according to her profile page. You might be better starting a new thread with a title like "Johnson's baby shampoo for pink eye, any good?" and see if anyone else has the experience you are interested in. ATB

 

[RuthW]

Hi, I am still here!
It does sound a daft thing to do and was quite a hassle but it was a last resort for us. We used it concentrated, straight from the bottle. It is quite cheap and often on special offer in the supermarkets. We rubbed it in really hard, particularly into the tear ducts under the eyes and all around the head and into the head wool and horn buds. As it is so gentle in their eyes we only briefly rinsed it off so some remained and also picked out some of the waxy stuff in the tear ducts. It will not clear the problem in their eyes but did stop them getting it back off each other, you do need to inject anything with obvious signs in their eyes. Also worth cleaning anything they are rubbing faces on eg troughs etc. It completely cured the problem for us and we haven't had it since but cant guarantee it! We had some ewes that had been jabbed multiple times prior to this and they finally went clear after washing.

 

[GrannyAching]

Hi, I am still here!
It does sound a daft thing to do and was quite a hassle but it was a last resort for us. We used it concentrated, straight from the bottle. It is quite cheap and often on special offer in the supermarkets. We rubbed it in really hard, particularly into the tear ducts under the eyes and all around the head and into the head wool and horn buds. As it is so gentle in their eyes we only briefly rinsed it off so some remained and also picked out some of the waxy stuff in the tear ducts. It will not clear the problem in their eyes but did stop them getting it back off each other, you do need to inject anything with obvious signs in their eyes. Also worth cleaning anything they are rubbing faces on eg troughs etc. It completely cured the problem for us and we haven't had it since but cant guarantee it! We had some ewes that had been jabbed multiple times prior to this and they finally went clear after washing.

Ha Ha - sorry Ruth - only a desire to help the OP! You're obviously a lurker not a poster!

 

[m4rc88]

Hi, I am still here!
It does sound a daft thing to do and was quite a hassle but it was a last resort for us. We used it concentrated, straight from the bottle. It is quite cheap and often on special offer in the supermarkets. We rubbed it in really hard, particularly into the tear ducts under the eyes and all around the head and into the head wool and horn buds. As it is so gentle in their eyes we only briefly rinsed it off so some remained and also picked out some of the waxy stuff in the tear ducts. It will not clear the problem in their eyes but did stop them getting it back off each other, you do need to inject anything with obvious signs in their eyes. Also worth cleaning anything they are rubbing faces on eg troughs etc. It completely cured the problem for us and we haven't had it since but cant guarantee it! We had some ewes that had been jabbed multiple times prior to this and they finally went clear after washing.

Firstly thanks for the response. Any help is appreciated at this stage, it sounds like the ticket to be fair. We were working with the pinkeye in spring then thought we were clear, only for a relapse in the past month, which has become hard to shake, given the heat and flies around at the minute. I've been advised to jag with hexasol LA, which has proved extremely successful compared to basic Terramycin, although the price difference is hard to swallow.
Thanks anyway

 

[RuthW]

Ha Ha - sorry Ruth - only a desire to help the OP! You're obviously a lurker not a poster!

Afraid so! You are such a knowledgeable bunch that I rarely have anything to add.

 

[cyffylog]

Have 7 cases at present, in a bunch of about 20 rams and culls, never been in and not fed since April, so cant imagine where it arose. Nothing, thankgoodness, in all the other sheep and lambs, in two other groups. Been hot and dry this seasn so sheep tend to lie in well used shady spots. Had no instances for many many years, and then only the isolated case.
Been using terramycin spray with mixed success. Think will try Johnsons which makes sense.

 

[Capall]

There is absolutely no treatment that will kill it off, but it will always run its course and clear up by itself, so no matter what you use you'll think it done the trick.
Things in the eye unless it's proper ointment will do harm. If the eyes don't get damaged, the sheep will always get over the blindness.
There is even some theories that without injecting anything, they develop a better immunity so won't take it again. It spreads very easily and often cannot be stopped no matter how much separation is done. I'd see it like some children's disease - something to get done and over with!