How to Care for Pink Eye in Cattle
Do you own cattle? Have you noticed an outbreak of pink eye among them? Even if you notice a single cow or calf with pink eye, you need to address this problem right away. Pink eye spreads fast among cattle, so the sooner you act on pink eye in your cattle, the better off you’ll be.
In this article, you’ll learn some of your options for caring for pink eye in cattle. Of course, you should also have a trusted livestock vet to work with if you have any further questions or concerns.
Cover Your Cattle’s Eye That’s Infected with Pink Eye
Curicyn offers a Pink Eye Solution gel spray that is easy to apply and produces rapid results. If used early, you may not need to use a patch at all. However, if the pink eye is severe, it’s important to prevent any further problems from developing within the eye. Covering the eye may reduce the risk of scarring on the eyes.
It is possible to buy special patches designed to protect the eye. These patches feature a convex design to allow the eye freedom of movement while still ensuring its safety from additional irritants and flies.
Curicyn also offers a complete, multi-application Pink Eye Kit that comes with patches that you can put on your cattle’s eye. This kit is designed to address pink eye and its effects, as well as promote rapid healing when symptoms emerge.
Covering the eye can also help cut down on further damage done by UV rays. UV rays can irritate cows’ eyes and can aggravate the symptoms of pink eye further. Covering the eye takes out this risk entirely. In addition, covering the eye can help prevent the spread of pink eye among the cattle, too.
Do Antibiotics Work for Pink Eye in Cattle?
Some cattle owners prefer not to give their cattle antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. Your livestock vet can let you know more details about whether or not you should consider antibiotics for your cows. However, some young calves cannot safely handle antibiotics, and you may have other concerns about using medication for your cows too.
Curicyn’s gel-based Pink Eye Solution is antibiotic free and pre-approved for the Natural Beef and Gap programs. This is a non-irritating solution that helps promote rapid healing for pink eye in cattle in 1-3 days. The Curicyn Pink Eye Solution is designed to specifically care for pink eye and in most cases, only requires a one-time application, making it a safe and convenient option for you and your cattle.
Furthermore, Curicyn products are safe to use in conjunction with antibiotics.
The “Wait and See” Method for Pink Eye in Cattle
Pink eye in cattle can clear up on its own eventually. However, it is not a good idea to leave it untreated. Keep in mind, that cattle not treated will usually show signs of damage related to pink eye. They may develop scarring in the eye and could have lasting eye health problems, including blindness, because of this. If you plan to sell your cattle, you will not make as much money on the sale of a cow with eye scars as you would on a healthy cow.
If you have the benefit of a quarantine area for sick cattle, you can move the affected cows and calves to a separate space and keep them apart from the healthy ones. This will allow the outbreak to die off before it gets too out of hand.
Is There a Vaccination for Pink Eye in Cattle?
There is a vaccination for pink eye in cattle. However, many cattle owners feel this vaccination does little to no good, and just ends up costing additional funds with no proven results. The vaccination covers some pink eye bacteria strains in cattle, but not all of them, and therefore doesn’t reduce the risk of pink eye among cattle very much.
Of course, there’s no reason why you can’t vaccinate your cattle against pink eye if you choose to do so. Just remember that this won’t actually heal pink eye if your cows and calves already have it. It will only work as a preventative, and even then, not all the time.
Curicyn products are safe to use in conjunction with vaccines.
Prevent Your Cattle from Getting Pink Eye
The most important way to care for pink eye is, of course, to prevent it from happening in the first place. Nothing can completely erase the chance of pink eye in your cattle, but you can take steps to reduce the chances.
Keep your cattle as clean and free from eye irritants as possible. Do what you can to prevent flies from gathering on your cattle’s faces. Make sure they are also kept as free from stress as possible and feed them a high-quality and nutritionally balanced diet to help improve their immune systems.
Get Help for Your Cattle’s Pink Eye
Now that you’ve seen some of the options you have to pick from when caring for pink eye in cattle, you should have a better idea of where to begin. These options all offer success in some instances, but you know your cattle best. Choose the option that seems the most reasonable for your setup and your circumstances.
Curicyn offers a variety of products that help promote rapid healing in pink eye in cattle. Our products are antibiotic free, non-toxic for you and your cattle, and are approved for the Natural Beef and Gap programs. These products are all easy to use and are formulated to help address pink eye in cattle and the effects that come with it.
We design all our products with the goal of caring for your animal’s ailment as quickly and safely as possible. For questions on livestock pink eye or more information on Curicyn, you may want to call our office at (800) 467-0547.