# Hereford heifer eye s weeping?



## Hunt4farm (Sep 22, 2017)

So we just got our first cow from a friend of the family that is 6 months old we've had it for a week and its eyes are very weepy we were told that the calf had no vaccinations or worming.what should I do at a minimum?


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## jhm47 (Sep 22, 2017)

Sounds like it could be the beginning of pinkeye.  Are there flies around the eyes?  Flies feed on the secretions around the eye, and often carry the bacteria that cause pinkeye.  Also, sunlight can cause eye irritation.  Does she have access to shade?  Does she have pigment around her eyes?  Pure white around eyes is more susceptible to pinkeye or sunscald due to the reflection from the white hair around the eye.  Also, tall weeds can cause irritation when cattle lower their heads to eat grass.  The weeds sometimes drop seeds or leaf litter into the eyes, and this causes irritation. 

If it's pinkeye, you can often stop it by putting a cover, or pocket over the eye with glue.  A few days of this will often allow the eye to heal on it's own.  Otherwise, antibiotics are often used.  See your vet for ideas.  Don't ignore this.  Pinkeye can easily lead to permanent blindness.


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## Hunt4farm (Sep 23, 2017)

Yes to all your questions pretty much...
Can giving her DE get rid of this?
How much in food?
Should I get a vet to come look at this if i work alot and don't have time to experiment with options? I live in North East Ohio...anyone have vet recommendation for area?


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## farmerjan (Sep 23, 2017)

DO  NOT  use DE in the eye or on any membranes near it. It will be of no use for the pinkeye although it does help some in the feed for parasites and to help keep the fly population down by stopping the larvae from developing when the flies lay their eggs in the manure. DE can damage the eye if it is used directly on it.  We have incorporated it into back rubs for the cattle but they will close their eyes when the powdery stuff starts to fly.
Herefords tend to have more "weepy" eyes than some other breeds without it actually being pinkeye.

@jhm47 gave you good advice.  We  have often put a patch over the eye to protect it from dust/dirt and flies but if the eye starts to get any cloudiness then it definitely needs antibiotics.  LA 200 or 300 shot subq or Draxxin from the vet.  We have found that Draxxin has given us better results this year but every year is different.  
My advise is to have the vet look at her or someone closeby that is knowledgeable about cattle.  
Also, ask their recommendations about vaccines, but to me a minimum of 7 way blackleg to prevent clostridial problems.  Again, ask the vet but you also need to read some basic beef cow information like Raising a Beef Animal from the Storey publications.


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## Hunt4farm (Sep 23, 2017)

No definitely not putting in eyes, asking about adding to food.how much?
It's both eyes weeping so tough to patch both at same time


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## Hunt4farm (Sep 23, 2017)




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## Hunt4farm (Sep 23, 2017)

Couple pictures, it seams to be getting worse.
She had a 3 hour ride in trailer to get here and he had hay in trailer( wonder if she just got debris in eyes with wind ?)
Had her a week so far...


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## farmerjan (Sep 23, 2017)

We have our DE added to our feed at the feed mill because we buy it by the ton.  It is usually 2% I think, but it has been awhile since they just keep our formulation on file.  But that doesn't seem right as I think I took  2 bags to them the first time, now they have other people using it so they keep it on hand.  That would be 100 lbs per 2,000 lbs feed (ton), 10 lbs per 200 lbs or 1 lb per 20 lbs.  Maybe we got 2 tons of feed so 50 lbs per ton would be more about the right amount.  That would be about 2.5% in the feed by the ton.  I think that was it.  The mill actually puts it in their layer pellets now all the time.  So if it is 1 lb per 50 lbs then you could mix it as you pour the feed into your can that you store the feed in.  It is very dusty if you haven't used it before so do not breathe it in.

By the looks of the pictures, the runnyness of the eyes looks somewhat typical that I see in some of our hereford cows.  It is some irritation, just seem to have more tendency to have weepy eyes.  If there is no whitish/grayish spots in the eyes, then it is probably not pinkeye.  

If you have the room, you might want to consider getting another animal as cattle are herd animals and are much happier with company of their own kind.  After having one the very first time I got a calf, I have never raised on by itsself.  Even now if we wean calves off cows, we do not keep one alond, always with a buddy.


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## Hunt4farm (Sep 23, 2017)




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## Hunt4farm (Sep 23, 2017)

We have two myotonic goats that are her new Buddies they don't act like they like each other yet they mostly avoid each other it seems like


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## farmerjan (Sep 23, 2017)

Some will buddy up with a goat or sheep, some won't.  It will take time and see.  At least she has some "company"  and is  not all alone.  Looks like you have some nice hay cut in the background.  Where are you located?  We are making 2nd cutting orchard grass here but it is a little short due to the drier weather we have had the last 6 weeks or so.


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## Hunt4farm (Sep 24, 2017)

This is the DE I have. was using it for insect control, just need to know if it's ok to add some to her food?


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## Hunt4farm (Sep 24, 2017)




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## Hunt4farm (Sep 24, 2017)

Randolph area
Not hay, just had to have a guy brushhog
I wanted to make bales but nobody would do it for us...
We had a farmer friend come in and do a first cut and got 200 bails or so...


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## greybeard (Sep 24, 2017)

May not be pinkeye, and may just be irritation from the dust and hay blowing around in the trailer on the trip to your place, but the runniness will (as JHM said) attract flies and flies are the #1 transporter of pinkeye from one animal to another and even from one herd to a different one. 
There's lots of old wives cures for pinkeye, everything from DE to salt in the eye, to squirting milk in the eye and swinging a dead cat round your head. Obviously, none of them work.
Take close up pictures of the eyes, and go to a vet with the pics and get some professional input for this animal.


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## farmerjan (Sep 24, 2017)

Since the DE says food grade, I would think it would be fine to add to feed, mineral etc.  What we get says food grade and that is what the feed mill adds to our feed. Not that brand but food grade is the key. 

Randolph ???? Vermont  ??  Sorry, I meant to ask what state or area of what state.  You can put it in your profile and sometimes it helps people to answer questions;  some grasses grow in the south that don't grow up north, things like that.

Sorry you couldn't get it made into hay for 2nd cutting.  It seems that there are just not enough people with enough time to custom make hay.  We make alot of hay and constantly have people asking us to PLEASE  come make hay on their place etc and so on.  And when the weather is wet then there is a dry spell, EVERYONE wants you there "now"  and you just can't  be everywhere at once.  My son and I both work full time jobs so have to work hay around that and it makes for some very long days sometimes.


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## Eteda (Sep 25, 2017)

I would wash the eye out with balshone lomb (spl?) for people. at outside temp. not inside air conditioner temp. I would watch the eye very close and if it did not stop weeping within hours of that washing. I would go to the vet and get the ophthalmic ointment USP for the eye. It has 3 antibiotics in it. I have used it twice on lamb weeping eyes and it works fast. within 24-48 hours. I had to apply  1/4 inch strip in each eye 3-4 times daily for ten days. most days I only could do it befor work and after. It worked well. it was less than 20.00 for the small 3.5 gram tube. but it was plenty. My first lambs eyes clouded over and she was blind. the other two I caught as soon as they started weeping because I knew what was up. somehow they scratched and injured the eyeball. it could have been the wind in the trailer or the hay. Let us know what you figure out and how the cow dose. all the lambs regained eyesight and healed up fine.


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