Does anyone here currently have Alpacas?

[Ridgetop]

Bruce has Alpacas I think.

Cloudy or whitish iris may be start of cataract. How old is this alpaca? Injury can also cause eventual cataract and blindness. If only in one eye, she can manage just fine.

 

[MuldrowHomeFarm]

It isn't one eye or one Alpaca. It is obviously pink eye.
Edited now that I have more time. Now we have a 3rd girl with it. Sigh. What a mess

 

[MuldrowHomeFarm]

 

[MuldrowHomeFarm]

It is not as goopy but still occluded. Had 2 shots of antibiotics, 48 hrs apart and Colloidal Silver everyday for 5 days.

 

[Baymule]

I hope she is better soon. Do you buy or make the colloidal silver? What else do you use it for?

 

[Ridgetop]

Every year after Los Angeles County Fair in mid September we came home and the goats immediately got pink eye. We had almost 100 so making sure to identify, separate, and treat immediately was a priority. We also eventually gave antibiotics but the cheapest and one of the most effective ways to treat is to buy the cheapest dark red wine - I used Burgundy - .and put it in a squeeze bottle. Then irrigate the eyes with the wine twice a day. For some reason the tannins in the red wine help to cure the pinkeye. Be sure to wear gloves since you can catch it.

Naturally the animals don't like getting squirted in the eyes much, and you will smell like a wino after treatment since you will end up with wine all over yourself. For this reason I suggest you don't wear any white clothes while medicating. LOL

If you have any left once the epidemic is over you can make Burgundy meatballs or Sangria. Or buy extra bottles so you can drink after fighting with those angry alpacas. The good thing is with pinkeye they can't see the squirt bottle coming.

 

[chickens really]

I was just reading about Brain worms (Menigeal) it won't show up on a stool test. Comes from Deer, slugs and snails.

 

[Ridgetop]

The most common is probably the answer. Go with pink eye which is easily caught especially in windy dusty seasons. If it doesn't clear up, look for something else. Always try the most obvious thing first is my theory. It is the cheapest thing to do, and usually is right. Why waste tons of money on special vet tests when it is probably pink eye? Try the red wine trick. it does work better than the puffers. Use gloves.

 

[purplequeenvt]

I was just reading about Brain worms (Menigeal) it won't show up on a stool test. Comes from Deer, slugs and snails.

Meningeal worms don’t cause pinkeye symptoms.

The animal will generally first present with a slight limp or weakness in the backend. From there it can progress to partial or complete paralysis of backend and other neurological signs and in the worst cases, eventual death. If caught and treated soon enough (Safeguard at 10x the normal dose plus anti-inflammatories and other supportive treatments) the animal has relatively decent chance of surviving, but there is often permanent damage done to the nervous system.

Camelids tend to be more susceptible than sheep or goats, but all 3 species can get it.

Pinkeye is usually treated with a single dose of oxytetracycline, but even with the antibiotics, the animal still has to go through the disease process. Oftentimes the eye will look worse before it looks better.

I have used also ToDay or ToMorrow (cephapirin) mastitis treatment squirted onto the eye at a vet’s suggestion with good results.

I just dealt with Pinkeye in my Jersey. I treated with oxytetracycline. She’s now not speaking to me because she’s needle-phobic and obviously I’m a mean human for poking her.

 

[Baymule]

Red wine for pink eye! Who knew?