New Forest Eye - Stupid weather, bloomin flies!!

kenseypark · Post by **kenseypark** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:09 pm

Is anyone else having problems with flies. We have sheep and cattle (and horses) and earlier this year the flies were awful for the sheep, maggots galore, and i HATE them. Then we couldn't get them shorn due to the weat weather (no, you don't say!) Then we got the cows/calves in last week to de-horn the Dexter calves and i noticed a Dexter yearling heiffer with a swollen eye, and then realised the eyes was white/milky. I thought i knew what it was and rang the vet who confirmed my thoughts, New Forest Eye. She said as it wasn't and emergency she'd come out in the morning (i'd rung her about 7pm) so she duly came out and confirmed the diagnosis (i felt quite pleased as never seen it before)and gave us the choice of cream for 3 days or an injection. We chose the injection. Let her back out and asked her about prevention, which we'd done with 'Spot On'. She said its really bad this year 'because of the weather'. Then i got home from work and checked the others and found another calf (A/Angus) with the start of it, so got him and mum in and a farmer from next door was down (to retrieve a lively heiffer who'd jumped the hedge due to one of our Dexters bulling) and he had some cream so we put that in for 3 days. Anyone else experiencing more problems with 'eyes' this year? Got any other remedies, or am i being a bad 'mum'?

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:51 pm

Warm weather certainly means flies, and with heavy showers it means more flies. "Spoton" or similar pour on treatments greatly reduce them as do insecticidal ear tags. The greener ones amongst us (I mean environmentally friendly, not naive) may like to use garlic licks.

If your do get New Forest Eye, there are usually several, always look very carefully at all cattle in the group when you have them in to treat. They tend to turn the affected eye away from you to look at you with the good eye so be sure you see both eyes of all the cattle. Antibiotics are needed to reduce the damage and let the healing process go as quickly as possible - it is a very painful condition and should not be ignored "because it will get better" - a small proportion can result in rupture of the cornea resulting in permanent damage and loss of sight if not loss of the eye. The quicker you treat them the less the damage and the quicker they are better, and the less infection there is around for flies to pick up and carry to the next beast. Injection into the subconjuctival tissue is probably the best treatment but is for skilled trained people to do. The modern antibiotic ointments are very very good compared to the old fashioned ones and powders which were available 20 years ago and are probably still there. The newer ones bind onto the conjunctiva and give prolonged treatment at one application, unlike eg aureomycin powder which is estimated to be all washed out within 30 minutes to an hour.

Simply because of flies I would not entertain dehorning from May to September, maybe a bit later than May for castrations.

Duncan

carole · Post by **carole** » Mon Jul 30, 2007 2:59 pm

We are using garlic licks and spot on to try and keep the flies at bay..I guess the head coverings you can put on horses wouldn't stay on too long.

stew · Post by **stew** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 10:05 pm

you dont need to buy expensive licks just mash some garlic up and put it in there water trough work better than licks i find and only costs 40p a bulb
for more friendly beasts cut a bulb in half and rub it up their backs

happy hollidays · Post by **happy hollidays** » Tue Jul 31, 2007 11:21 pm

Does the garlic not taint the meat if they are consuming it as a lick? I supply my friend with garlic for her horses and their skin smells like the local curry house mid morning preperation session!

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Wed Aug 01, 2007 7:31 am

Estelle,
I didn't think you where the type to frequent the local curry house, especially mid morning!