pink eye in cattle

I would love to hear about any experiences that you may have had with Pink Eye. I currently am working on a mob grazing farm and while we do not do dairy as a commercial strategy having some homestead Jerseys for milk and butter are one of the many joys that has become part of my life out here in Ohio and recommend it for everyone with the land to do it.

Ernest Rando wrote:I would love to hear about any experiences that you may have had with Pink Eye. I currently am working on a mob grazing farm and while we do not do dairy as a commercial strategy having some homestead Jerseys for milk and butter are one of the many joys that has become part of my life out here in Ohio and recommend it for everyone with the land to do it.

So my magic solution to pink eye is fresh cucumber juice. Yep, just squeeze a cucumber in your hand, and put a glob of the juice straight in the cow's eye. She won't be too keen on the process, but boy it deals with the pink eye right proper every time. I learned this from Juliet de Bairacli-Levy's Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable, and have never had it fail me.

One other thought on pink eye is that it can be really provoked by having cows graze overly mature forage that has become dried and coarse. The cows' eyes get scratched easily, which then allows eye infections to develop. So this is just another reason to manage our rotational grazing optimally.

hope this helps!

Thank you for the info about over-mature grass. My husband separated a calf from his mother and accidentally picked the wrong calf to leave orphaned. This calf had pink eye. It got worse and now it appears the calf is going blind in that eye. Is there any turnaround cure at this point or could it be too late?

Lakota Myers wrote:Thank you for the info about over-mature grass. My husband separated a calf from his mother and accidentally picked the wrong calf to leave orphaned. This calf had pink eye. It got worse and now it appears the calf is going blind in that eye. Is there any turnaround cure at this point or could it be too late?

One blind eye isn't necessarily a disaster. It will depend on the animal. One of my best cows was blind in one eye, and she still raised calves and produced really well for us for many years.

Unfortunately, my understanding is that the damage to the eye is not reversible, so it is likely too late to do anything now. Good mineralization through free-choice kelp feeding is always a good preventative in the future.

good luck!