eye problem

[wvherefords]

hi there. Question for you: I'm calling the vet today about an eye problem on one of my herefords, but I thought some of you might have some insight too.

I just checked my small herd and found no pinkeye and just one eye problem that seems pretty major. One of my 2 year old heifers that just calved about 2 months ago has a large red bubble where her retina/pupil should be and the rest of her eye appears glazed over. The red bubble seems to be either blood or tissue or a mixture of both and protrudes pretty far away from the eyeball (roughly 3/8th of an inch).

Again, to the best of my knowledge, we don't have any pinkeye in the rest of the heard and her other eye appears completely normal.

Could this be the result of a major eye scratch? Detatched retina? Is it in any way fixable (your best guess)?

She's one of our nicest heifers and threw a great, low birth weight calf this year.

thanks,

-E

 

[jcarkie]

she may have jammed a stick or something in her eye.watch it for a few days. i had a similar incident and it cleared up in about a week.
pinkeye can come from the neighbors by way of flys too.

 

[Susie David]

Doesn't sound like pink-eye...any visable scratch or injury?
Hate to use the "C" word but could it be the start of cancer eye...we excised the eye from our boss cow this spring, cleaned/healed up nicely, increased milk and improvement in her condition even with a nursing calf. Rebred in June.
A dose of antibiotics and, if she's not bred a steroid may save the eye if its not cancer eye....just my guess. Dave mc

 

[wvherefords]

thanks. I'm going to try to take a picture and post it tonight or tomorrow. Its fair week here, so I should be able to see my vet tonight...

thanks!

-E

 

[jgn]

Is the spot in the center of the eye? It could be something else but from the description it sure sounds like an ulcer from pinkeye. I would treat her for pinkeye just in case.

 

[wvherefords]

yep. its dead in the center of the eyeball, just overtop where the pupil and retina should be seen, but it covers both. the more I'm reading online, the more it seems like a very advanced and severe case of pinkeye involving a prolapse of the cornea. Hopefully we can get it under control with antibiotics, but it seems she may already be past the point of regaining sight in that eye. Assuming this is severe pinkeye, has anyone seen a case like this come back to "normal"?

thanks,

-E

 

[Anonymous]

Well, what did the vet have to say?

Bez'

 

[ctlbaron]

Sounds like a case of advanced pinkeye to me. Heavy dose of LA200 and put her in a dark shed. It won't hurt to have the LA200 anyway if it's not pinkeye. That eye may already be gone if its protruding.

 

[wvherefords]

Thanks for all your insight.

The vet said advanced pinkeye and to treat with LA 200, so that's what I've done. He thinks the eye is too far gone and will be blind, but she's a good heifer and she seems to be in otherwise perfect health with a good appetite, so she should be fine. This is the first time I've had pinkeye that got that far that quick. And, as of right now, its the only infected eye in my 11 cow herd and the only infected eye we've had since last june.

guess I'm going to have to keep even closer tabs on them that I had already...

 

[certherfbeef]

guess I'm going to have to keep even closer tabs on them that I had already...

Yep, because that just doesn't happen over night.
You will most likely end up shipping her. That only gets worse, unless you are willing to pay the vet bills to have the eye removed.

 

[charlotte]

Just wondering if you were indeed from West Virginia or am I assuming. If so may i ask where in WV??? Just Curious!!

 

[ctlbaron]

She can raise good calves with one eye, why ship her? That eye will heal up. She may lose sight in that eye but she can still bring good calves.

 

[jgn]

Don't give up on her yet, if she hasn't lost the fluid out of the eyeball there is still a chance she will regain at least partial vision in it. She may have some discoloration but may still be able to see out of it.If you have her up salt the eye real good or use one of the sprays made for it as this will cause the eye to water heavily and flush it out good.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Besides LA200, I would give sulfa boluses, and we cover the eye with a patch made out of jeans. Just make a square patch big enough to completely cover the eye - about 6X6", round off one corner. Glue the top two flat sides & place the pointed end above the eye. This leaves the rounded bottom open so she can look down - IF she ever gets sight back - and yes, that is a possibility - no real probable at this point - but possible.
We also squirt antibiotic into the eye - we use Today or Tomorrow - mastitis treatment.

 

[sidney411]

Jeanne - what type of glue do you use to attach the patch and how long does it stay on?

 

[certherfbeef]

Jeanne - what type of glue do you use to attach the patch and how long does it stay on?

Hey Sid,
I'm gonna but in on your question here, hope you don't mind.

I use "kamar" glue for my patches. Same stuff the sale barns use to attach the numbers on the animals backs. Most pre-made pink eye patches come with one tube of glue per box.

Another reason for leaving the bottom of the patch open is to allow for drainage. To let the watering eye water and let the drainage have somewhere to go.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I use K-Mar Heat Detector's glue - it's the same as what they use at the sale barns. Sometimes it will stay on for weeks. After about a week, I like to catch the cow & "peek" at how the eye is doing. If still bad - I repeat meds. Luckily, we have very few problems, but always seems to get one occasionally. Remember - light & dust keep the eye irritated, slowing down the healing process.
Back 25-30 years ago, the vets always used to tell you to keep them in a dark barn.

 

[wvherefords]

I'm in Jefferson County, Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

I'm not planning on shipping her at all, as she's a nice, well bred young cow that had a very nice low birth weight calf this year and she seems to still be nursing and eating just fine. If she ends up with one eye, that's fine. I'm just a small operation, so I'm not so focused on culling such things (although I do cull for personality). As long as she stays otherwise healthy and keeps giving me calves like this year's calf, she's staying...

 

[certherfbeef]

As long as she stays otherwise healthy and keeps giving me calves like this year's calf, she's staying...

Better have the vet out to remove it when fly season is over then.

 

[SF]

A one eyed cow can raise calves as good as a two eyed cow. I certainly wouldn't ship a good quality one eyed cow. Have a blue eyed cow myself. She raises good calves. She isn't going anywhere.