Yeah, we use the glue from the stockyards too. Bought a tube from them when they didn't have any that were 3/4 used up.... and
@kenny thomas is right... don't use too much so it dries pretty quick.
@gcreekrch ... funny you should say that about the vaccine. We had a seminar here not too long ago about that and the vet from VaTech, gave all sorts of studies and statistics... and when it came down to it... he said that the vaccine works for some and not for others... until you get a varaint and it doesn't work period. They have done several of their own tests with some good sized beef herds there near the vet school, and had several years of students doing monitoring and all that... he said that pinkeye is something that the whole vet industry should have been doing alot more of studying and finding a better solution than they have done over the years. He was instumental in doing one of the studies that went for something like 7 or 8 years on 3 separate herds, plus a do nothing baseline herd....
We have found no benefit in the vaccines. Used the standard one for a couple years and a vet "made" one for 2 years after that. Had as many cases on average as before and since. Some years we have next to none, this past year has been a real b#$*h here for us and several other farmers in this general area. I have found that the one place where I consistently used a mineral mix from the one feed company for 5 straight years... with added vit A to the maximum, KELP, and DE, the cases of pinkeye were next to none....This is the only pasture where I used this particular mineral as I bought it and put it out regularly because my son didn't think it was any better than what he was getting. He still doesn't think it was that mineral but I did not use it this year and the pinkeye was as bad there as anywhere else. Next year I will go back to it and see.... but then there is always years when you don't seem to get much problems......
I think that fly tags in the calves ears does help them. At least here there is one small herd we work for the owner every year and he wants fly tags and he has very very few pinkeye problems. We don't use them in ours.... he also uses the generic pinkeye vaccine some years... but he has sometimes forgotten to get it and so they get worked and then put out....but can't remember him not having the fly tags.
We have alot less pinkeye in calves from older cows that have been born and raised here. Natural immunity maybe? We nearly always have pinkeye in some of the bought cows and calves..... not having any natural immunity to our area/strain of pinkeye???? Who knows for sure. Also found that if a cow gets it, her calf nearly always gets it too... lots of coincidences
