question on new heifer

[devdragon33]

I just got a hereford heifer today and she is white faced. A friend of mine told me that white faced herefords get pink eye from the sun. That you have to put blu kote on it to keep it away or she will end up with an infection. This is the first hereford I have owned myself so I would like to know if this is true. I would like to be prepared if it is. Thank you.

By the way she is 420 pounds and beautiful! We got a heck of a deal too cause the guy was getting out of cattle

[Ronney]

More important than Pink Eye is they are more prone to contracting Cancer Eye. When buying white faced stock try to ensure that they have dark pigmentation around the eyes which lessens the chances of either Pink Eye or Cancer Eye.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[tinknal]

It CAN happen but I sure wouldn't lose sleep over it. Best thing you can do to avoid eye problems is control flys.

I wouldn't get too worried about it. We run Hereford cows, and rarely have a problem. Controlling flies will help ensure that you don't run into pinkeye, they are what spread it for the most part. And as for cancer eye, in 15 years with our herefords, we have never had a problem. And they certainly weren't/aren't all googgle eyed. Just keep an eye on her and unless you see a problem, don't worry about it......

[Ronney]

I am not suggesting that one gets into a panic about it but just to be aware that white faced cattle are prone to cancer eye and more so if there is no pigmentation around the eyes.

Pink Eye is not caused by the sun but by the bacteria Moraxella bovis and is spread by infected or carrier animals and possibly by flies, dust and long grass.

Cancer Eye is mainly seen in mature white eyed Hereford or Hereford crosses. Its cause is unkown but it is thought that lack of eye pigment, sunlight and viruses may play a part.

I have one 11 year old Hereford/Friesian cross cow with "spectacles". I kept her son as a breeding bull and he didn't have "spectacles". He went to the works last year because he had developed Cancer Eye. I did talk to the vet about the possibility of removing it but it would have been expensive with no guarantee of it not returning.

The point of telling you that isn't to frighten you but to make you aware that there could be a problem and to do as has been suggested and keep a watch on the eyes. There are millions of Herefords, Simmental and other white faced breeds around the world and they don't all end up with eye problems but they have a higher chance of it than cattle of darker colouring.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[dcross]

I wouldn't want blu-kote near MY eyes!