Herd Health
Cows & Buffaloes
Pink Eye in Cattle — The Summer Eye Infection Flies Deliver
Updated 26 Aug 2026 • By Falah Nutrition Desk, Animal Nutrition Advisor
A watering, half-closed eye in fly season is the opening scene of pink eye — an infectious eye disease that flies carry from animal to animal. Caught early it's a quick cure; neglected, it can ulcer the eye's surface and cost sight. The clock and the flies are the whole story.
Common Signs
- Tears streaming down the face; a wet cheek is often the first thing noticed
- Squinting or a fully closed eye; light bothering the animal
- Redness of the eye and lids; swelling
- A white-blue cloudy spot on the eyeball as it advances — the danger stage
- Spread from one animal to others over days-weeks in fly season
Possible Causes
- Bacterial infection of the eye surface, spread largely by face flies
- Fly season plus eye irritation: dust, pollen, long grass seed heads brushing eyes
- Bright summer glare adding irritation
- Crowding at feeding letting flies commute between faces
- Young stock and newly arrived animals commonly hit first
What the Farmer Should Check
- Which stage: just tears and squinting, or already a cloudy spot?
- Fly pressure on faces — count the flies riding an animal's eye corners
- Dusty feed, seedy overgrown grazing, anything brushing eyes
- How many animals affected — pink eye moves through a group
- Any injury possibility (a poke heals differently than infection)
Feed Guidance
Treatment is veterinary and works best early — eye ointments or the doctor's chosen therapy at the tears-and-squint stage usually resolve it quickly, while the cloudy-ulcer stage risks lasting damage; separating affected animals to a shaded, fly-managed corner helps them and protects the rest. Your prevention levers are the flies and the irritants: the whole shed fly-control programme (dung discipline, drainage, traps) directly cuts pink eye; topping seedy overgrown grazing, damping very dusty feed, and providing shade from glare remove the irritation that opens the door. Darkness comforts a painful eye — a shaded pen speeds recovery. Feed normally through treatment; a half-blind animal at a crowded trough may need a calmer feeding spot of her own.
Relevant GOKA Products
Dairy Cows & Buffaloes
Under 15 liters/day
Best when green fodder is scarce
Dairy Cows & Buffaloes
10-15 liters/day
Maintains milk fat, prevents repeat breeding
When to Contact a Veterinary Doctor
Any cloudiness, ulcer or rapidly worsening eye needs the veterinary doctor promptly — and never put household or random powders/liquids into an animal's eye; wrong substances destroy eyes faster than the disease.
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