Pinkeye outbreaks tend to flare-up over the warmer months, as grass seeds, dust and flies play their part in aggravating and spreading the disease. Flies are attracted to the infected eyes, feeding on the secretions before moving from animal to animal spreading the disease. Similarly, continuous mustering of livestock to treat the disease can expose cattle to certain predisposing conditions that producers would like to avoid. As a result, cattle producers may need to pull out all the tricks in their bag to break the chain and manage nuisance flies this summer.
Key Points
- Flies play a major role in spreading pinkeye
- FlyBye user experience in line with trial results
- BoviPro-FlyBye: Dual Purpose Supplement
- BoviPro-FlyBye supports immunity and digestibility of dry feed while assisting to reducing fly pressure
Ongoing research and trials over the past five years culminated in the creation of FlyBye, a specifically formulated combination of several organic and inorganic ingredients that have been shown individually to repel flies in cattle. A study involving one of the individual components of FlyBye saw a reduction of pest-fly coverage on beef cattle by 47% and a reduction of observed defensive behaviours by cattle of 41% (Durunna and Lardner, 2021).
AusFarm Nutrition Products (ANP) dairy customers have been using FlyBye for five years now and reports from all customers are very much in line with research. Although there are flies present in the dairy and around the cattle while grazing, the flies tend to land on the cows less and don’t stress them as much. Users of the product also reported a reduction in defensive behaviours including tail whipping, stamping of the feet and most notably a large reduction of animals huddling together while grazing in the paddock.
Beef customers trialling BoviPro-FlyBye for the first time in 2024 reported a similar experience, with cattle noticeably calmer in the yards and from a quantitative perspective. It was also noted that a reduction in getting the cattle into the yards for pinkeye treatment may have also played a role in reducing transition throughout the herd.
BoviPro-FlyBye: Dual Purpose Supplement
BoviPro-FlyBye is specifically designed increase the digestibility and utilisation of poor quality dry feed and Sid in a reduction of fly pressure on cattle.
From a production perspective, BoviPro-FlyBye is designed to support maintenance in dry cows on straw and native pasture and assist in production of other classes of cattle on dry feed when fed good quality silage or hay.
On top of aiding in the reduction of fly pressure on cattle, BoviPro-FlyBye provides a proprietary blend of essential minerals, vitamins and trace elements to assist in boosting the general health and immunity of cattle, protecting them from disease challenge (Palomares 2022). With a disease such as pink eye, that is quickly transferred throughout the herd, the immune status of the cattle can play a large role in reducing infection.
For more information about BoviPro-FlyBye or our large range of cattle supplements contact the team at AusFarm Nutrition Products today on 0412 048 055 or contact your closest distributor.
References
- Durunna O, Lardner H (2021) Impact of garlic-infused salt supplement on fly abundance, salt intake, and defensive behaviors in grazing beef cows. Sustain Agric Res 10:54. 10.5539/sar.v10n1p54
- Palomares RA (2022) Trace Minerals Supplementation with Great Impact on Beef Cattle Immunity and Health. Animals (Basel) 12(20):2839. doi: 10.3390/ani12202839. PMID: 36290225; PMCID: PMC9597739.
