Just 200 horn flies start to hurt cattle production. It is not unusual to find 3,000 flies per cow, writes Curt Arens. Fly prevention is one of the basic animal stewardship practices. Horn flies can suck as much as a gallon of blood per month per cow. Face flies feed on proteins from the eyes often becoming vectors for pinkeye. Stable flies are just a plain nuisance. They feed on the legs and bellies of cows who lose calories stomping and moving to remove the pests.
Along with being irritants to livestock, horn flies, face flies and stable flies are economically important to producers due to their negative impacts on milk production and calf weaning weights.”
Sources:
- Are flies bugging your livestock? Farm Progress, July 14, 2021. Link.
- Fly control considerations for cattle on pasture, SDSU Extension, June 8, 2021. Link.
Also see: Search Results for: flies, Animal Health Digest. Link.
INSIGHTS: Moraxella bovis, Moraxella bovoculi, Mycoplasma bovis, Mycoplasma bovoculi and bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) pinkeye’s frequently observed pathogens. AHD sponsor Addison Biological Laboratory shared laboratory testing information to demonstrate the challenge Mycoplasma sp. puts on pinkeye vaccination last August. Link.