Collecting Pinkeye Scores
Angus Australia would like to remind members they can be a part of new pinkeye research in Angus cattle by collecting and submitting Pinkeye scores when they have an outbreak of the Pinkeye on farm.
This follows on from a jointly funded study of Pinkeye in Angus Cattle by CSIRO and Angus Australia which was completed in 2022. In the survey, 97% of 238 members who responded had seen Pinkeye in their herd in the past 5 years. Additionally, over 85% of respondents felt that Pinkeye had a moderate or severe animal welfare implication.
“Pinkeye can be a real burden in Angus cattle which causes significant welfare implications and economic loss” said Dr Liam Mowbray. “It’s a multifactorial disease with many environmental and host factors.”
“Previous research has demonstrated a mild heritability of the disease, generally around the level of 0.1 in Angus and Angus influenced herds. However, some have shown promise as much as 0.33. Therefore, there may be a small opportunity to play our part and reduce the incidence of Pinkeye in Angus cattle through genetic selection.”
“We are also really interested to see what relationships may exist between pinkeye incidence and our ImmuneDEX research breeding value which was developed in collaboration with the team at CSIRO”.
Pinkeye scores can be recorded by members if you have a pinkeye outbreak on farm. Currently, the scoring system is a 0 to 4 scale. Details can be found on the Angus Australia website under the Collection Guidelines for Angus Research.
For further information please contact Dr Liam Mowbray from the Genetic Improvement team on 0436406140 or liam.mowbray@angusaustralia.com.au.
