Facial eczema in livestock: causes, prevention & natural liver support

Facial Eczema (FE) is a costly and frustrating seasonal challenge for farmers, particularly in warmer, humid regions where spore counts can rise rapidly. Sheep, cattle, deer, alpacas, and llamas are all susceptible to facial eczema, impacting liver function, fertility, and productivity. In this article, we’ll explain what facial eczema is, why prevention is essential, and how proactive management of facial eczema, including liver support with natural remedies that have no withholding period, can help protect your animals and your livelihood through the high-risk months.

Key highlights:

• Facial eczema is caused by fungal spores (Pithomyces chartarum) that grow on dead plant material in the pasture when conditions are warm and humid.
• In livestock, facial eczema is a serious liver condition affecting sheep, cattle, deer, alpacas, llamas, and other livestock during warm, humid months.
• The toxin sporidesmin (from fungal spores) damages the liver and can lead to photosensitivity, weight loss, reduced fertility and impacts on animal performance and farm productivity.
• To identify facial eczema, look for behaviour changes, signs of irritation around the head or face, swelling around the eyes or muzzle, drooping ears or skin redness.
• Early prevention and monitoring are critical as damage often occurs before visible signs appear.
• Pasture management, animal health preventative management, breeding for tolerance, and liver support all play a role in reducing impact.
• Natural trough-dosed remedies, such as Facial Eczema Prev and Facial Eczema Active, provide easy, chemical-free support with no withholding period.

Understanding the environmental triggers and how they affect your stock is the first step to managing outbreaks effectively. Below, we explain the causes of facial eczema, how liver damage develops, and why combining pasture management with our remedies can help to make a real difference to the comfort and long-term performance of your herd.

What is facial eczema in livestock?

Facial Eczema (FE) in livestock is a serious, non-contagious liver disease caused by the toxin sporidesmin. This toxin is produced by fungal spores (Pithomyces chartarum) growing in decomposing organic matter found right on or slightly above the soil surface, hidden by the green grass canopy in the pasture, especially during warm, humid New Zealand and Australian summer and autumn conditions. It causes liver damage, leading to sickness, productivity loss, and characteristic skin photosensitivity.

Causes of facial eczema

Facial eczema is caused by fungal spores (Pithomyces chartarum) that grow on dead plant material in the pasture. When conditions are warm, humid, and moist, the fungus multiplies rapidly and produces sporidesmin, a toxin that damages the liver when eaten by grazing animals.

• High-risk conditions: warm nights, light rain, and high humidity.
• Typical season: late January through April in the Southern Hemisphere.
• High-risk areas: sheltered paddocks, gullies, and north-facing slopes with poor airflow and paddocks with a high percentage of dead, dry matter.

Why the liver matters

The liver plays a vital role in keeping livestock healthy, acting as the body’s natural filtration and detoxification system. It processes nutrients, metabolises fats and proteins, and removes toxins, including sporidesmin, the fungal toxin responsible for facial eczema. When toxins accumulate in the bloodstream, the liver can become damaged or overloaded, leading to inflammation.

• Animals become photosensitive, especially on light or exposed skin.
• Growth rates, milk yield, and fertility decline as the animal’s metabolism struggles to function efficiently.

Even mild or subclinical liver damage can reduce productivity for seasons to come, affecting weight gain, lambing or calving success, and overall herd performance and farm productivity.

How to identify facial eczema

Facial eczema can develop quickly once spore levels rise, and by the time visible symptoms appear, significant liver damage may have already occurred. The first signs are often subtle and can easily be mistaken for heat stress or insect irritation, so paying close attention to small behavioural changes can make all the difference.

Rubbing the face or head against trees or fenceposts can be an early sign of facial eczema in sheep, cattle and other livestock.

Early (subclinical) signs:

• Seeking shade during the day or avoiding sunlight.
• Puffy eyes or swelling around the face.
• Restlessness, head shaking, irritation or rubbing against posts and fences.

If left unattended, more severe symptoms can appear as liver damage progresses.

Advanced (clinical) signs:

• Peeling or crusty skin on the face, ears, or udder area.
• Noticeable weight loss and poor appetite.
• Drop in milk production or conception rates.

Monitoring and Prevention

The best way to protect your animals is through consistent monitoring, proactive prevention, and early liver support.

1. Check spore counts

Monitoring spore counts is the first line of defence during eczema season.

• Send grass samples to your vet or testing lab.
• Track local vet club spore reports.  In New Zealand, Gribbles website collates spore count data from across the regions, while Dairy Australia provides results for Australian farmers.
• Keep annual records to identify high-risk paddocks on the farm. Avoid grazing these paddocks during seasonal high-risk periods.

2. Manage pastures

Effective pasture management plays a crucial role in reducing exposure to toxic spores.

• Avoid grazing too low, as spores live near the soil surface.
• Encourage airflow and cooler ground temperatures by avoiding sheltered, humid paddocks.
• Integrate sheep and cattle grazing to reduce dead matter in the pasture swards.
• Rotate stock and remove dead matter to reduce spore buildup.
• Plant pasture with species that have a low spore count, such as pure tall fescue or grass-free alternatives such as chicory, plantain and legumes.

3. Breed for tolerance

Over time, genetic selection can significantly reduce the severity of facial eczema outbreaks.

• Choose sires from facial-eczema-tolerant lines to improve long-term resilience.

4. Support liver health

Early and ongoing liver support strengthens natural detoxification pathways and helps animals cope better with seasonal challenges.

• Start liver support before spore counts start to climb
• Traditional zinc dosing can help, but carries risks such as scouring and the stress of yarding and loss of nutritional intake.
• Natural remedies provide a low-stress alternative with no risk of overdosing or residue concerns.

Natural liver support for livestock

Our natural remedies for livestock make prevention and management of facial eczema simple with easy trough dosing that treats multiple animals at once - no stress, no mess. With no withholding period for meat or milk, they’re a safe, effective way to support healthy liver function and resilience in your herd.

Preventing facial eczema in sheep and cattle

Our professionally formulated Facial Eczema Prev helps to support animals’ immune response during high-risk periods for facial eczema.

• Contains Chelidonium and other remedies which are traditionally used for liver support.
• No withholding period, making it safe for meat and milk production.
• Trough dosing makes it easy to cover your whole herd.

Managing facial eczema in livestock

Our Facial Eczema Active remedy is formulated to assist with a healthy immune response to symptoms of facial eczema.

• No withholding period, and suitable for all classes and all ages of livestock
• Trough-dosing every second day provides convenient coverage for your whole herd, with no residue buildups.

How trough dosing works

Trough dosing is an easy and cost-effective way to support the health of cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, alpaca, deer, and more. One dosed trough can provide cover for all animals that use the trough without harming animals that don’t need to be dosed. The remedy uses hydrogen molecules to disperse evenly through water and only needs to contact a mucous membrane such as the tongue, gums, or lips.

Read our trough dosing FAQs

Common mistakes to avoid

Even experienced farmers can get caught out by facial eczema. Understanding the most common management mistakes helps protect your animals earlier and avoid issues like liver damage, scouring, and fertility loss before they impact production.

• Waiting for visible signs: liver damage can occur well before symptoms appear.
• Over-reliance on zinc: can cause scouring and flystrike, adding stress to already vulnerable animals.
• Ignoring subclinical damage: fertility and milk output often drop long before obvious signs of facial eczema develop.

Final Thoughts

Facial eczema is a challenging livestock health issues for farmers, but it’s also one of the most manageable with prompt action and the right tools. Monitoring spore counts, supporting liver health, and choosing natural, easy-to-use remedies like Facial Eczema Prev and Facial Eczema Active can help protect your herd and your bottom line.

The convenience of trough dosing and the benefit of no withholding period make these remedies a good option for farmers who want to stay one step ahead of facial eczema.