# cyst on sheep



## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

what are these and what can cause it, should the sheep be slaughtered? and can it be eaten ? or is it all a waste? thanks JIL


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Depends on the type of cyst, and if the animal has been treated for anythng recently. 
A CL cyst shouldn't condem the carcass, but often if there are visable cysts the ewe is too thin to justify the cost of butchering. Maybe not, I haven't slaughtered any with cysts to know for sure and I hate mutton anyhow.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Could it just be a localized abscess, from an old wound that wasn't noticed? Those make lumps that could be described as a cyst ... I would think something like that would probably need treatement and resolution (including appropriate medication withdrawal time) before slaughtering, but if it's a localized infection, treat it, wait, and then butcher.

Maybe you can describe the cyst in more detail for us, then we can be of more help.


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## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

it was about the size of a bubblegum ball maybe slighlty bigger when we opened it there was yellowish yukky stuff kinda thick that came out we then put peroxide and idodine on it. we did worm and give ultra bac 7 and trim hooves while we had her down. thanks JIL


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Sounds like an abscess to me - my sheep had the same thing after a run in with a guardian dog puppy (who was in the process of figuring out that sheep aren't puppies and can't be played with with teeth). We drained it, and rinsed with iodine daily until it cleared up - we had a hard time with the one that was up on the back of the neck as it wouldn't drain away from the body (gravity being what it is and all), but if the wound is on the side, trim the fleece away, rinse daily with peroxide and you should be ok.

If it starts to close over and the opening is really small, a syringe works well to squirt diluted iodine into the wound - it's a really disgusting job, but it does work! We tried peroxide too, and saline, but iodine worked best of all. Squirt it into the wound, press to get it all to guck back out, repeat until no guck comes out, only iodine solution (diluted to about the colour of strong tea - not 100%).

Unless there are more on the sheep's body elsewhere, I'd suspect it's localized. Is it in a spot she might've gotten a nick? A scrape on barbed wire, or something like that?

Watch for a fever - if the sheep develops one, or if you just wanna be sure, maybe do a run of antibiotics for seven days ... then follow the withdrawal time before slaughter.

ETA: pay attention to the smell of the guck that comes out too ... there is a distinct odour to a wound gone very bad ... if it's just yellow gross stringy pus that doesn't smell particularly bad, you definitely have an infection of some kind but it's probably manageable ... but if it starts to come out green and with a really awful smell you may need to bump things up a notch antibiotic-wise.

Apologies to any squeamish readers.


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## JIL (Aug 25, 2007)

thanks , it wasn't smelly she is doing well today and there was just one spot kinda near her back right leg on her belly so it could have been a nick on something but not sure what. as there is cattle panel all the way around. thanks JIL


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

Do rinse it again today or tomorrow - they will seal over and fill up with guck again if not fully rinsed out and cleaned for a few days running. If it does that, it can spread and get really unpleasant (learned this the hard way with a couple of vet visits to sedate the sheep and finally get it all flushed out - he's my ram so it was worth it for him!).

Catch her and tip her over, give it a good washing daily until the day you go to rinse it out and find it spits out completely clear whatever you squirted into it. Then you should be good to go!


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