# wattle cyst?



## hobbyfarmer (Oct 10, 2007)

I have a young doeling with wattles. She's just turning 4 months old and she's healthy but I have noticed a wattle cyst forming right at the base of one wattle. It's not growing, doesn't appear to be anywhere near bursting. It's small, only slightly larger than the wattle. It's a cyst - definitely not an abcess. The thing is, I would like to show her in September but I'm not sure about what happens with a cyst? She's very healthy but should I try to drain it? Everything I've read online says it will just keep coming back but this is only my 2nd goat with wattles so I don't know anything about it. Will it even affect her in the ring? What should I do with it?

TIA!


----------



## pookshollow (Aug 22, 2005)

I'd say you have two options: 1) try and drain the cyst; 2) remove the wattle. You can do that with a piece of strong thread, tied tightly around the base. Keep an eye on it that it doesn't get infected - in fact, I would soak the thread and the wattle in iodine before tying it.

Also, have you checked to see if another goat is sucking on it? That can cause a sore.

Good luck.


----------



## AnnaS (Nov 29, 2003)

It won't affect her in the ring, but knobs/lumps can (and should) be barred from showing by the show vet on suspicion of CL. If it's a really big cyst, it could make her throatlatch look thick, which is undesirable in the show ring. But there is no specific deduction for a wattle cyst.
Last year, I had a show doeling with a large wattle cyst. I would stick a syringe in the cyst and drain it. the cyst eventually developed a fistula and now I just squeeze it and the fluid squirts out.


----------



## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

Besides that I think they detract from the look of the doe  we removed them for this exact reason. Vicki


----------



## hobbyfarmer (Oct 10, 2007)

pookshollow: Thanks. I had heard of removing them at birth but I do actually like the look of them and never considered removal until this came up. How long does it take them to fall off and are you sure 4 months isn't too late?

AnnaS: I agree that a "lump" should be grounds for barring a goat from the ring but this little thing is so obviously a cyst - it's not even really any bigger in diameter than her wattle is; it just looks sort of like the head on snowman. Make sense? Like there is an invisible band between the cyst that has formed at the base of the wattle and the rest of the wattle. I'll try and get a good photo of it in a minute. I don't worry that it may be confused with CL but I did worry that it may be an obvious no-no to a judge. 

Vicki: Did you mean the cyst detracts from her appearance or the wattles themselves? I love the wattles but I do think the cyst does detract from her appearance. She has a very long, graceful neck but the funny looking wattle on that side just messes up the whole picture. 

I will try and get a photo before I drain it and then again afterwards.

Thanks so much for all your help. )


----------



## Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians (May 6, 2002)

I don't like the looks of wattles so we just opened up the skin and cut them out. By using castration bands or snipping at birth you end up with little pieces left on the doe, small indentations etc... and you can still get cysts. Vicki


----------



## pookshollow (Aug 22, 2005)

> How long does it take them to fall off and are you sure 4 months isn't too late?


I haven't actually done one - like you, they really don't worry me. I just know that when my yearling had an inflamed wattle, I was told that it was possible to do it. I'm guessing it would take two or three weeks to fall off, maybe less (thinking about banding bucklings). I ended up not doing my yearling - hers was inflamed because she had a "grass-seed" abscess in her cheek and she was rubbing it.


----------



## hobbyfarmer (Oct 10, 2007)

Vicki McGaugh TX Nubians said:


> I don't like the looks of wattles so we just opened up the skin and cut them out. By using castration bands or snipping at birth you end up with little pieces left on the doe, small indentations etc... and you can still get cysts. Vicki


  Well, I haven't even gotten up the nerve to surgically castrate my boys yet. I'm definitely not qualified to be cutting on any necks and if that's the only way to guarantee cysts will never form, I guess I won't bother trying to remove the wattles in the future either. I had considered the fishing line method at birth but there's no sense in messing with it if a cyst may still pop up. I also have an unrelated adult doe with wattles so between the two girls, I know we'll have more of them popping up my herd. 

I did manage to drain this one. It's not completely gone but it's not obvious at this point so I can manage it that way. 

Thanks!


----------



## Qvrfullmidwife (Jan 10, 2004)

Even with the wattle gone you may have a cyst. In fact we have discovered that in a bloodline that tends to have wattles sometimes you may have what appears to be a wattle cyst with no evidence of a wattle!


----------

