Pig Hernia or ?

Hello,

I was looking at my pigs today and noticed what I think is a hernia but am not sure and have no idea what to do about it. He is 15 weeks old and is a Berkshire. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Karen

Looks just like a pig with one testicle to me. Maybe the other one will drop soon. Though my pig experience is limited so take that with a grain of salt.

Does he seem distressed by it?

What are your plans for this pig? Breeder or feeder?
If he seems ok with it then I would just watch for any signs of trouble. Otherwise... keep on truckin

Our plans are as a feeder pig. They are all suppose to be castrated but I was worried they missed one pig or one testicle. If it is a testicle, is the meat already in danger of being tainted? I am not sure if I should see about having a vet remove the testicle or sell him right now as a BBQ pig. Should I separate him from the other pigs (his litter mates including females and castrated males)?

Thanks,
Karen

I've not raised any castrated pigs. All of mine have come with all their pieces in tact. That being said, I've never experienced a difference in meat flavor between males or females that I've raised. I'm under the impression that taint is as much about environment and feed as it is about genetics and individual variability. So... there's a lot that can be said about it.

If It were me and I had other pigs along with Mr. One Nut, I'd take my chances and raise him out as planned. At the very least you'll get to know if having the testicle made a difference by comparing his flavor to the others in the herd. I suppose the only other concern is that he'd mate with another pig. I guess you're going to have to make a call on that one.

I know that Walter J has a great mound of info on this particular topic. Searching in any of the pig threads will likely take you to some high quality post by him. Alternately you could go to Sugar mountain farm and spend the next few hours reading all of the intricacies of pork. It's quite a treasure trove and I have always found what I was looking for there.

Good luck.

That is an Inguinial Hernia, most common in males and happens in 3-5%. It can cause death if it impacts but rare. DO NOT CASTRATE.