lump near nipple

Question
QUESTION: we have a 3year old male who has never bred and about two months ago, we put him with two females having been told that at his age, he would not mate.  We really aren't sure if he has or not but he has been getting along well with them until yesterday. From the behavior we saw - chasing each other, fussing etc - we assumed that the older female was in heat.  Tonite we noticed that our male had blood around one of his eyes and one nostril.  We weren't able to see any obvious injuries except a small area that looks a little raw between two toes on his front foot.  We can't tell if the blood on his face came from his nose, eye or maybe was on his foot when he rubbed his face.  However, while we were looking him over, we noticed that one of his nipples was quite enlarged and right next to it is a fair sized, non-tender, moveable lump.  We don't know how long it has been there but we do hold him everyday and probably would have noticed it if it had been there more than a few days.  We are planning to take him to the vet ASAP but they never really seem to be able to diagnose our pigs very accurately.  We have much more faith in someone like yourself who has seen a lot of pigs.  Have you ever seen anything like this before and do you think it could somehow be related to him mating or not being able to mate the females? We would appreciate anything you can tell us.

ANSWER: Hi Candie

Firstly, sorry for the delay in replying my wife was in hospital.

From what you tell me, it seems likely that the injuries and the lump were caused by one of the females. It seems to me that, despite the previous advice you received, the male tried to mate with one of the girls and the girl didnt want to. Sometimes, if the male persists she can actually turn on the male and fight and because males dont usually fight back they get hurt.

I am sure the vet will be able to treat the wounds fine but if you need any more information please come back to me.

andy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your reply Andy - hope your wife is feeling better.  We took Rusty, our pig to the vet the day after I e-mailed you. Rather than a tumor, she thinks he may have a case of mastitis - an infection/inflammation of the mammary gland - and prescribed antibiotics and warm compresses.  She also was able to express a fair amount of bloody fluid from his nipple and encouraged us to do the same a couple of times a day at home.  We were quite relieved - although still not totally convinced - that it isn't a tumor. After three days of the treatment, the lump does seem to be getting a little smaller and he acts just fine.  He is active, eating and seems very happy and content with the girls.  We don't think the blood came from an injury but quite possibly was a bloody discharge from the nipple when he was cleaning himself.  Have you had any experience with this type of condition?
Candie

Answer
Hi Candie

Thanks, my wife is back home now. She injured her hand but I am looking after her :)

I havent personally got any experience with this condition but the shrinking of the lump, good appetite indicates that the vet has given the correct treatment. Please keep me posted.

andy