06/16/2026
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ โ๐ ๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐๐: ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐
๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ตโฆ
This past winter we shared a post about the potential value of letting some sows farrow naturally, and quite a few folks chimed in with stories about disasters they had experienced after induction.
And you know what?
I believe those stories.
But I also think farrowing itself can be a disasterโwith or without induction. When something goes wrong, it's human nature to blame the last thing we did. Temporal association is an easy target.
With that in mind, we decided to experiment. We stepped away from our normal induction protocol and let this season's sows and gilts write more of their own schedule.
Three observations stood out enough that I wrote them down.
๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐: Natural labor did not eliminate problems.
We still had an occasional stillborn piglet. We still saw breech presentations. Some first- and second-parity mothers that were difficult the first time around were still difficult this time and still attempted to savage piglets. We still had to assist some of the old girls.
Mother Nature is good.
She is not perfect.
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ: Once our naturally farrowing females developed vulvar discharge, many of them seemed to transition into active labor surprisingly quickly.
In some of our induced litters over the years, it has occasionally felt like there was more waiting between those first subtle signs and pigs actually hitting the ground. I can't tell you that's a universal truth or anything more than an observation from our own farm, but it was noticeable enough that I wrote it down.
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฑ: We were delivering a whole lot more pigs at 2 a.m.
Turns out when you let sows make the scheduleโฆ they don't check your calendar first.
And that brings me to perhaps the biggest takeaway.
๐๐ง ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐'๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข ๐-๐ด๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐'๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ด๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฆโ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด.
I'd much rather induce her, have the truck fueled, the supplies ready, and extra eyes available than have her decide to begin labor at 3 a.m. while everyone is exhausted from farrowing week.
Don't ask me how I know.
One other point that's worth mentioning: not all induction protocols are created equal.
Many producers who have sworn off induction describe experiences that sound remarkably similar to what we encountered years ago using Lutalyse. In our own side-by-side experience, we have consistently preferred Estrumate. Subjectively, the transition into labor has often seemed gentler and more orderly, making it our induction protocol of choice when we elect to induce.
For those curious, here's what that has looked like on our farm:
๐ ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น
๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: Estrumateยฎ (cloprostenol)
๐
๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ด: Approximately Day 113 of gestation
๐ฝ ๐๐ฑ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: 1 mL injected into the perivulvar tissue
โฐ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐: Piglets generally begin arriving within 24โ36 hours, although females that are already bagged up, producing milk, and clearly on the verge of labor may begin within just a few hours.
โ ๏ธ Important: Estrumate is a prescription medication, and its use for farrowing induction in swine is off-label. This protocol should only be undertaken under the guidance of a licensed veterinarian within a valid veterinarian-client-patient relationship.
The older I get as a veterinarianโand as a humanโthe less interested I become in absolutes.
I don't think induction is inherently superior.
I certainly don't think it's inherently inferior.
As we say so often in medicine:
"What's the best option?"
"It depends."
Induction is a tool.
For an older sow I trust with her pigletsโand on a night when I'm rested and able to monitor her closelyโI still think letting Mother Nature take her course can be an excellent option.
But there are absolutely situations where controlling the timeline may change outcomes for the better.
As always, I hope sharing what we've experienced and learned helps someone else, in partnership with their veterinarian, make the best decision for their own herd.
โ Dr. Jett Eder
