Eder Veterinary Enterprises, LLC

Eder Veterinary Enterprises, LLC Improving evaluation. Elevating care. Optimizing success. Dr. Jett the Vet! Full-time small & mixed animal relief veterinarian. Licensed in SD, KS, AR, AZ & MO.

07/17/2026
Summer farrowing season is upon usโ€” here sharing the experiences on our small case study this past winter. To induce or ...
06/16/2026

Summer farrowing season is upon usโ€” here sharing the experiences on our small case study this past winter. To induce or not induceโ€” that is always the question. In my estimationโ€” it pretty much always depends.

๐•‹๐•  ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐•ฆ๐•”๐•– ๐• ๐•ฃ โ„•๐• ๐•ฅ ๐•€๐•Ÿ๐••๐•ฆ๐•”๐•–: ๐•‹๐•™๐•š๐•ค ๐•€๐•ค ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐•Š๐•–๐•ข๐•ฆ๐•–๐• ๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ’‰

๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜‘๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ตโ€ฆ

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 disasterโ€”with 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.
๐—™๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜: 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.

๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ: 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.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ: We were delivering a whole lot more pigs at 2 a.m.
Turns out when you let sows make the scheduleโ€ฆ they don't check your calendar first.
And that brings me to perhaps the biggest takeaway.

๐˜๐˜ง ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜'๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ข ๐˜Š-๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ, ๐˜'๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆโ€”๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด.

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:

๐Ÿ“Œ ๐—ข๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ ๐—ณ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—น
๐Ÿ’‰๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: Estrumateยฎ (cloprostenol)
๐Ÿ“… ๐—ง๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด: Approximately Day 113 of gestation
๐Ÿฝ ๐—”๐—ฑ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป: 1 mL injected into the perivulvar tissue
โฐ ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ฒ ๐˜๐˜†๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜: Piglets generally begin arriving within 24โ€“36 hours, although females that are already bagged up, producing milk, and clearly on the verge of labor may begin within just a few hours.

โš ๏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 veterinarianโ€”and as a humanโ€”the 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 pigletsโ€”and on a night when I'm rested and able to monitor her closelyโ€”I 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

06/11/2026
A lot of conversations right now are centered around New World Screwwormโ€”and rightfully so.As more cases are identified ...
06/10/2026

A lot of conversations right now are centered around New World Screwwormโ€”and rightfully so.

As more cases are identified in the United States, producers are looking for practical tools that may help reduce risk in livestock they simply cannot afford to put at risk. USDA, state animal health officials, and industry partners are emphasizing wound management, surveillance, and rapid response as the first line of defense.

Iโ€™ll be honest: Iโ€™m not saying this as a cattle veterinarian.

Iโ€™m saying it as a small animal veterinarian who has spent years using isoxazolines in companion animalsโ€”and occasionally off-label in a porcine patient dealing with external parasite challenges.

There is simply nothing else quite like this class of products.

DISCLAIMER: They are not cheap. If you are working with super tight margins, they may not be your first-line prevention strategy. But when weโ€™re discussing high-value animals, premium prevention tools deserve a seat at the table.

But they are one of the few modern parasite-control tools that changed the game.

On fleas.

On mange.

On mites.

In ways that still make me stop and stare at what veterinary medicine is capable of.

Thatโ€™s why products like Exzolt have my attention.

Not because somebody told me they should.

Not because theyโ€™re trendy.

But because Exzolt is a fluralaner.

And after watching what this class of compounds has done for parasite control over the last decade, I pay attention when one receives a conditional approval for the prevention and treatment of New World Screwworm larvae.

If I owned a high-value animal that was traveling, showing, or being exposed to increased animal traffic, I would absolutely be having a conversation with my veterinarian about whether a product like Exzolt made sense as part of that animalโ€™s risk-management plan.

Not because itโ€™s a silver bullet.

Not because it replaces biosecurity.

Not because it eliminates the need for daily observation, wound care, fly control, and common sense.

But because when it comes to ectoparasite control, Iโ€™ve spent enough years watching isoxazolines work in dogs and cats to know they deserve my attention.

The reality is that New World Screwworm is a maggot problem that starts as a fly problem.

Thatโ€™s why prevention, surveillance, and early intervention matter so much.

The livestock industry will ultimately rely on multiple toolsโ€”surveillance, sterile fly programs, wound management, approved antiparasitics, and producer vigilanceโ€”to get ahead of this challenge.

For now, my message is simple:

If you have an animal that will be leaving the farm and coming back, donโ€™t wait until you have a problem to start asking questions about parasite prevention strategies.

The cheapest time to manage a parasite is before you ever see one.

I donโ€™t care if itโ€™s a dog or hog, cat or cow.

โ€” Jett the Vet

๐Ÿ‘€
04/29/2026

๐Ÿ‘€

๐Ÿ‘๏ธ ๐—Ÿ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—•๐—ฒ๐˜†๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฑ โ€œ๐—ฆ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ปโ€™ ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ก๐˜‚๐—ณ๐—น๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—œ๐—ป ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—˜๐˜†๐—ฒโ€

๐Ÿ”จ ๐•‚๐•–๐•–๐•ก๐•š๐•Ÿ' ๐•‹๐•™๐•– โ„๐•’๐•ž๐•ž๐•–๐•ฃ ๐•†๐•ฆ๐•ฅ ๐• ๐•— ๐•ฅ๐•™๐•– ๐”ป๐•š๐•ฅ๐•”๐•™๐•–๐•ค ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿž ๐Ÿ›‘

๐˜Œ๐˜บ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด.

If I had a dime for every time I get asked about eyesโ€”
โ€œ๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด?โ€
โ€œ๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ?โ€
โ€œ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜น ๐˜ช๐˜ต?โ€
โ€ฆIโ€™d have a lot of dimes.
And Iโ€™d still cringe a little every time.

Because the truth isโ€”๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ข ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด.
โ€ข Was the pig like this when you bought it?
โ€ข Has it gotten worse?
โ€ข Whatโ€™s the air quality like where it lives?
โ€ข Is it just red and watery?
โ€ข Or is there thick, mucoid discharge?
๐Ÿ‘‰ Those answers matter more than the product you reach for.

๐Ÿง  ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฝ ๐—ข๐—ป๐—ฒโ€”๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฆ๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ด๐—น๐—ฒ
Letโ€™s just call it what it is.
Pigs donโ€™t love having their eyes handled.
And eyes are sensitive.
So now youโ€™re trying to:
โ€ข treat a delicate structure
โ€ข on an animal that resists
โ€ข restraint adds stressโ€”and chaos
๐Ÿ‘‰ Compliance becomes the limiting factorโ€”fast.

๐Ÿงผ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—œ๐˜ ๐—–๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ป
This should be obviousโ€”but itโ€™s not.
If the eye is crusted, dirty, and full of debrisโ€ฆ
and youโ€™re asking why it looks badโ€”

๐Ÿ‘‰ ๐˜š๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ต.
โ€ข Warm, clean water
โ€ข Soft rag
โ€ข Gently wipe away debris
โ€ข Use a warm compress
โ€ข Flush gently with warmed contact solution

Fighting infection doesnโ€™t always mean ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ด.
Sometimes it means removing ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ตโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ต.

And do it with some intention:
โ€ข Be gentle
โ€ข Be patient
โ€ข Donโ€™t make it a traumatic event

๐Ÿ‘‰ Pig memory is real.
If you turn this into a fight, you just made tomorrow harder.

๐ŸŒฌ๏ธ ๐—˜๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐— ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€
If eyes develop under your care:

๐Ÿ‘‰ Air quality should be your first priority.
โ€ข Ammonia
โ€ข Dust
โ€ข Poor airflow
These are major drivers.

Non-negotiables:
โ€ข Clean pens
โ€ข Keep urine managed
โ€ข Use products like zeolite / Stall-Dry
โ€ข Improve ventilation

And when you check air quality:
Get down at the pigโ€™s level and breathe.
3โ€“4 feet higher isnโ€™t the same environment.

๐ŸŒพ ๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—œ๐—ฟ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป
Look for foreign material:
โ€ข Straw
โ€ข Feed
โ€ข Dust

These cases:
โ€ข Come on quickly
โ€ข Often affect one eye more than the other
โ€ข Donโ€™t improve until the irritation is gone
๐Ÿ‘‰ This is where flushing and cleaning actually matter most.

๐Ÿ”ฅ ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด
โ€ฆ youโ€™ve done all that.
You came here to learn something about the hard ones.

So, letโ€™s talk about it.

The chronic ones, the inflamed ones, the thickened ones.
โ€ข Itโ€™s been 7โ€“10 days and non-responsive to treatments
โ€ข Thickened, elevated third eyelid (not just acute irritation)
โ€ข Minimal purulent discharge
โ€ข Swollen 3rd eyelids

๐˜โ€™๐˜ฎ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฃ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ.

These:
โ€ข Might mildly improveโ€ฆ then come back
โ€ข or never fully resolve
๐Ÿ‘‰ Because now youโ€™re not just dealing with irritationโ€”
youโ€™re dealing with an inflammatory process thatโ€™s established.

๐Ÿ’Š ๐—ง๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€
Veterinary grade ophthalmic topicals can helpโ€”no question.
But:
โ€ข small tubes
โ€ข expensive
โ€ข hard to apply consistently

๐Ÿ‘‰ In the real world, that limits their effectiveness.
So when:
โ€ข youโ€™ve cleaned the eye
โ€ข fixed the environment
โ€ข done your due diligence
โ€ฆand youโ€™re still not winningโ€”
Thatโ€™s when the conversation changes.

๐Ÿ’‰ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ โ€œ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ช๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐˜€โ€
Youโ€™ll hear a lot of things:
โ€ข Topical Antibiotic Ointments
โ€ข Steroids
โ€ข Even putting injectable products in the eye

Some people swear by it.
And sometimesโ€ฆ it looks like it works.

But:
Different problems respond to different tools.
Thatโ€™s why results are all over the board.

๐Ÿง  ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—œ ๐—ฆ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ ๐—ข๐—ป ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ง๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ด๐—ต ๐—ข๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€
In the more advanced, chronic cases I manage:
Itโ€™s often not until we address the inflammatory cascadeโ€”
sometimes with ๐˜ข ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ-๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜บ like Depo-Medrolโ€”
that we see sustained improvement.

Not because every pig needs it.
Most definitely do not.
But some cases arenโ€™t just infectionโ€”theyโ€™re inflammation.

โš ๏ธ ๐—ช๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด
That kind of treatment:
โ€ข isnโ€™t for every case
โ€ข isnโ€™t something to casually reach for
โ€ข should ALWAYS involve your veterinarian

Because:
โ€ข there are real risks
โ€ข and it needs to be used appropriately
โ€ข major withdrawal considerations

๐Ÿ”‘ ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—œ ๐—›๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฑ:
If you want better outcomes:
Donโ€™t start with โ€œwhat do I treat this with?โ€

Start with:
โ€œWhy does this eye look like this?โ€

Because:
โ€ข Cause drives symptoms
โ€ข Cause drives treatment
โ€ข Cause explains why some pigs respondโ€”and others donโ€™t

๐Ÿ’ฌ๐—›๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ง๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ
Eyes arenโ€™t simple.
But the people who get the best results donโ€™t just treat themโ€”
๐Ÿ‘‰ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ.

๐™ณ๐š’๐šœ๐šŒ๐š•๐šŠ๐š’๐š–๐šŽ๐š›: Iโ€™m not your vet. I wonโ€™t prescribe over the internet.
But I hope this helps you have a better conversation with the one youโ€™ve got.
If pigs arenโ€™t their wheelhouseโ€”be easy to help. Donuts help.

Draxxin KP and small ruminants is a no-go for me. If youโ€™ve used it with no consequenceโ€” congrats. If youโ€™ve experienced...
04/21/2026

Draxxin KP and small ruminants is a no-go for me. If youโ€™ve used it with no consequenceโ€” congrats. If youโ€™ve experienced an unexpected lossโ€”you have my condolences.

Stick with Draxxin. Use an anti-inflammatory, if itโ€™s indicated, separately.

There's been some significant conversation online lately about the use of Draxxin KP in sheep. If you Google, use AI, or even talk to most vets... beyond the fact it is not labeled for sheep (what is? ๐Ÿ™„) there is some pretty inconclusive advice out there.

๐ŸšจWe're not vets but we and customers of ours have absolutely lost sheep to allergic reactions to Draxxin KP.๐Ÿšจ

After talking with experts, Zoetis, and doing a good bit of research weโ€™ve learned some critical safety information:

1๏ธโƒฃ Draxxin KP is NOT for Sheep
While standard Draxxin is a staple for foot rot and pneumonia, Draxxin KP (the combination with Ketoprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory) is only labeled for cattle. The "KP" component hasn't been proven effective in sheep, and more importantly, the carrier/excipient used to stabilize the medication (likely polyethylene glycol) can trigger violent, often fatal, allergic reactions in sheep.
2๏ธโƒฃ Dexamethasone will not save you
If a sheep has a reaction to Draxxin KP, your instinct might be to reach for dexamethasone to stop the reaction. STOP. ๐Ÿ›‘
Standard dexamethasone often uses the same type of carrier (PEG) as Draxxin KP. It can actually worsen the anaphylaxis instead of fixing it.
3๏ธโƒฃ Have epinephrine ready
No matter what you are injecting, whether it be vaccines, antibiotics, or otherwise, anaphylaxis can happen. Epinephrine and a fresh syringe should be kept close at hand. It is likely the only thing that can save them when a reaction hits.

Weโ€™re sharing this because we donโ€™t want anyone else to go through the losses we (and others we know) have experienced. Please double-check your med cabinet and talk to your vet about the carriers in the drugs you use!

As the man behind the curtain, I highly recommend showpig enthusiasts take a look at the latest from Eder Showpigs. Impr...
04/14/2026

As the man behind the curtain, I highly recommend showpig enthusiasts take a look at the latest from Eder Showpigs.

Improving evaluation. Elevating care. Optimizing success.

Itโ€™s kind of my thing.

-Jett The Vet

I love pigs. But as patients, they can beโ€ฆ a challenge. Re**al fluids can a novel option to support hydration when they ...
04/08/2026

I love pigs.

But as patients, they can beโ€ฆ a challenge. Re**al fluids can a novel option to support hydration when they wonโ€™t eat, wonโ€™t drink, and the medications we are using to make them better maybe harmful in a dehydrated patient.

One more tool for the toolbox.

๐Ÿ”จ ๐•‚๐”ผ๐”ผโ„™๐•€โ„•โ€™ ๐•‹โ„๐”ผ โ„๐”ธ๐•„๐•„๐”ผโ„ ๐•†๐•Œ๐•‹ ๐•†๐”ฝ ๐•‹โ„๐”ผ ๐”ป๐•€๐•‹โ„‚โ„๐”ผ๐•Š ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿœ ๐Ÿ”จ

๐Ÿšจ๐Ÿ’ง๐—›๐—ฌ๐——๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ง๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก ๐Ÿต๐Ÿญ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿ’ง ๐Ÿšจ

Weโ€™ve all been there.

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ช๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ.
๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ.
๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ.

The moment after we gave that Hail Mary shot of dexamethasone and the flavor-of-the-night antibioticโ€ฆ
and ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ.

The pig isnโ€™t fighting the needle.
It isnโ€™t fighting much of anythingโ€”except maybe to breathe. ๐Ÿฅบ

They arenโ€™t eating.
They arenโ€™t moving.

๐Ÿ‘‰ And you can bet with certaintyโ€”๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฉ๐˜บ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ.

๐Ÿ‘‰ And thatโ€™s where a bad situation goes to worse in a hurry.

๐Ÿฅค๐—™๐—œ๐—ฅ๐—ฆ๐—ง ๐—ฅ๐—จ๐—Ÿ๐—˜: ๐—ข๐—ฅ๐—”๐—Ÿ ๐—ช๐—œ๐—ก๐—ฆ

If they will drink anything at all:

๐Ÿ‘‰ That is your best move. Every time.

๐™‹๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™  ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™‹๐™ช๐™ง๐™ฅ๐™ก๐™š โ†’ highly palatable, drives intake
๐™‹๐™ง๐™ž๐™ข๐™ค ๐™‹๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™  ๐˜ฟ๐™ง๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™  โ†’ highly palatable, drives intake
๐˜—๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜บ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ โ†’ solid backup

๐Ÿ‘‰ Donโ€™t outthink this.

If theyโ€™ll take it by mouthโ€”lean into it hard.

โš ๏ธ ๐—ช๐—›๐—˜๐—ก ๐—ง๐—ข ๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—˜๐—ฃ ๐—œ๐—ก ๐— ๐—ข๐—ฅ๐—˜

If they:

wonโ€™t drink
wonโ€™t eat
look drawn up, weak, fading

๐Ÿ‘‰ Weโ€™re in a different spot.

๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜๐˜บ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ 911.

This is where we talk about something you may not have considered:

๐Ÿ‘‰๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ณ๐—น๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐˜€.

(Yeahโ€ฆ butt stuff. Donโ€™t make it weird.)

In showpigs, this can be one of the most practical ways to support hydration while ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ป.

Re**al fluids are NOT a replacement.

๐Ÿ‘‰ They are a supplement when oral fails.

๐Ÿ”ง ๐—ง๐—ข๐—ข๐—Ÿ๐—ฆ (๐—ž๐—˜๐—˜๐—ฃ ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜๐—ฆ๐—˜ ๐—ข๐—ก ๐—›๐—”๐—ก๐——)
Red rubber catheter (12โ€“14 French)
60 mL catheter-tip syringe

Simple. Cheap. Worth having before you need them.

You can get both:

from your veterinarian ๐Ÿ†
or online

๐Ÿ‘‰ Donโ€™t wait until youโ€™re in a wreck to wish you had them.

๐Ÿง‚๐Ÿ’ง ๐—˜๐— ๐—˜๐—ฅ๐—š๐—˜๐—ก๐—–๐—ฌ ๐— ๐—œ๐—ซ (๐—ฆ๐—”๐—ฉ๐—˜ ๐—ง๐—›๐—œ๐—ฆ)

No fluids on hand?

๐Ÿ‘‰ 2 liters warm water + 1 teaspoon table salt
(teaspoonโ€”not tablespoon)

Shake until dissolved.

โœ”๏ธ Sodium helps drive absorption
โœ”๏ธ Safe concentration
โœ”๏ธ Easy to make under pressure

๐Ÿ‘‰ Not perfect.
๐Ÿ‘‰ But it gets you in the game.

๐ŸŒก๏ธ ๐—ช๐—”๐—ฅ๐—  ๐—œ๐—ง

๐Ÿ‘‰ Target: 100โ€“102ยฐF

(Yesโ€”use your dadโ€™s meat thermometer to check it.)

Cold fluids slow absorption.
Warm fluids work with you.

๐Ÿ“Š๐Ÿ’ง ๐—›๐—ข๐—ช ๐— ๐—จ๐—–๐—› ๐—ง๐—ข ๐—š๐—œ๐—ฉ๐—˜ (๐—ฆ๐—–๐—”๐—Ÿ๐—˜๐—”๐—•๐—Ÿ๐—˜ ๐—ฅ๐—จ๐—Ÿ๐—˜)

๐Ÿ‘‰ 20โ€“40 mL per 10 lb bodyweight per dose

Real-world pigs:

50 lb โ†’ 100โ€“200 mL
75 lb โ†’ 150โ€“300 mL
100 lb โ†’ 200โ€“400 mL
150 lb โ†’ 300โ€“600 mL

โฑ๏ธ Repeat every 2โ€“4 hours as needed

๐Ÿ‘‰ Think: small, repeatable support
๐Ÿ‘‰ Not one big dump

๐Ÿฉบ ๐—›๐—ข๐—ช ๐—ง๐—ข ๐—š๐—œ๐—ฉ๐—˜ ๐—œ๐—ง
L**e the catheter
Lift the tail, insert gently
Go slow
Let it absorb

๐Ÿ‘‰ If it runs back outโ€”you went too fast or too much.

๐Ÿ‘‰ We are hydrating.
Not giving an e***a.

๐Ÿง  ๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—”๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—ง๐—ฌ ๐—–๐—›๐—˜๐—–๐—ž

If youโ€™re fighting them hardโ€”

๐Ÿ‘‰ pause.

A lot of those pigs are still better served pushing oral fluids first.

๐Ÿค ๐—ง๐—›๐—˜ ๐—•๐—œ๐—š๐—š๐—˜๐—ฅ ๐—ฃ๐—œ๐—–๐—ง๐—จ๐—ฅ๐—˜

There are a lot of reasons pigs get sick.
Hydration is just one piece.

But hereโ€™s the reality:

๐Ÿ‘‰ On most farmsโ€”if they wonโ€™t drink, they get nothing.

And nothingโ€ฆ is not good enough.

Showpigs arenโ€™t standard production.

We use tools like this because:

๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด
๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ
๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด

๐Ÿ‘‰ This is about supporting hydration
while you and your veterinarian manage the actual disease.

๐Ÿงฑ๐—ฅ๐—˜๐— ๐—˜๐— ๐—•๐—˜๐—ฅ

When it comes to hydrationโ€”
we donโ€™t need perfect.

But waiting on a truly sick pig to fix it on their own?..that can be a most dangerous game.

๐Ÿ‘‰ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ด ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ.

As a veterinarian on the tail end of a pig selling seasonโ€” Iโ€™m both exhausted and filled with gratitude. Exhausted by sh...
03/27/2026

As a veterinarian on the tail end of a pig selling seasonโ€” Iโ€™m both exhausted and filled with gratitude.

Exhausted by shallow, tire-kicking conversations devoid of connection. So grateful for those conversations of trust and commitment.

Allison May takes on so many great topics related the joys and frustrations of both breeders and exhibitors. Listen up. She might change your season. She might change your life. You just never know when you start working with Pinnacle Livestock Solutions.

Iโ€™m not sure whose idea it was (cough cough Tom Gourley) to ask me a bunch of my opinions and turn it into a podcast, but here it is ๐Ÿซฃ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿ‘‡๐ŸปGathered from ALOT of hard earned lessons & amazing people over the years. I hope you enjoy ๐Ÿ–ค

๐‚๐ก๐ž๐š๐ญ ๐‚๐จ๐๐ž๐ฌ - ๐’๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐’๐ญ๐จ๐œ๐ค ๐„๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐ž๐ฉ.๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ
Perception. Social media. Sale prices.

How much of show stock success is actually influenced by what people see vs whatโ€™s really there?

In this episode, Allison May (Pinnacle Livestock Solutions) helps break down:
โ€ข Where perception shows up in show stock
โ€ข Whether beginners should even worry about it
โ€ข And how real sale data is starting to change how we understand the market

If youโ€™re new to show stockโ€”or trying to level upโ€”this one will change how you think about the game.

๐—”๐˜ƒ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ท๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐˜€.
APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cheat-codes-show-stock-edition/id1835007763?i=1000755957092

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3W6Fr8TC2QFEYMaRwKMS5F?si=WfpejL8FS52uAEKHLwXqUA

Drop Tomโ€™s page a follow & tell the others!
Cheat Codes-Show Stock Edition

03/26/2026

๐š‚๐š˜ ๐šข๐š˜๐šž ๐š‹๐š˜๐šž๐š๐š‘๐š ๐šŠ ๐š‹๐š˜๐šŠ๐š›โ€ฆ ๐Ÿ—
โ€ฆ๐š‹๐šž๐š ๐šข๐š˜๐šž ๐š ๐šŠ๐š—๐š ๐š๐š˜ ๐šœ๐š‘๐š˜๐š  ๐šŠ ๐š‹๐šŠ๐š›๐š›๐š˜๐š .

Letโ€™s talk about that.
โ–ช๏ธ
Thereโ€™s a difference between:
๐Ÿ‘‰ gettinโ€™ er dun
and
๐Ÿ‘‰ how itโ€™s done

Over the last decade, Iโ€™ve worked on everything from routine castrations to p*e pocket removals and cryptorchid boars that require a higher level of surgical approach.
โ–ช๏ธ
All of my procedures are performed at ๐—”๐˜๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—”๐—ป๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฐ โ€”
in a fully equipped surgical setting ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ-๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ.
No chaos.
No rushing.
Just controlled, focused care.
โ–ช๏ธ
When I take one on, the goal is simple:
Minimize risk. Maximize patient comfort. Set them up to recover and keep moving forward.

That means:
โœ”๏ธ Sterile surgical technique
โœ”๏ธ Injectable + local anesthesia
โœ”๏ธ Gas anesthesia when indicated
โœ”๏ธ Oxygen support throughout
โœ”๏ธ Dedicated anesthetic monitoring (with an experienced assistant)
โœ”๏ธ Antibiotic coverage
โœ”๏ธ Real pain management
โ–ช๏ธ
This is not a high-stress, get-it-over-with approach.
This is:
๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜†, ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜†.
โ–ช๏ธ
Why does that matter?
Because the ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ pig in your barnโ€ฆ
is ๐˜ข ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ.
โ–ช๏ธ
These pigs are:
โ€ข an investment
โ€ข a project
โ€ข and for a lot of families โ€” a season defining animal
The goal isnโ€™t just to get them through itโ€ฆ
itโ€™s to get them back on track and progressing.
โ–ช๏ธ
Letโ€™s be clearโ€”
There are a lot of ways to get a boar converted to a barrow.
And we recognize this level of care โ€” and the price point that comes with it โ€” wonโ€™t be for everyone.

๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆโ€™๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ช๐˜ต.

Because we believe minimizing risk and prioritizing comfort matters.
โ–ช๏ธ
This service is built for people who:
โœ”๏ธ value thoughtful, low-stress care
โœ”๏ธ want to reduce complications
โœ”๏ธ and understand what they have in one
โ–ช๏ธ
If youโ€™ve got one that needs attention โ€” routine or not โ€” Iโ€™m happy to talk through it and make a plan.

Limited dates available for scheduling.

๐Ÿ“ฉ Shoot me a message.

Address

Sioux Falls, SD
57105

Website

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