You are contacted by the manager of a sow farm who reports t…

You are contacted by the manager of a sow farm who reports that he is seeing “pigs born with diarrhea”. He has recently gone through an accelerated rollover to correct a parity distribution problem in the herd. As a result, there are disproportionately more P1 litters than typical.   Preventive measures you recommend will include:

It is 4 am on 17 FEB and it is about 35 degrees and snowing…

It is 4 am on 17 FEB and it is about 35 degrees and snowing outside. Your least favorite show pig client calls because his old reliable sow (8th parity) that consistently produces show-winning progeny is in the process of farrowing and he believes she is not making adequate progress. She has delivered 6 pigs so far (she usually produces 11-13 without assistance). She has been in labor more than 4 hours and the last pig came 45 minutes ago. He is understandably upset and wants to know if you can get your lazy self out of bed and come help his sow. As you drive out to the site, you are playing out the likely scenario in your mind:

Your spouse’s best friend, Ms. Sue U. Soon, has a child who…

Your spouse’s best friend, Ms. Sue U. Soon, has a child who is involved in the show pig circuit with a 5-month old female pig. During the show season, you are attending a birthday party for one of the children in that family. The family friend asks you to take a quick look at the show pigs “as long as you are here anyway”. The pig appears generally healthy, but is slightly off-feed and has a mild-to-moderate greenish colored diarrhea. The child who shows the pig has just started with an explosive diarrhea. She wants to know what is affecting the pig and does it have anything to do with the diarrhea in the child. You tell her that: