Antibiotics and medicines to keep on hand

My vet suggested we keep a good broad spectrum anti-biotic (LA200) or something like that on hand, just to save him a trip and me the expense. Also we keep wormer (Ivermectin) , pre-breeding and pre-farrowing vaccinations around. For the piglets we keep iron and some immunizations as preventative, a quick read thermometer, syringes and needles. Our vet is great, he has talked us through a lot, he eats pork too. When it comes to steroids, hormones and the such when needed, he has to come out or we take him the hog (easier said then done). Farrowed once and the sow got a serious infection from a mummy, (109 degree fever) went from great to almost dead in a few hours, thank God for our vet... had her on her feet and nursing in about 6 hours. Almost lost a 40lb due to severe sunburn, resulting in dipody pig syndrome, then worked into paralysis, the vet saver her as well, turned out to be one of the best we raised.... I always seek his advice before administering any meds. Just be very observant, spend time with the hogs, watch and listen, and be specific with the vet... the more info they have the better for everyone. Find a good vet that will work with you, not all of them are in it for the money... We are not vets, but a good vet can talk you through a lot.

I would suggest having iodine, garlic powder, ivermec or fenbendazole and mud on hand.

If they get a wound or skin infection wash them down with a water-iodine mix. It doesn't take much iodine, just a few tablespoons per bucket. You should be able to smell it strongly but not have your eyes water.

The garlic makes a good dewormer for normal feeding. The ivermec is a backup incase of a strong infection (sign of a weak pig) or when getting new stock (quarantine for a month). Observer withdrawal times if you use commercial drugs.

The mud is a wallow in the warm season for the pigs. Cools them, protects their skin, keeps off UV, insects, etc. I don't suggest mud bathing with the pigs as they defecate and pee in their mud to improve it's quality. It's a pig thing.

Antibiotics are almost never needed. We have 400 pigs on our pastures which translates to many thousands of pigs over the past decade and haven't given antibiotics to pigs in years. Had a sow with a bad infection about a decade ago but otherwise the above does the job. Unfortunately antibiotics get used for a lot of things that they don't do any good such as viral. There are new laws / regulations going in about antibiotic use in livestock. We'll see how that settles out.

Pigs are very robust. The key is to breed for hardy stock and provide good conditions with plenty of space. Don't close them in. Bad air is bad for you and bad for the livestock.