During the last year?s Swedish agriculture have had difficult times, with decreasing prices and at the same time increasing production costs, which has led to bad profitability and faith in the future. The dairies in Sweden have also had a rough time and there have been large rationalizations during the years. In the beginning of the 20th century there were almost 1700 diaries in the Swedish countryside. There has been a large technical development during the 20th century resulting in a decrease in diaries to only 46 in the whole country today. They are owned by 15 diary companies, of which 7 large and dominate on the market and the rest are small-scale companies. With this development the confidence and feeling for the diary companies also has decreased.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect on growth of foals on two different diets, either a forage-based diet or a diet containing approx. 40 % concentrate. The report also includes a review of the pertinent literature on the effects of diet on mares? milk and growth of horses. The hypothesis of the study was that a forage based diet will result in a similar growth pattern as a diet including more concentrates if the diets contain the same amount of energy, crude protein, lysine, calcium and phosphorous.

Particular to the cat among our pets is its´ unique nutritional needs and metabolism. The cat cannot produce some nutrients by themselves and must get them through their diet. This means that the cat quickly can suffer from various diseases unless the nutritional needs are covered. In those cases where man is completely in control of the cat?s diet, the right knowledge is crucial for the cat?s wellbeing.

In the Maasai Mara National Reserve the native people, the Maasai, have lived for a long time following their own traditions. Their traditional lifestyle is that of a nomadic people, leading their cattle to the best grazing. Sharing their land with a large variation of different animals, one of them being the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana), the Maasi people have since long adapted to a life side by side with these giants, as well as the fierce predators living in the area.The aim of this study is to determine whether the Maasai settlement, known as Boma, has any impact on the elephants in the surrounding area. In order to conclude whether the bomas has an impact or not, observations of the wildlife were carried out. Observations were conducted in two different seasons, in December 2003 and May/June in 2004.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heart disease in cats. Maine coon is one of the breeds where the disease is overrepresented. Studies have shown that HCM is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait in Maine Coon cats. This finding has led to cardiac screening using ultrasound in the breed. The results of the screening are used in a national breeding program constructed to reduce the spread and incidence of HCM in Maine Coon cats.

The preschool constitutes a big part of many children's everyday existence. Its contents are therefore of great importance and the environment deserves a well thoughtout design. In this study, surveys in field and literature have resulted in conclusions around how plants can be used in children's play environments, in order to contribute to the experiencerelated values. The aim is to present conclusions to lean on when drawing up designproposals for new playgrounds, especially where the natural conditions are not so favorable. The first question that is responded to is how plants can be used in order to enrich the children's play environments.

Today we keep our horses in a way that is easy for us humans but may not always be the most optimal way for the horse. Often the housing of the horse prevents the horse from performing behaviours that they have natural needs to perform. It is not unusual that animals that can not adapt to their environment develop abnormal behaviours. Many of our stabled horses therefore develop some kind of stereotypic behaviour. This study was made in purpose of comparing the behaviour of a weaving horse to two non-weaving horses under similar conditions, where one of the horses was stabled next to the weaving horse and the other horse was stabled further away in the same stable. Seven weaving horses were included in the study.

AbstractHerbivores can be classified into either hiders or followers depending on their postpartum behaviour. The two behaviour types affect the spatial relationship between the mother and her infant. Goats are seen as hiders, although the environment plays a central role when it comes to the behaviour. Therefore, in the first part of this study the aim was to investigate how the goat kids? spatial relationship changed in the transition from indoor housing to pasture.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a disease which causes vascular damage, stroke and premature death.Oxidative stress may play a role in the development of insulin resistance and diabetes. Selenium is amineral involved in the protection against oxidative stress, and has been thought to be favorable in theprevention of the disease. However, this has changed since trials observed positive correlationsbetween high selenium levels and incidence of type 2 diabetes.Objective: To examine the studies that investigates seleniums effect on the incidence of typ 2 diabetesSearch strategy: Searches have been done in PubMed and Scopus.Selection criteria: Included studies were human studies in English/Swedish with RCT or cohortdesign with the aim to investigate the correlation between selenium and incidence of type 2 diabetes.Excluded studies were studies whose aim was to investigate the role of selenium in patients withexisting diabetes. Studies regarding pregnant women, animals or children and with in vitro design werealso excluded. Of the studies found in Scopus where MeSH terms were available, the ones who did notinclude relevant terms were excluded.Data collection and analysis: Studies were collected according to the aforementioned criteria.

Chronic valvular disease (CVD) is the most common cardiac disease in dogs, which account for 75% of all the cardiac cases. Cavalier King Charles spaniel (CKCS) is the most affected breed and it´s 13th times more likely that a CKCS, between the age of 7-10 years, will die or be euthanized for cardiac disease, compared with other breeds. The prevalence has been proven to bee independent of coat color and weight but highly dependent on age and gender in CKCS. In 2001 the Swedish Kennelclub and the Special club for cavalier King Charles spaniel created a breeding program against CVD in CKCS. In this program dogs are not allowed to breed until 4 years of age and have to have a heart auscultation without murmurs.

SammanfattningMykotoxiner är sekundära metaboliter som kan bildas av vissa mögelsvampar. Idisslare har generellt ett högre skydd mot mykotoxiner än vad enkelmagade djur har då våmmens mikroorganismer kan fungera som ett extra skydd mot mykotoxikos. Trichotecenerna deoxynivalenol och T-2 toxin bryts ner till de-epoxymetaboliter i våmmen genom att dess toxiska epoxyring spjälkas bort. Deoxynivalenol metaboliseras helt eller delvis av våmmens mikroorganismer, medan T-2 toxinets nedbrytningskapacitet inte är lika hög. Aflatoxin B1 har en låg nedbrytbarhet, och inga metaboliter har kunnat detekteras i våmmen.

Vaccinology is an ever expanding field. As a member of the veterinary staff it is important to stay up to date with the continuous new scientific data and recommendations that affect the care that our companion animals receive at the veterinary clinic. This paper presents adverse vaccination reactions, their cause, risk factors and suggestions how we can minimize the risk of adverse vaccine events in dogs. Dog owners in Sweden were allowed to answer a questionnaire about adverse events following vaccination. Lethargy, edema and pruritus were among the most frequently seen adverse effects.

Green manuring is a way of creating an organic fertilizer by growing a crop that is mowed down. Besides the fertilizing effect this method has been shown to have a positive influ-ence on soil organic matter as well as weed flora, and green manure is an important me-thod of weed control in organic farming in parts of Sweden. However, the release of nu-trients from the green manure varies and can therefore be difficult to control. Risks for losses of nutrients are also present. Although the area of organic farmland is increasing in Sweden, the use of green manure is decreasing.This report contains a literature study which compiles research on the functions of green manure in a cropping system and also how the crop can be used if harvested, for example to produce biogas.

In a city sometimes conflicts arise between either to save the species-rich vacant lots where many species thrive, or to build new buildings. Green roofs can then serve as a refuge for plants and animals that have had their natural habitat destroyed or diminished. Today we know too little about green roofs contribution to the biodiversity in the cities. We also know very little about how various types of vegetation on roof can increase biodiversity and its ability to attract different species.The aim with this study was to examine how different types of vegetation on the roofs affect the biodiversity of the invertebrate and how species-composition and number of individuals differ between the roof- and groundlevel.This study has been carried out on Augustenborg Botanical Roof Gardens in Malmo, and in an area about 1.5 kilometers away from Augustenborg. Three different types of vegetation on the roof and ground floor were selected: sedum- ruderal and grass.

ABSTRACTChlamydia and Chlamydophila are species of a family of bacteria (Chlamydiaceae) that cause a range of diseases, including conjunctivitis, in a variety of animals including pigs and humans. Some species cause zoonotic disease. This study examined the occurrence of Chlamydiaceae in samples taken from the lower eyelid conjunctiva in pigs with and without conjunctivitis. The study was initiated based on a herd investigation aimed to examine the experienced increase of conjunctivitis in some finisher herds. This study was conducted as a case-control study, by collecting samples from 62 case pigs (16-26 weeks old) and an equal number of controls, from three herds in Uppland, Sweden.