The presence of cystic ovarian follicles represents an important ovarian dysfunction and is a major cause of reproductive failure in dairy cattle. A cystic ovarian follicle is a persistent follicular-like structure on one or both of the ovaries. It is at least 2,5cm in diameter and it has to persist for at least ten days while a corpus luteum is missing. There are two kinds of cystic ovarian follicles, those who have a progesterone production and those who have not. A clear definition for this condition is lacking, probably because the heterogeneity of the clinical signs and the complexity of the disorder.

To get a good economy on the dairy farms the fertility control of heifers and cows is a crucial factor. It is also important to know which key parameters that should be tracked. In this work well established routines for heat detection have to be applied. When the dairy farmers use technical aid in estrus control it is important not to forget that technical aids can not replace the human eye. Approximately 50 % of all opportunities to inseminate are missed because clear signs of estrus have not been displayed and/or recorded. The cattle fertility has been declining over recent years. During the same time the cow?s proceeds have increased, consequently applying a higher pressure on the cow and the manager.

Milk ejection in dairy cows can be inhibited if oxytocin is not released from the pituitary gland. The problem with inhibition of the milk let down is not new, but has recently regained interest. It is observed during different types of emotional stress, for example when cows are moved to an unfamiliar environment, during oestrus, changing from suckling to machine milking or when being milked for the first time. The aim of the study was to examine the extent of cows with disturbed milk ejection in Sweden. A survey was sent out to 1000 dairy farmers in order to collect data about herd size, housing systems and routines at calving and milking.

Introduction: Pregnancy, obesity, aging and certain diseases are examples of conditions thataffect the body, its constitution and composition. Simpler methods to estimate bodycomposition are needed to complement more advanced traditional methods to better identifythe health status without sacrificing accuracy and precision.Objective: To validate the results of body composition from bioelectrical impedancespectroscopy (BIS) against results from the study reference method, dual energy X-rayabsorption (DXA), in overweight and obese lactating women after childbirth.Method: The design of the LEVA-study (Lifestyle for Effective Weight loss during Lactation)consisted both intervention and longitudinal follow-up, which gave the opportunity tovalidate the absolute values (accuracy) and the ability to detect changes (precision). Themean difference between methods was tested statistically by paired t-test. Bland-Altman plotsused to examine the degree of agreement between BIS and DXA, but also distribution andany systematic differences. Association between methods was measured by using Pearson´scorrelation coefficient.Results: Between BIS and DXA, absolute measurements of the variables fat-free mass (FFM)and fat mass (FM) showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001).

ABSTRACTStatistics show that breastfeeding prevalence for Sweden has fallen since the mid 90´s. Studies show that breastfeeding offers health benefits to both mother and child and that the mothers' belief and confidence in their ability to breastfeed is a key factor to having a positive breastfeeding outcome. In 2010, Amningshjälpen in collaboration with Sensus studieförbund, started a nursing course, for mothers-to-be, who wished to breastfeed their babies and its aim was to prepare them for a successful and enjoyable experience.Objective: To examine whether a preparatory breastfeeding course can affect mothers' confidence in their ability to breastfeed and if that ability can affect the breastfeeding outcome when the child reaches four months. A further aim is to investigate the experience of  perceived problems surrounding breastfeeding and what affect these might have on the mothers' confidence in breastfeeding when the child reaches four months.Design/Methods: A quantitative approach with prospective experimental design was used to evaluate the study. The questionnaire Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form (BSES-SF) was used three times to measure women's trust in Lactation.

The objectives of this experimental study were to investigate if a strategic method to supply loose housed sows with large quantities of straw 2 days before expected farrowing and if the sow?s body condition had any effect on the occurrence of shoulder lesions 5 weeks after farrowing. Data came from a study conducted on four commercial piglet-producing farms in southwest Sweden between March and December 2009. At each farm one batch of sows was followed during two consecutive Lactations. The sows were randomly assigned to two different treatment groups and the sows that remained in the batch during the second Lactation switched treatment group.

Heat stress negatively influences the performance of dairy cattle such as Lactation and reproduction. Heat stress can cause production losses as well as welfare problems. Years of research have shown that heat stress is a huge problem for dairy cattle in both the tropics and temperate zones but no such research have so far been done in northern European countries. It seems like shade is an important tool when improving pasture conditions and therefore deserves more attention. The aim with this study was to investigate whether there is a need of providing shade for grazing dairy cows during the summer in Sweden. Two groups of lactating Swedish Red dairy cows (n=15 per group) were kept on pasture.

Feed costs constitute a large part of the expenses of dairy farmers. Pasture is a high quality feed with a low cost. However, feeding with concentrates has been shown to enhance milk yield (Leaver, 1985; Bargo et al., 2003; Stockdale, 2004). The purpose with this study was to investigate how milk yield and milk composition were affected as the concentrate proportion in the diet decreased. Pasture behaviour was examined to see if the different concentrate levels affected the time cows spent grazing and ruminating.

The study was carried out at the Kungsängen Research Centre, Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Swedish University of Agriculture Sciences, Uppsala. The technical development in dairy production has resulted in a housing system where feeding and milking is done automatically without human contact, a so called automatic milking system. The motives for utilising an automatic milking system, is to increase the animal welfare and to decrease the need for manual labour. However, the system does involve a change for the animals, among the effects is the deprival or the diminishment of a chance for synchronous behaviour and the animals have to agree among themselves in which order they use the feeding stations and the milking unit itself. How and if this affects the animals well-being and production is yet to be solved. A possible way to form an opinion on this, is to study the animals ranking order along with hormone profiles and production. The purpose of this work was to study the effect of low- vs.

Mastitis is the most common disease of dairy cows. Mastitis can be painful for the dairy cow and causes economical losses for the farmer. These losses are due to decreased milk production, more working hours for the farmer, treatment costs and possible costs due to culling of the cow. The udder inflammation, mastitis, is often caused by bacteria infection. One of the most common bacteria found to cause mastitis in Sweden is Staphylococcus aureus (S.

Feed intake in dairy cows is regulated by a variety of factors influencing hunger and satiety. One of the regulation systems includes the short chain fatty acids produced during feed degradation in the rumen. Starch can be digested either in the rumen where short chain fatty acids are produced or in the small intestine where glucose is the end product. Since glucose does not have the same effect on satiety that short chain fatty acids have, the site of starch digestion might be an important factor that affects feed intake and milk production. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of site of starch digestion on feeding behaviour (feed intake, consumption time, and eating frequency) and milk production. Because feeding behaviour is closely connected to the cows? environment, the study also included observations of behaviour. Three different feed rations were compared.

In 1993, Sweden signed the Convention on Biological Diversity and thus agreed to conserve our indigenous biological diversity. As a part of the convention, Sweden is obliged to conserve a number of domestic animal breeds and among them the Linderöd pig. In 1952, the zoo, Skånes Djurpark, took care of a pregnant sow that was regarded to be related to the old "forest pig". The old forest pig was thought to have been extinguished by the early 20th century as a result of the ban on boars not approved by state inspectors. However, according to later accounts, several farmers still kept some of these non-approved pigs.

Milk fever, or parturient paresis, is the second most common disease in Swedish dairy cows. The disorder is associated with the onset of Lactation when some cows are unable to meet the metabolic demands of calcium to support milk production and therefore develop a state of hypocalcaemia. Clinical hypocalcaemia (milk fever) may lead to coma and death in severe cases but subclinical hypocalcaemia has also been shown to have negative effects on e.g. feed intake and production and to increase the susceptibility of the cow to develop secondary diseases. The nutritional strategy applied precalving is of great importance in preventing milk fever and e.g.

Dystoki drabbar omkring 16 % av alla dräktiga tikar i Sverige. Drygt hälften av dessa kejsarsnittas. Kejsarsnitt är ett kirurgiskt ingrepp som av djurvälfärdsskäl med fördel kan behandlas med smärtstillande läkemedel. I Sverige finns i dagsläget inget registrerat läkemedel för hund inom grupperna icke-steroida antitinflammatoriska läkemedel (NSAID) och opioider, som inte är kontraindicerat att använda vid dräktighet och digivning. Ändå är nämnda läkemedelsgrupper de som används i störst utsträckning för smärtlindring på hund.

SAMMANFATTNINGMastit är den vanligaste och mest kostsamma sjukdomen hos mjölkkor. Enligt statistik från Svensk Mjölk har cirka 65 % av alla kor i Sverige mastit någon gång under en laktation. Subklinisk (utan märkbara symtom) mastit utgör det största problemet. De är svåra att upptäcka då även mjölken ser normal ut, vilket resulterar i att den hamnar i tanken och levereras till mejeriet. Mjölk från kor med mastit har ett ökat celltal samt försämrad kvalitet och sammansättning vilket i slutändan medför sämre betalt för lantbrukaren.