Male piglets have been castrated for centuries to avoid contamination of their meat with boar taint, a strongly unpleasant odour that makes the meat inedible. Today boar taint can be prohib-ited by vaccination against gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) using Improvac®. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of vaccination on growth performance and behaviour of vaccinated male pigs compared to surgically castrated male pigs. The effect of two feeding regimes, restricted (SLU-norm) and semi ad libitum, was also included in the study. At birth, pigs (n=206) were randomly allocated to the two treatment groups; surgically castrated and vaccination.

The purpose of this literature study was to examine what kind of composition fermented liquidfeed can have, what a desired composition is and possible advantages and disadvantages onhealth and growth performance of the pig. A well fermented liquid feed is characterized by a lowpH (.

Identification of fungi is based on macroscopic observations of morphology and microscopic characteristics. These conventional methods are time-consuming and requires expert knowledge. For the past years Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry has been used for routine bacterial identification in clinical laboratories but not yet in the same extension for fungi. In this study three preanalytic preparation methods for fungi were evaluated in order to shorten the processing time in routine laboratory performance.Clinically relevant strains (n=18) of molds and dermatophytes were cultivated on agar plates and prepared according to the different preparation methods for protein extraction. Each strain was analyzed in quadruplicate by the MALDI Biotyper and the database Filamentous Fungi Library 1.0.The results showed that the genus and species identification rates of the least time-consuming direct extraction method were 33% and 11% respectively.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether urea could be an option as a nitrogen source for young cattle, the study was limited to risks related to feeding, growth and feed efficiency. Microbes in ruminants have the ability to convert nitrogen to protein, this has been highlighted by beef producers as they are in search of cheap protein feed resources. Urea can be a worthy source of nitrogen for growing young animals, because of its high nitrogen content and the low price. Studies have shown that the replacement of a portion of the total protein content by urea in diets with low content of crude protein, like corn silage, may improve animal growth and feed efficiency. Replacement of all the true protein with urea can result in reduced feed intake and microbial growth.

Research show evidence for benefits of breastfeeding and that infant-feeding-plans are supportive. Family-centered care is the theoretical framework. Family support is crucial for successful breastfeeding. It is important that society creates opportunities for mothers to breastfeed and contribute information and support by healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the midwives and child healthcare nurses found that the newest breastfeeding strategy influenced their breastfeeding- and rearing support in the County of Jönköping.

Many scientists agree that phytoestrogens could have an effect on the reproduction of an animal. The question is now why and what mechanisms that play an important role. This paper has been focusing on the estrus behavior of gilts by use of a behavioral study. Some of the gilts were given additional feed with the phytoestrogen genistein which commonly occurs in the feed as a part of soybean products. Blood samples were collected and analyzed for progesterone and estradiol concentrations.

This study is a follow up of a pilot study made 2004, that evaluated feeding, exercise and weight as possible risk factors for developing any kind of diabetes in dogs. We have selected our material for a certain kind of DM that exists among Norwegian and Swedish elkhounds. These breeds are among the most common breeds affected by diabetes and this kind of DM almost exclusively affects intact bitches. We performed a case- control study where the owners were interviewed over the phone. The owners of a total of 48 case dogs and 58 control dogs were contacted. The questions for the cases focused on the time before the diagnosis and the questions for the control dogs focused on the dog´s adult life.

The purpose of this literature review was from dairy cows? behaviour and welfare point ofview describe how feed bunk and cubicles in a loose house system should be designed. Todaydairy cows in Sweden and in the world have high demands because of a high milk production,stress and higher risk of being afflicted with diseases. Through selection in breeding the bestquality can be performed, but high demands of the environment for the dairy cow is above allalso important for a good welfare and for a good milk production. Feed bunks and cubiclesare just some parts to be designed in the best way for a good animal welfare.

Mechanization of Swedish agriculture started in the beginning of the twentieth century, to be able to have more animals without raising the number of employers. The horse business has not by far kept up with these cost savings solutions. Cleaning out stables and feeding horses are the most time-consuming tasks in horse stables today. The most common way to clean out the stable is still by shovel and wheelbarrow. The clean out process can easily be mechanized through semi- permanently beds with movable walls between the boxes so that the litter can be removed by a tractor or a loader.

The dog is unique in the way that the adult weight can vary 100 folds between the different breeds. Despite this, most of the breeds reach adult size before two years of age. For the large-breed dogs this means a very rapid growth when some of them can have a weight gain of up to 150 times their birth weight. The most rapid growth occurs when the puppies are between three to six months old and that kind of rapid growth during such a short period of time makes these large-breed puppies very sensitive to deficits and excesses of energy, nutrients and minerals. Some examples can be excess of energy, excess or deficit of minerals such as calcium and phosphorus or deficits of protein. The rapid growth can also make the large-breed puppies predisposed to some diseases affecting the skeletal and joints.

During recent years the use of TMR (total mixed rations) has increased in Swedish lamb production. For many years TMR has been used for cattle and hence the information and knowledge is vast, while the knowledge concerning sheep and TMR is more limited. The aim of this thesis is to present an overview of the scientific knowledge on the subject, and also to compile practical experience from sheep farmers using TMR. The thesis begins with a literature review where different aspects relevant to the usage of TMR are dealt with. It is concluded that there are differences between sheep and cattle that must be taken into account.

This study has focused on testing the following two hypotheses:? Pest resistant plants have higher levels and/or several different kinds of secondary metabolites. ? Induced defensive systems in resistant plants are activated more rapidly than those of susceptible plants. As a background for the test of the hypotheses a short literature study was performed concerning plant defensive mechanisms in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The choice of harvest date for leys is one of the most important factors affecting the size and quality of the harvest. An early harvest gives a high nutritive value while a late harvest gives larger quantity. Today?s aim to produce high nutritive leys gives early harvest dates both in primary growth and regrowth in northern part of Sweden. The consequence is a growth in the autumn, a "third harvest".The aim of this master thesis was to study the effects of different harvesting systems and their effect on size, feed quality, wintering and economy for conditions in the northern part of Sweden.

Arvika Fjärrvärme AB, a district heating company from Arvika, today cover 74 % of their total energy production with biofuel wich runs a 16 MW bioler giving process water at saturated liquid state.In recent years Vaporel AB has introduced a new tecnique that gives an external generation of steam after boilers. The concept is built on an adiabatic pressure drop of the saturated liquid in a so called Flashbox which makes a small part of the liquid to evaporate. The generated steam is lead into a turbine where electricity is in a conventional manner.The purpose with this rapport was to do a basic study for the specific system at Arvika where it?s possible to see the potential production of electricity that follows an installation of a flasbox.The final goal was to introduce an economic analysis of a flashox installation at given conditions.To reach our goals we have created a model in Excel where we used the given conditions at Arvika Fjärrvärme to do our calculations. The model has been tested at three different states, of process water returning to potboiler, to be able to decide the optimal operation for the system at present.The studies have resulted in a pressure of the processwater at 14,5 bar (at) and a pressuredrop to 9,5 bar (at) in the flashbox.

The aim of the study was to investigate feeding routines, management, health and level of activity of riding horses in Sweden. This was obtained by a survey requesting information from owners who kept horses at a non-professional level. Owners to approximately 500 horses were contacted and the usable response of the survey was 56 %. The dominating breed in the study was Swedish warmblood (38 %). Fiftytwo percent of the horses were geldings, 45 % were mares and 3 % were stallions.