Knowledge about feed racks for feeding forages to horses is lacking. Racks for sheep and cows are sometimes used for horses. Feeding roughage on the ground, or feeding silage bales with the plastic and net still on, can bring on a lot of different problems. The opportunity to control the hygienic quality is small and feed losses can be high. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate how the eating behaviour and consumption of horses were influenced by feeding racks of different constructions. Feed losses and changes in chemical composition of the forage were also studied.

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.

Crop efficiency in utilizing available nutrients is an important factor in increasing produc-tivity and reducing the environmental impact of agriculture. Nitrogen is the nutrient that plants need in the largest quantity and wheat, along with maize and rice, is the world's most cultivated crop. In this work, the Nitrogen Use Efficiency, NUE, during the major growth period, HTP, of twelve different spring wheat varieties, were examined. The NUE was calculated as the product of uptake efficiency of nitrogen, UN, and the conversion effi-ciency of nitrogen to biomass, EN. The purpose of this work was to find if there are varietal differences in NUE and its components among the twelve varieties and to link a high NUE to specific characteristics of the varieties.

Zambia is a country in Southern Africa where poverty is widespread and the traditional keeping of local poultry therefore plays a crucial role in improving nutrition. Meat and eggs from poultry are important sources of protein but also of income. Improving the poultry production is thereby a method to fight poverty. For poultry, the access to light is an important factor for both growth and egg production. In this paper, the focus is on the traditional village chickens used for both egg and meat production, how they are kept, their health and welfare and if the use of a solar lamp will influence their behaviour, growth and egg production. Three studies were conducted in Chibombo and Choma Districts in Zambia were 17 farmers were interviewed regarding the village chicken management of which six farmers participated in a solar lamp experiment.

This study was made to compare and distinguish any differences in olfactory recognition and host plant adaptation between two strains of cotton leaf worm, Spodoptera littoralis. The populations used were established in Egypt and Benin, Africa. The documentation consisted of information about (1) each of the strains development through the larval stage up to pupation on diets of cotton, clover and cowpea. (2) Their oviposition preferences as adults between cotton, clover, cowpea, maize and cabbage. (3) Electroantennographic recordings to quantify any possible responses to plant volatiles. Throughout the diet experiments the larvae from the Benin strain showed significantly a better development between artificial, clover, cowpea and cotton respectively, while the Egypt strain had significance between artificial, cotton and cowpea/clover as diet. Also noted was how the strains substantial development of weight differentiated if fed the cotton diet, followed by the cowpea diet showing that the Benin strain would develop a higher body mass on a cotton diet as well as on a cowpea diet. This trend was however switched once the pupal stage was reached, where the Egyptian strain contained a significantly greater body mass than the Benin strain on the artificial and the Benin strain a greater on cowpea, which suggests that in the end, the Benin strain develops significantly better on cowpea while the Egypt strain develops better on an artificial diet. During the oviposition experiment that both stains showed a clear difference in hierarchy of host plants considered suitable for oviposition, where the Egyptian strain is significantly more attracted to clover than the Benin strain. Also showed with electroantennographic recordings and significant values was the higher sensitivity the Egypt strain had towards (E)2-hexenal, (E/Z)-b-ocimene, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, Nonanal, (-)-linalool and ?-myrcene when compared to the responses from the Benin strain..

The aim of this study was to investigate if the botanical composition of haylage affects pH, dry matter content and microbial composition of the faeces in horse and pig and ileal environment in pigs. Two separate studies were conducted where pigs and horses were fed two diets containing haylages with different botanical composition. The first haylage was from a tilled land dominated by timothy and meadow fescue and the other haylage came from a meadowland with a large inclusion of dandelion, 25 % and common couch. The dry matter content (70.8 % and 73.0 % respectively) and the pH-value (5.7) were similar in both feeds. The first study was made as a three-periods switch-back study with 7 Standardbred horses. In the first and the third period, 7 and 9 days long respectively, the diet consisted of the haylage from the tilled land, oats, sugar beet pulp, soy bean oil meal, lucerne pellets and brewers yeast.

Glycerol is essential for the lipid metabolism of both plants and animals. Glycerol is formed in the rumen by hydrolysis of lipids from the feed. Glycerol is also a by-product from the production of biodiesel from rapeseed oil and other fat sources. Glycerol might be used as a dietary glucose precursor for dairy cows in similar ways as propylene glycol. Due to increased production of biodiesel more glycerol has been available to a lower price.

This study investigates a farm in Dalarna which includes 16 ha of farmland and 1, 7 ha of pasture. The purpose is to find out if it is possible to start an animal production in Dalarna. The study is set only to compare spring lamb production with nurse cow production. There are two buildings on the farm that can be used for this purpose. One is an old cowshed, and the other is an unused silo for silage with a roof on top. Both of the buildings are compared to every alternative in the calculations.

Corn is an important food and feed crop in the world, in Sweden it?s up till now grown on limited acreages mainly for silage. But I think it can get more important if you can grow it also for grain, because it?s a good animal feed for example, for life stock-, pigsand poultry. On of corns advantage is that it can produce the same amount of dry matter as for example wheat, barley and rise but with 25% less water. I will examine if it possible to grow corn for grain production in the south of Sweden.

Följande uppsats redogör för ett produktutvecklingsprojekt som har resulterat i ett förslag till ett handredskap för framställning av majsmjöl, tänkt att användas av kvinnorna i Malawi. Dock har det huvudsakliga fokuset i projektet varit metoder för produktutveckling för utvecklingsländer. Problemområdet som projektet har fokuserat på; framställning av majsmjöl, valdes efter en studie i Malawi. Problemområdet valdes eftersom det är ett viktigt område, då 50 procent av människornas kaloriintag i Malawi består av majs. Målgruppen för projektet är kvinnorna i byn Muthumba, som framställer majsmjölet idag.

The requirements of good quality and appetizing fast food increases continuously as a consequence of a community where food is always available. The crispiness of French fries is an issue that must be considered in this context, since it tends to decrease and give the fries a soft surface not appreciated by the consumer. To prolong the crispiness, the fries can be coated by a batter, a mix of starches. The batters used often consists of modified starches, e.g. cross-linked, acetylated and dextrinizated to increase and prolong crispiness, flour to stabilize the batter and sodium bicarbonate to make the batter ?rise?.The cross-linked starch keeps the granules in a swelled state and prevents them from breaking when exposed to heat or processing: therefore, it delays the gelatinization and decreases the stickiness of the batter.

The corn plant came to Europe with Christopher Columbus in the 14th century and have ever since bin cropped here, but corn haven?t bin very common in Scandinavia until recently. The mainly use for this crop silage but even corn for grain is cropped in Europe. Corn for grain is a common part of feed in beef and chicken farming. In Sweden corn for grain is pretty rare but almost 1000 hectares are used for this crop, Lantmännen Sverige is the biggest buyer of corn at the moment.

Weaning is a standard procedure at most studs, and the methods of weaning varies greatly. The method used at the stud in this particular study is supposed to decrease stress. The purpose of the study was to compare the behaviour of foals in group before and after stepwise removal of their mares. Standardbred foals with their mothers were kept in three different groups at pasture (12, 11 and 11 foals, respectively, mixed sexes). They had free access to silage and the foals were fed concentrate in a creep-feeding area. By the time the foals were 5 months old, the mares were stepwise removed from the pasture.

Problems with wild boars are increasing in Sweden and some people argue that the wild boar population must decrease. This is mostly the opinion by farmers, while the hunters want more wild boars in Sweden. Today the population is the strongest in the south of Sweden and in the eastern parts of the country. However the population is growing stronger in other parts of Sweden as well. The population origins from these areas where they escaped from pens around 1970.

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.