Barren rearing environment and early weaning of piglets can lead to a high level of distress, behavioural disturbances and reduction in weight gain. The main aim of this thesis was to study the effects of potential enrichment objects on piglet?s behaviour and weight gain during the pre- and post-weaning period. The second aim was to examine what type of object stimulated the highest frequency of interaction. The study was carried out at the Swedish Livestock Research Centre in Lövsta where a batch of litters from 10 first-parity Yorkshire sows were used.

On average half of the sows in Swedish piglet producing herds are culledannually. A significant portion of the sows are euthanized because of lameness orparalysis. Young sows and gilts are overrepresented in the category of animals,culled due to injuries in the musculoskeletal system. These injuries cause pain tothe animals. Early culling of sows/gilts also have economical consequences forthe producers.

Griskött är det kött som konsumeras mest i Sverige, och en allt större del av köttet som konsumeras täcks av import. Utomhusproduktion av grisar skiljer sig mellan olika länder vad gäller både förekomst och utformning. Produktion utomhus likställs ofta med ekologisk produktion, vilket inte alltid är fallet eftersom det även finns konventionell utegrisproduktion. Det finns utomhushållna flockar som bidrar till det konventionellt producerade grisköttet i vissa europeiska länder, framförallt i Storbritannien och Frankrike. Moderna framsteg som elektriska stängsel, terrängfordon, öronbrickor i plast och förbättrade hyddor där suggorna kan grisa har bidragit till en mer konkurrenskraftig och lätthanterlig utomhusproduktion. Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att få en ökad kunskap om konventionell produktion inomhus och utomhus genom att jämföra de två produktionssystemen med avseende på reproduktivitet och produktivitet.

The pig is unique in the way that it gives birth to a large number of newborns in each litter. Because of this the sow has developed a special behaviour during suckling to ensure that not only a part of the litter gets all the milk. Milk is only available during milk letdown. The piglets have to massage the udder for a long time before letdown and the more piglets at the udder the sooner the milk comes. The sow has developed a special grunting pattern to let the piglets know when she is ready for suckling and to signal milk letdown. Our aim with this study was to investigate if sows have individual grunting patterns repeated over time. We also wanted to know if sows with a more distinct grunting pattern have better growth in their litters.

This thesis is built on a field study that was carried out in two seed-tree stands near by Götbrunna in Uppland, Sweden. The aim was to examine if scarification carried out in spring time could generate a more dense seedling establishment when using natural generation, than scarification carried out in autumn. It was also investigated whether there were differences in mortality the first season between the two plot-types. Plots were established block-wise with 50 blocks (pairs) on each site. The spring scarification was made with a hoe during 22-23 of April.

Canine parvovirus is associated with two disorders: enteritis, which is common, and myocarditis, which is rare. Prominent clinical signs of parvovirus enteritis are vomiting, diarrhea and rapid dehydration. Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) is very contagious. When CPV-2 first emerged it had high rates of mortality, but later studies have shown that most infections are self-limiting and do not require veterinary care. Mortality rates vary greatly, and therefore it is important to determine risk factors for developing severe canine parvovirus enteritis.

Vattenkraftstationer, med dammar och turbiner, utgör hinder för nedströmsvandrande smolt. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka turbindödligheten för öringsmolt (Salmo trutta) vid två kraftstationer, de befintliga ytlänsarnas avledningseffekt och om effekten kunde förstärkas genom mörkläggning i form av övertäckning av kraftkanalen med en presenning vid turbinintaget. Utöver detta var avsikten även att undersöka om det fanns något samband mellan smoltgrad och smoltens förmåga att förflytta sig mot havet. I Emån i Småland fångades 46 öringsmolt som radiomärktes och sattes ut vid två kraftstationer och pejlades dagligen i sex veckor. Det var en större dödlighet vid den övre stationen än vid den nedre.

At present, the Swedish pig industry is in transition. Prices have been low, but feed prices have increased. Therefore, many pig producers have stopped their production. Producers that lack an integrated production may contract piglet?s producers, or may use the mediation services that slaughterhouses provide.

Background: Heart ischemia is a disease affected by behaviour, lifestyle and heredity. The disease is more common in the western world and the number of those who suffer increases. The mortality has reduced thanks to that medical resources and knowledge have approved. Purpose: The purpose of this study of the literature was to find out what patients experienced emotionally at an acute heart attack. Methods: A study of literature where scientific articles has been refereed and analyzed, then resulted into five categories presented in the result.

The demand for animal products has increased in the last decades, especially for poultry and pork. Pork production has increased drastically globally, and also in Uganda. Thirty-one percent of Uganda´s population lives in poverty. Pig production is believed to play a crucial role in poverty alleviation, because of the ability to convert low quality feed into high quality protein together with high reproductive potential. African swine fever (ASF) is a lethal disease of domestic pigs often characterized by haemorrhagic fever and with mortality rates up to 100%. The disease is endemic in most sub-Saharan countries and since 2007 in the Russian Federation and Caucasus area.

This degree project aims to evaluate alternative methods to the unanaesthetized castration of piglets. Castration of piglets is performed to prevent the development of boar taint. Boar taint can cause great financial losses for the pig manufacturer. Unanaesthetized castration of piglets is not regarded to be satisfactory from an animal welfare perspective and the procedure will for that reason be outlawed in the near future.Several alternative methods are used in countries all over the world with promising result. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if this methods could be applied in Swedish pig production.A literature study has been combined with interviews; field studies, questionnaires and a small study on male pig production.To be applicable to and applied in Swedish pig production the alternative method must be financially accepted by the manufacturers but also accepted from an animal welfare perspective.Castration is the only way to guarantee a meat free of boar taint.

?Development of Norway spruce, Douglas fir beech and Scots pine with a larch shelter wood? is a report written by Per-Olof Magnusson. The thesis is a compulsory part of forest engineer program at ?Skogsmästarskolan?, SLU, Skinnskatteberg, Sweden. The purpose of this report is to describe and evaluate an experiment with hybrid larch (Larix x eurolepis) as shelter wood, and different tree species growth and survival depending on the density of the shelter wood. The experiment is conducted by southern Swedish forest research centre, faculty of forestry, SLU in Alnarp. The hybrid larch ought to be an interesting alternative to birch (Betula sp.) as shelterwood on suitable sites in southern Sweden.

This literature review summarizes available data on infection with the parasitic roundworm, Ascaridia galli, as a cause of disease in poultry, including the consequences of a conversion to alternative production systems. Ascaridia galli has a direct life cycle with resistant eggs that survive and are easily spread in the environment, especially in systems with bedding materials where the faecal contact is high. The infection is usually subclinical but depending on the infection dose, the symptoms range from weight loss and diarrhea to mortality. Factors such as the feed composition and genetic variation among different hybrids clearly affect the establishment rate of the infection. Ascaridia galli will probably become an increasing problem, with a shift from the traditional battery cages to alternative systems where the risk of re-infection is high.

Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr) is just like Norway spruce (Picea abies) a species in thegenus picea. The natural range of Sitka spruce is a narrow strip along the west coast of North America. Itis the most coastal of all picea species, and very dependent on the mild and humid climate along thepacific coast.Sitka spruce has been grown a long time in the countries around the North Sea, particularly in GreatBritain where it currently is the most important species in British forestry. Sitka spruce has not beenplanted in Swedish forests to any large extent before the storm Gudrun in 2005. Several studies indicatethat the production of wood biomass is higher for Sitka spruce compared to Norway spruce.

Since long, Sweden has had exceptionally low calf mortality compared to most other countries. The tradition has been to keep calves in individual pens. With increasing number of cows per herd there is now a larger interest in more efficient and economical group systems for housing calves. However it has been noticed that bigger herds have more health problems and higher calf mortality than smaller herds. The early signs of disease are harder to detect when the animals are not fed manually.