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.

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.

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.

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.

Cross-suckling, i.e. when an offspring nurses a female other than their own mother, occurs in pig production systems where sows are group housed during lactation. As production systems where several sows and their litters are housed together during lactation are getting more common, the need of knowledge regarding cross-suckling increases. The overall aims with this thesis was to investigate how sow behaviour and productivity are associated with the occurrence of cross-suckling, and to investigate consistency in sow nursing behaviour related to cross-suckling. The study included information about the first 4 parities of 40 LxY sows kept in outdoor and indoor production environments. Sows were single housed the first 2 weeks after farrowing and group housed (4 or 5 sows per group) from 2 weeks after farrowing until weaning, 7 weeks after farrowing.

Behovet av mängden grafiska detaljer i spel och realtidsapplikationer ökar i och med intåget av nyare och kraftfullare hårdvara. Detta sätter mera press på grafiker. Det finns ett behov av att simplifiera processen med att flytta stora datamängder från olika editorer (Maya, 3dsMAX, Blender, mm), processa denna information och presentera det på skärmen utan att låsa sig fast vid en specifik editor. COLLADA är ett steg mot detta mål. Hur kan COLLADA implementeras i grafikmotorn AgentFX, utvecklad av Agency9? Detta examensarbete presenterar ett tillvägagångssätt genom Java och COLLADA med JAXB att implementera stöd för COLLADA i AgentFX, för att rendera komplexa scener byggda i Maya Unlimited 6.5.

Syftet med den här litteraturstudien var att undersöka hur födelseordningen påverkar smågrisens överlevnad och tillväxt fram till avvänjning. Födelseordningen bestäms till stor del redan i livmodern och en sen födelseordning minskar smågrisens chanser att överleva på flera sätt. Smågrisar med en sen födelseordning har ofta en lägre födelsevikt och födelsevikten anges återkommande vara den viktigaste faktorn för att öka chanserna till överlevnad. En stor kullstorlek leder till att födelsevikten minskar genom att placentaarean för varje smågris minskar. Smågrisar med en sen födelseordning löper också en högre risk att födas med en brusten navelsträng eller att drabbas av syrebrist under födsel.

Floor surface in pig facilities can have an impact on animal welfare and pig health, as it can cause the pig physical damage and thereby increased risk of infectious diseases and lameness. The development of pig housing systems has resulted in a decreased use of bedding. It seems hard to find the optimal floor in farrowing pens, as it must suit both the sow and Piglets. The floor friction needs to be adequate to avoid slips and at the same time should the floor be non-abrasive. Abrasions and lesions caused by the floor are not only causing the animal suffering, but are also negative from an economical aspect.

The castration of Piglets is performed routinely all around the world. Most castrations are done without anaesthesia and analgesia, despite the fact that this procedure has been proved to induce acute pain and stress for the Piglets. The procedure regarding castration of Piglets is currently a hot topic of debate and an important political issue. The underlying issue is the boar taint which are highlighted in the heating of the meat after slaughter, which in turn can lead to reduced meat sales as it can be perceived as unpleasant for many consumers. The purpose of this study is to examine alternative drugs which may be selected in order to replace the practice of castration of Piglets without anaesthesia, in light of improved animal welfare.

Today?s feeding methods can determine the domestic pig?s abilities to fulfill basic behavioral needs, such as foraging, and the way in which pigs are feed is an important aspect. Feed does not only provide the energy and nutrients critical for survival, but feeding is also associated with a number of other factors contributing to well-being and reproduction. Today the feed for gestated sows is often composed by high energy and low dietary fiber grain products such as wheat. Three kg of this kind of feed can often be consumed by the sow within 20 minutes.

An overwhelming majority of all male Piglets are castrated without anaesthesia when they are very young. In Sweden this means that approximately one and a half million Piglets are castrated every year. The reason the Piglets are castrated is the strong and unpleasant smell and taste, the ?boar taint? that the meat from intact boars sometimes exhibits. Boar taint is chiefly cause by androstenone and skatole, two compounds that are mostly produced by sexually mature boars and are accumulated in the subcutaneous fat.

The incidence of damage to the claws and legs in Piglets caused by the floor in farrowing pens is a widely known problem and very common in today's pig herds. Although the association between floor and damage has been known for over 35 years, no suitable solution has been found to reduce the negative impact. The purpose of this study was to make a literature study to document the experiences of the use of different types of flooring in farrowing pens and also, in an own study, examine if soft floor in farrowing crates could lead to reduced damage to the claws and legs in Piglets compared to concrete floor. The study was conducted in two herds, A and B. In each herd, farrowing pens with concrete floor and concrete floor with polyurethane coating were compared.

It is possible to affect the feed costs in different ways. By steeping or fermentation the digestibility of the feed is improved for the animals with a natural process in the wet feeding system Steeping means that the feed is soaked some hours before feeding. This process activatesenzymes and improves the digestibility of for example phosphorus in the feed and make it more accessible to the animal. Wet feeding can be fermented or not. Fermentationmeans that the feed has been soaked for a certain length of time so that a biological process is started.

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.