Piglet survival is of importance because it affects the farmer?s economy and the welfare of the pigs. There are several factors affecting Piglet survival and they are often linked to each other. This paper will focus on how the behaviour of the sow can affect the growth and survival of the Piglets and also possible causations of differences in maternal behaviour. Sows in intensive production systems have different possibilities to express their maternal behaviour than free ranging sows.

The purpose of this study was to compile when and why Piglets die during the suckling peri-od. Piglet mortality is an important factor influencing the profitability of Piglet production. There are many factors that play a role and interact whit each other. This study summarizes when the Piglets die during the suckling period and reasons why the Piglets die. The infor-mation given is crushed, illness, management/environmental, genetic influence and Piglet birth weight/farrowingprocess.

The Piglet mortality rates have become a major issue in today?s pig production. While other production traits such as number of born Piglets or produced Piglets per sow have been improved, the mortality rate has escalated. High mortality rates before weaning does not only affect the economy but must also be looked at as both an animal welfare problem and an ethical issue. The background to this problem has been addressed many times, and its salvation has also been addressed by breeding.

Piglet survival is a problem of great significance in pig production, affecting both animal welfare and economic aspects negatively. In Sweden it is illegal to use farrowing crates for sows on regular basis. To encounter this problem there is a proposal of an animal welfare program to allow the use of crates for sows during, and a number of days after, farrowing. The proposal aims to reduce Piglet mortality and improve pig welfare. This present review aims to analyse how crating affects the welfare of sows, gilts and Piglets as well as Piglet mortality.

The pig industry suffers economical loss due to stillbirths, Piglet mortality and low birth weight. This is due to breeding programs that have resulted in larger litters. It has been suggested that these problems are due to the metabolic state of the sow during gestation and the fact that she might not be able to supply her foetuses with enough nutrients for survival and a high and even birth weight. A lot of research has been done to investigate whether body weight and back fat thickness of the sow has any impact on her reproductive traits and if there are any special feed components that improve reproduction. Fibers and unsaturated fatty acids have a positive impact on reproductive traits as long as the sow is fed a sufficient amount of energy and protein during gestation and lactation.

The purpose with this work is to investigate the cost to produce Piglet in a case study company. The starting point is going to be the agriwise (www.agriwise.org) calculation which I am going to change and adapt to the case study company. To day the pig market is bad but we have probably reached the bottom. The market has started to rise. It is no business to produce Piglets today.

The study investigates the use of collection and treatment wagon for Piglets in relation to castration. The importance of good and ergonomically designed tools in pig stables can probably reduce the risk of suffering from musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). During the last 20 years the number of pig farms has decreased and at the same time the herd sizes and the number of pig keepers have increased (Statistic Sweden (SCB) 2007). As a consequence, the pig keepers have more pigs to take care of, treat and neuter and spend more of their daily work in these large confinements. This also means that the repetitive work e.g.

The number of weaned Piglets per sow and year is a good measurement of sow productivity since it is affected by the number of Piglets born alive, the pre weaning mortality (i.e. mortality of live born Piglets between birth and weaning) and the number of litters per sow and year. This measure is also closely connected to the number of Piglets produced per year, which partly determines the profitability of the Piglet producer. During this study, eleven successful Piglet-producing herds were visited. Eight of the producers were Swedish and three of the producers were Danish.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of large amounts of straw in the farrowing pen on thermal regulation of the newborn Piglet in different weight classes. 20 sows were given 15 kg of straw in the farrowing pen 2 days prior to until 7 days after parturition. A control group of 18 sows had no straw in the pen. 6 litters from each treatment were observed. Measurements of Piglet body temperature were made at 0h, 2h, 4h, 8h and 24h after parturition. At ?8h? the body temperature of the Piglets in the Straw group were significantly higher (P=0,0149) than the Piglets in the Control group.

Dödfödda grisar och smågrisdödlighet under diperioden leder till både produktionsförlust och innebär dessutom försämrad djurvälfärd. Förluster orsakade av dödfödslar, smågrisar som kläms ihjäl av suggan och som svälter ihjäl kan förebyggas genom god skötsel, bra djurstallar ochavelsurval. För att lyckas med detta krävs att riskfaktorer för smågrisdödlighet kan identifieras.Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka variationen i förekomsten av dödfödda smågrisar och dödligheten under digivningsperioden beroende på kullnummer, kullstorlek, säsong och besättning. Ett andra syfte är att fastställa om det finns någon upprepbarhet för suggor vad gällerförekomst av dödfödda smågrisar. Data erhölls från fyra kommersiella grisbesättningar, belägna i centrala Sverige, som använder sig av besättningsövervakningsprogrammet ?PigWin Sugg?.

Hemoglobin is built up from protein and heme groups which give the blood its red colour . Hemoglobin transports oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and other tissues in the body. Normally, a Piglet has a hemoglobin value of 130-150 gram per liter blood, and the lower limit before anaemia appears is 80 grams per liter blood. The immune defense is also dependent upon the presence of iron in hemoglobin, since iron participates in different enzyme systems. When the Piglet develops anaemia, it becomes pale and thicker around the neck.

Weaning is one of the most critical events in the Piglet production with problems such as growth check and post-weaning diarrhea as a result. The lighter the Piglets are when the growth check occurs, the harder they have to get back to normal growth rate. Creep feeding of Piglets is used to reduce the problems by increasing the weaning weight and adapting the digestive tract to a starter diet. Hodge (1974) showed that the sow?s milk can not provide enough nutrients for maximal growth rate.

In Uganda, small scale pig production plays a major role for households to earn a living and to secure their access to meat. Piglet mortality due to diar-rhoea-related dieseases is high. In an attempt to understand the underlying causes for this high mortality this study aims to investigate the role of trans-missible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and is a part of a larger project con-ducted at Makerere university in Uganda. A complicating factor in this investigation is the porcine respiratory corona-virus (PRCV), a stabile mutant form of the TGE virus. The occurrence of this virus had shown to alter the impact of TGEV in e.g. Europe and North Amer-ica.

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.

Lactobacillus reuteri has been used as probiotics in Piglet and chicken feedings as well as in different diary products for humans. In this EEF-work I have shown that L. reuteri can be an alternative for treatment of vaginitis in laboratory rats used for breeding. In a breeding stock with 3000 animals some animals had a vaginal infection with ??haemolytic streptococci group G.