Studies on wild boars have shown that Piglets at 10 to 12 days of age can be introduced to pigs outside the litter without fighting. In today's production systems, the litters are kept in separate pens until weaning. At that point, the litter is divided and the Piglets are placed together with Piglets from other litters. This usually leads to aggressions among the Piglets and may cause stress. This literature review aims to find out how Piglets perceive other pigs in their surroundings.

We all know that water is very important for both animals and humans. When we are weaning the Piglets from the sow we must guarantee that the Piglets can start to drink more water instead of sow milk. The first thing to check is always the quality of the water that is to be used. To secure that, you must take a water sample. If the water is inadequate it can bring a lot of problems and diseases.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.