Advertiser's description (via SLU)
In Sweden, the majority of laying hens is housed in cage-free environments with access to littered floor areas. The littered area increases the behavioural repertoire of the laying hen in a positive way. However, manure accumulating in the litter will increase the ammonia concentration in the indoor air, as nitrogen in the manure is converted to ammonia by bacteria and in chemical processes. The gas ammonia is detrimental for the respiratory tract of both poultry and humans, and ammonia ventilated from barns contributes to acidification and eutrophication. Agriculture accounts for almost 90 percent of the total ammonia emissions to air in Sweden, and it is urgent to find measures to reduce the emissions from animal stables. The present project aims at investigating alternative litter materials and feed compositions with potential to reduce ammonia emission in laying hen facilities.
The project involves experiments with laying hens at SLU:s research facility outside Uppsala. The work tasks include planning of trials, practical work at the research facility when trials are running, data collection, laboratory work, statistical analyses and scientific publication. The student is expected to participate in teaching at BSc and MSc level.
A university degree of at least 240 higher education credits is required, see below. We are looking for a candidate who have a degree in Animal Science, Veterinary Medicine, Biology or in an equivalent subject. You must have a proven ability to communicate in written and oral English. Therefore, upper secondary school grade equivalents to English B/English 6 are required. Experience of laboratory work, molecular methods, and a general knowledge about poultry and their nutrition is a merit. You should have driving license (Swedish, class B). Personal suitability for the work tasks, such as good collaboration skills, ability to work independently, flexibility and good analytic and problem solving capacity, will be of great importance in the assessment of candidates.
Read more here. Applications are accepted until 15 August 2022.
