WO2020112062A1 - Livestock tracking control unit - Google Patents
Livestock tracking control unit Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2020112062A1 WO2020112062A1 PCT/TR2019/050989 TR2019050989W WO2020112062A1 WO 2020112062 A1 WO2020112062 A1 WO 2020112062A1 TR 2019050989 W TR2019050989 W TR 2019050989W WO 2020112062 A1 WO2020112062 A1 WO 2020112062A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- control unit
- animal
- animals
- enters
- unit
- Prior art date
Links
- 244000144972 livestock Species 0.000 title claims abstract description 9
- 241001465754 Metazoa Species 0.000 claims abstract description 73
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 24
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 9
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 15
- 238000005303 weighing Methods 0.000 description 13
- 244000144980 herd Species 0.000 description 5
- 238000009395 breeding Methods 0.000 description 4
- 230000001488 breeding effect Effects 0.000 description 4
- 230000006378 damage Effects 0.000 description 3
- 238000005070 sampling Methods 0.000 description 3
- 241000283690 Bos taurus Species 0.000 description 2
- 235000005911 diet Nutrition 0.000 description 2
- 238000000691 measurement method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000004580 weight loss Effects 0.000 description 2
- 208000027418 Wounds and injury Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 238000004458 analytical method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000037213 diet Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000378 dietary effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000035622 drinking Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003651 drinking water Substances 0.000 description 1
- 235000020188 drinking water Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 238000013399 early diagnosis Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003203 everyday effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005802 health problem Effects 0.000 description 1
- 208000014674 injury Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000003307 slaughter Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004584 weight gain Effects 0.000 description 1
- 235000019786 weight gain Nutrition 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01K—ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
- A01K29/00—Other apparatus for animal husbandry
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q50/00—Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism
- G06Q50/02—Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining
Definitions
- This invention relates to a livestock control unit that makes it possible to control the diet, weight and health of the livestock.
- Animal husbandry can not be done based on breeding on pasture in every geographical condition. In cases when breeding on pasture is not possible, the feeding and maintenance of the animals are done in groups in open, half-open or closed sheds. In cattle breeding, there are usually male animals in the herd, the live weight of the animals varying between 800 kg and 1000 kg in 15-18 months. Weighing of animals that are this heavy comes with major risks.
- this process can only be carried out in long intervals and/or sampling is done by selecting certain animals instead of the whole herd.
- One of the methods conducted for determining the growth of the animals is the chest girth measurement method.
- the staff enters the paddock and measures the chest girth of the animals with a measuring tape and the measured value is noted, then the weight is calculated accordingly.
- the measurement result includes a margin of error up to 20 percent.
- One of the measurement methods conducted is weighing the herd en masse in a truck.
- the total animal weight in the truck is obtained as the animals enter the farm and as they go to the slaughterhouse for slaughtering.
- no data on the time elapsed from the entry to the exit can be obtained.
- the efficiency losses are only seen from the weighing that is done during the exit. Since the business has no opportunities left to intervene at this point, there is no way to prevent the loss that happens.
- the object of this invention is to ensure that the animals are weighed on their own without any additional intervention, during their water consumption routine, by means of the scale and automation system integrated to the water drinking unit. Through this, it is ensured that;
- Fig. 1 Side perspective view of the control unit
- the animal that wants to drink water enters the control unit (1) from the unit entrance (1.4).
- the water tank (1.1) is positioned right across the unit entrance (1.4) as it is seen in Fig. 1.
- the scale system (1.2) weighs the animal at the time it first gets on the scale and at the end of the average water consumption time.
- the scale system (1.2) comprised in the control unit structure has at least one load cell (1.2.1).
- a scale system (1.2) which has four load cells (1.2.1) for the measurement of weight in an efficient way, was applied.
- the electronic tag present on its ear is read by the animal sensor (1.3) and identified. This way, which animal is in the control unit (1) and the measurement information of the scale system (1.2) are automatically recorded to the file of the animal by the automation system.
- the animal sensor (1.3) can be a sensor and/or a barcode reader according to the properties of the electronic tag or chip present on the animal.
- the control unit (1) every time the animal goes to drink water, it is weighed before and after drinking water and this is recorded. For example, a feeder cattle drinks water 5-10 times on average in one day. This means that the animal is weighed 10 times per day and 300 times per month on average. While weighing is done once per month at most using sampling in other methods, with this system every animal can be weighed 300 times per month on average without any intervention.
- the weight of the animals can be tracked immediately as well as retroactively.
- the ration changes are made for the animals and the results of these can be tracked. For example, animals can be separated into different groups according to their weight situation and different rations can be applied to them.
- the animals since the animals have to enter the control unit to drink water, the animals who have differences in their water consumption routine, for example animals who drink less water, no water or more water can be identified and that creates an opportunity for early diagnosis of a potential illness situation.
- the control unit (1) has a body structure with dimensions that allow only one animal at a time to drink water and be kept separated from the other animals in the paddock.
- the body of the control unit (1) consists of a metal frame that can endure the weight of the animals.
- the control unit can be brought to the areas that breeding is done, in one piece or in disassembled condition to be assembled.
- the control unit (1) can be secured to the desired places with the base plates (1.6).
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
- Animal Husbandry (AREA)
- Environmental Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Economics (AREA)
- Primary Health Care (AREA)
- Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
- Agronomy & Crop Science (AREA)
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Human Resources & Organizations (AREA)
- Marketing (AREA)
- Marine Sciences & Fisheries (AREA)
- Strategic Management (AREA)
- Tourism & Hospitality (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
- Fodder In General (AREA)
- Feeding And Watering For Cattle Raising And Animal Husbandry (AREA)
Abstract
The invention relates to a livestock tracking control unit (1), in its structure, comprising a unit entrance (1.4) that makes up the section through which the animal enters the control unit (1); a water tank (1.1) forming the section from which the animals drink water, positioned opposite the unit entrance (1.4); a scale system (1.2), situated at the base part of the control unit (1), that allows the animal to be weighed; base plates (1.5) that allow the control unit (1) to be secured to the place it is positioned; at least one animal sensor (1.3) that recognizes the animal that enters the control unit (1) by detecting it through its electronic ear tag/chip and an automation system that automatically records the measurement information of the animal and the number of inputs to the control unit (1).
Description
LIVESTOCK TRACKING CONTROL UNIT
RELATED TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a livestock control unit that makes it possible to control the diet, weight and health of the livestock.
KNOWN STATE OF THE ART
In terms of determining the efficiency, conducting dietary programs in the right way and identifying possible illnesses beforehand, the weight and health conditions of the animals are tracked at certain intervals.
Animal husbandry can not be done based on breeding on pasture in every geographical condition. In cases when breeding on pasture is not possible, the feeding and maintenance of the animals are done in groups in open, half-open or closed sheds. In cattle breeding, there are usually male animals in the herd, the live weight of the animals varying between 800 kg and 1000 kg in 15-18 months. Weighing of animals that are this heavy comes with major risks.
At present, there are various methods carried out for weighing the animals. One of them is weighing done using mobile animal scales. In this method, the animals are weighed by being placed on the mobile animal scales.
However, the animals need to be taken from the paddocks and brought to the scale, and after weighing they need to be brought back to the paddocks again. However, carrying out these processes is rather difficult. Because animals get scared and become uneasy during this process. Animals, as a result of the stress that happens, may harm both themselves, the staff members on duty, and the devices that are going to be used for the measurement process. On the other hand, the weight gain of animals that go through intense stress stops for a few days as well. Additionally, it is quite difficult to carry the scales.
Due to the reasons disclosed, a lot of time is spent on the measurement and as the staff focuses on the weighing duty, disruptions in the routine tasks of the business happen. In cases that the existing staff members are not enough, it may be needed to hire extra staff for this process.
For this reason, especially in very crowded herds, this process can only be carried out in long intervals and/or sampling is done by selecting certain animals instead of the whole herd.
Furthermore, as there are no automation systems in place on mobile scales, information such as which animal was weighed, when it was weighed, the weight, etc. has to be manually recorded by the staff. Both the sampling method and the manual recording system increase the margin of error with regards to the most of the herd when the weighing is done this way, the individual live weight, health and the individual growth of the animals are not able to be tracked on a sufficient level and therefore sufficient analyses are not able to be produced.
One of the methods conducted for determining the growth of the animals is the chest girth measurement method.
In this method, the staff enters the paddock and measures the chest girth of the animals with a measuring tape and the measured value is noted, then the weight is calculated accordingly. However, as there is no proper connection between chest girth and weight, the measurement result includes a margin of error up to 20 percent.
On the other hand, the fact that the staff gets close to the animal personally, can present a threat for the staff member in terms of injury or even loss of life. Furthermore, the livestock that feels uneasy during the weighing can harm itself and can go through stress. Thus, stress brings weight loss.
One of the measurement methods conducted is weighing the herd en masse in a truck. In this method, the total animal weight in the truck is obtained as the animals enter the
farm and as they go to the slaughterhouse for slaughtering. With this method, no data on the time elapsed from the entry to the exit can be obtained. Furthermore, again it is not possible to make any inferences in terms of individual livestock. As a result of the weighing being done when the animals are going to the slaughterhouse, the efficiency losses are only seen from the weighing that is done during the exit. Since the business has no opportunities left to intervene at this point, there is no way to prevent the loss that happens.
It is not possible to weigh these animals, which are fed in groups, and control their growth, in an effective and efficient way with the methods discussed above.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The object of this invention is to ensure that the animals are weighed on their own without any additional intervention, during their water consumption routine, by means of the scale and automation system integrated to the water drinking unit. Through this, it is ensured that;
- the animals are prevented from getting stressed out, harming both themselves and the staff, and weight loss of the animal that occurs due to the stress is avoided,
- the extra workforce costs that may result from the weighing process is avoided,
- the live weight increases are instantly tracked and the most suitable ration is determined by having every animal get weighed every day,
- the growth of each animal and the animals that are undergoing treatment are recorded,
- some of the potential health problems are rapidly identified and attended to, according to the changes in the water consumption routine of the animal.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1. Side perspective view of the control unit
Fig. 2. Side view of the control unit
Fig. 3. Top view of the control unit
Fig. 4. Back view of the control unit
REFERENCE NUMERALS IN THE DRAWINGS
1. Control unit
1.1. Water tank
1.2. Scale system
1.2.1. Load cell
1.3. Animal sensor
1.4. Unit entrance
1.5. Base plates
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The livestock tracking control unit (1) that is the subject of the invention comprises a unit entrance (1.4) that makes up the section through which the animal enters the control unit (1); a water tank (1.1) forming the section from which the animals drink water, positioned across the unit entrance (1.4); a scale system (1.2), situated at the base part of the control unit (1), that allows the animal to be weighed; base plates (1.5) that allow the control unit (1) to be secured to the place it is positioned; at least one animal sensor (1.3) that recognizes the animal that enters the control unit (1) by detecting it using its electronic ear tag/chip and an automation system that automatically records the measurement information of the animal and the number of times it entered into the control unit (1), in its structure.
The animal that wants to drink water enters the control unit (1) from the unit entrance (1.4). The water tank (1.1) is positioned right across the unit entrance (1.4) as it is seen in Fig. 1. By this means, when the animal moves towards the water tank (1.1) to drink water, it has gotten on the scale system (1.2) completely. The scale system (1.2) weighs the animal at the time it first gets on the scale and at the end of the average water consumption time.
The scale system (1.2) comprised in the control unit structure has at least one load cell (1.2.1). In an exemplary application of our invention, a scale system (1.2), which has four load cells (1.2.1) for the measurement of weight in an efficient way, was applied.
When the animal enters the control unit (1), the electronic tag present on its ear is read by the animal sensor (1.3) and identified. This way, which animal is in the control unit (1) and the measurement information of the scale system (1.2) are automatically recorded to the file of the animal by the automation system.
The animal sensor (1.3) can be a sensor and/or a barcode reader according to the properties of the electronic tag or chip present on the animal. By means of the invention that is the control unit (1), every time the animal goes to drink water, it is weighed before and after drinking water and this is recorded. For example, a feeder cattle drinks water 5-10 times on average in one day. This means that the animal is weighed 10 times per day and 300 times per month on average. While weighing is done once per month at most using sampling in other methods, with this system every animal can be weighed 300 times per month on average without any intervention.
As a result of these weighings, the weight of the animals can be tracked immediately as well as retroactively. According to the agriculture results, the ration changes are made for the animals and the results of these can be tracked. For example, animals can be separated into different groups according to their weight situation and different rations can be applied to them.
Furthermore, since the animals have to enter the control unit to drink water, the animals who have differences in their water consumption routine, for example animals who drink less water, no water or more water can be identified and that creates an opportunity for early diagnosis of a potential illness situation.
The control unit (1) has a body structure with dimensions that allow only one animal at a time to drink water and be kept separated from the other animals in the paddock. The body of the control unit (1) consists of a metal frame that can endure the weight of the animals.
The control unit can be brought to the areas that breeding is done, in one piece or in disassembled condition to be assembled. The control unit (1) can be secured to the desired places with the base plates (1.6).
Claims
1. A livestock tracking control unit (1), in its structure, comprising a unit entrance (1.4) that makes up the section through which the animal enters the control unit; a water tank (1.1) forming the section from which the animals drink water, positioned opposite the unit entrance (1.4); a scale system (1.2), situated at the base part of the control unit (1), that allows the animal to be weighed; base plates (1.5) that allow the control unit (1) to be secured to the place it is positioned; at least one animal sensor (1.3) that recognizes the animal that enters the control unit (1) by detecting it through its electronic ear tag/chip and an automation system that automatically records the measurement information of the animal and the number inputs to the control unit (1).
2. The control unit (1) according to Claim 1 , comprising a scale system (1.2) with at least one load cell (1.2.1) in its structure.
3. The scale system (1.2) according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein it may have four load cells (1.2.1) in order to carry out a measurement of weight in an efficient way.
4. The control unit (1) according to Claim 1 , having a body structure with dimensions that will allow only one animal to drink water at a time and be kept separated from the other animals in the paddock.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| TR2018/18086 | 2018-11-28 | ||
| TR2018/18086A TR201818086A1 (en) | 2018-11-28 | 2018-11-28 | Livestock control unit. |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| WO2020112062A1 true WO2020112062A1 (en) | 2020-06-04 |
Family
ID=70853170
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/TR2019/050989 WO2020112062A1 (en) | 2018-11-28 | 2019-11-22 | Livestock tracking control unit |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| TR (1) | TR201818086A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2020112062A1 (en) |
Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4617876A (en) * | 1984-11-28 | 1986-10-21 | Hayes Norman J | Animal identification and control system |
| WO2018170535A1 (en) * | 2017-03-24 | 2018-09-27 | Platinum Agribusiness Pty Ltd | Animal weighing system |
-
2018
- 2018-11-28 TR TR2018/18086A patent/TR201818086A1/en unknown
-
2019
- 2019-11-22 WO PCT/TR2019/050989 patent/WO2020112062A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4617876A (en) * | 1984-11-28 | 1986-10-21 | Hayes Norman J | Animal identification and control system |
| WO2018170535A1 (en) * | 2017-03-24 | 2018-09-27 | Platinum Agribusiness Pty Ltd | Animal weighing system |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| TR201818086A1 (en) | 2020-06-22 |
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