EP2858483A1

EP2858483A1 - Apparatus for monitoring the amount of feed ingested by animals, in particular poultry

Info

Publication number: EP2858483A1
Application number: EP13727164.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marie CHABAULT-DHUIT; Christophe THEULEAU; Harold RIGOREAU; Philippe SERVANT; Serge NEVOIT; Nadine SELLIER; Jacques POIROT
Original assignee: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique INRA
Current assignee: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique INRA
Priority date: 2012-06-06
Filing date: 2013-06-06
Publication date: 2015-04-15
Also published as: FR2991552A1; FR2991552B1; WO2013182624A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for monitoring, during feed intake, the amount of feed ingested by animals, such as poultry, specifically chickens, provided with an individual identification code, said apparatus including at least one individual feeding unit (10) having: a manger (11) comprising an access opening (113) for the animal; a feed silo (12) coupled to the manger (11) to move the feed into the manger (11); a weighing device (30) including a weighing gauge (31) for measuring the weight of the manger (11); a reading device (20) for reading the individual identification code borne by the animal; the apparatus including a plurality of individual manger units (10) mounted on a single frame (50) such that different access openings (113) of the mangers (20) are arranged along a circle, the access opening (113) of each manger (11) having an adjustable size that is provided for receiving the head of a single animal, and each reading device (20) being positioned at the access opening (113) of the corresponding manger (11).

Description

Facility for monitoring the amount of food ingested by animals, including poultry

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an installation for recording, during a food intake, the amount of food ingested by animals, such as poultry and more particularly chickens.

STATE OF THE ART

The breeding of poultry-type animals, and in particular the raising of chickens, most often consists of group farming on the ground. In this case, the feeding of poultry is done for example with common feeders where several animals can feed at the same time, these feeders having a linear or circular shape. An example of a circular feeder is for example given in the US patent application published April 7, 2005, under the reference US 2005/0072365.

To increase the yield of these farms, it is now necessary to have more and more information on animals in order to facilitate their selection. In particular, it is important to be able to monitor the consumption of food by animals, to be able to correlate it with their growth, and to evaluate for example the index of consumption of animal feed which corresponds to the ratio of quantity of food consumed by the animal. / weight gain of the animal.

In group farms on the ground, one can only know the average quantity of food consumed by poultry, by dividing the total quantity of food consumed by the number of poultry present in the batch. However, this does not allow accurate individual monitoring of consumption and is therefore not exploitable for animal selection or for individual physiological studies. However, it is known that a poultry raised on the ground over a larger area will not have the same physical costs as a cage-reared bird on a small area. We also know that there are dominant / dominated relationships. These phenomena generate differences in consumption between poultry that may be interesting to know.

For a measure of individual food consumption of poultry, it is generally proposed to isolate the animal in a cage and to monitor its consumption of food, for example by calculating the difference between the quantity of food distributed and the quantity of food. remaining food in the manger. However, such cage farming does not represent the actual conditions of group farming on the ground, and therefore does not take into account the factors of variation of individual consumption such as behavioral or environmental effects. In the French patent application FR 2 893 822 published on November 29, 2005, it was proposed a facility for the control of the amount of food ingested by animals placed under normal conditions of rearing, group ground. More specifically, the installation comprises a feed system having a feeder associated with weighing means and an individual access corridor to this feeder, this passage being equipped with means for reading an identification code carried by the feeder. animal, the data provided by the reading means and the weighing means being addressed to a data processing unit. The particularity of the feeding system is that the feeder and its associated weighing means are mounted in the suspended state on a receiving frame so as to leave free the space between the manger and the ground to facilitate cleaning and avoid weighing errors. The installation preferably comprises a plurality of individual feeding systems, aligned side by side, to allow several birds to feed at the same time. The use of corridors to restrict access to the feeder to a single animal has the disadvantage of isolating the animal from its congeners, which affects the study of feeding behavior of animals. In addition, the proposed installation is not suitable for measuring feed consumption from the first days of age of the animal, and it is necessary that the birds have 6 weeks of age to use this manger and record a consumption food.

An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved facility for monitoring the amount of food ingested by animals, such as poultry and more particularly chickens, reared in groups on the ground.

More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide an installation for measuring the individual consumption of animals raised in group ground, regardless of the age of the animal.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an installation for measuring the individual consumption of animals reared in groups on the ground that does not change the usual behavior of animals.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an installation for measuring the individual consumption of animals raised in groups on the ground, accurately, simply, and at reduced cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To this end, an installation is proposed for monitoring the quantity of food ingested by animals, such as poultry and more particularly chickens, provided with an individual identification code, during a food intake. said plant comprising at least one individual feed unit having:

a manger with an access port for the animal; a feed silo coupled to the feeder for feeding food to the manger;

a weighing device comprising a weighing gauge for measuring the weight of the feeder;

a device for reading the individual identification code carried by the animal;

characterized in that the installation comprises a plurality of individual feeding units mounted on a single frame so that the different access holes of the feeders are arranged in a circle, the access orifice of each feeder having a size adaptable adapted to receive the head of a single animal, and each reading device is positioned at the access port of the corresponding feeder.

Preferred but non-limiting aspects of this facility for monitoring the amount of food ingested by animals, alone or in combination, are as follows:

- The frame comprises a fixing base on which the weighing gages are fixed, said fixing base being intended to be fixed to the ground in order to stabilize the weighing gages.

the fixing base comprises two elements in translation relative to each other by means of a thread, one of the two elements being intended to be fixed to the ground, and the other of the two elements serving as frame support and securing the weighing gages, the installation further comprising a holding device provided to prevent the relative movement of the two elements forming the fixing base, two adjacent access ports are spaced one of the another by a distance sufficient to separate two animals, the distance preferably being at least equal to the diameter of one of the access orifices.

each individual feeding unit further comprises a device for protecting the reading device, intended to prevent the reading of an individual identification code of an animal not present in the access opening of the corresponding feeder.

the protection device comprises two protective plates extending from the frame on either side of the access port of the corresponding feeder, the protection plates are mounted to move in translation on the frame,

the feed silo comprises a cylindrical tube having a beveled end, and the feeder comprises a tray for receiving food having an inclined wall for cooperating with the beveled end of the feed silo, the feeder further comprising a lid arranged on the tray and comprising the access orifice for the animal. the plant further comprises a vibration unit coupled to each feed silo to promote the flow of food from the feed silo to the feeder of each individual feed unit,

the installation further comprises a processing unit having:

a receiver for receiving the data measured by the weighing device and the reading device of each individual power supply unit, and a computer for processing said measured data,

the installation comprises a single access space in which the frame and the associated individual power units are located.

- each individual power unit does not have an isolation corridor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description which follows, which is purely illustrative and nonlimiting and should be read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective representation of a feed silo with the associated feeder;

Figure 2 is a perspective representation of the feed silo and feeder of Figure 1, with the feeder cover and the weighing device; - Figure 3 is a perspective representation of an individual power unit mounted on the frame of an installation according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a schematic side view of an individual power unit mounted on the frame of an installation according to the invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating a possible positioning of the reading device at the feeder;

Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating another possible positioning of the reading device at the feeder;

Figures 7A and 7B are schematic views illustrating the cooperation between the feed silo and the trough of the feeder;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the circular arrangement of the individual power units mounted on the frame of the installation according to the invention; Figure 9 is a perspective view illustrating the fully assembled installation according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 10 is a representation of an installation of the prior art for monitoring the feeding of poultry, with isolation corridor;

Figure 1 1 is a representation of a traditional circular configuration installation for feeding poultry. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The facility proposed for the monitoring, during a food intake, of the quantity of food ingested by animals is presented with reference to poultry farming and more particularly the breeding of chickens, but the lessons could be be suitable for animals with similar physical characteristics and breeding conditions.

The proposed facility for individual monitoring of feed intake in poultry comprises a feeding structure 1 which incorporates a plurality of individual feeding units 10 arranged in a circle, so as to form a circular feeding structure 1. More specifically, the installation comprises a plurality of individual power supply units 10 which are mounted on a single frame 50, that is to say a single frame 50, in a circular configuration. Each individual feeding unit 10 comprises a feed trough 11 with an access port 13 having a size adapted to receive the head of a single bird, and the individual feeding units 10 are mounted on the frame 50 so that that the access ports 1 13 corresponding feeders 1 1 describe a circle, giving the feed structure 1 this circular configuration.

Each individual feeding unit 10 therefore comprises a manger 1 1, illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, which is intended to receive the feed to be supplied to the poultry. This feeder 1 1 is coupled to a feed silo 12, which is provided to ensure a regular filling of the feeder January 1 food, preferably continuously, for example according to a filling threshold of the feeder 1 1.

The manger 1 1 has the particularity of having an access port 1 13 provided for receiving the head of a single fowl, thus limiting access to the feeder 10 to a single fowl at a time. To do this, the size of the access port 1 13 is sized according to the size of the head of the poultry farm batch.

Preferably, the size of the access port 1 13 is adaptable, that is to say adjustable over time, manually or automatically, so that the manger 1 1 is adapted for the feeding of poultry throughout its development, from the youngest age (a few days) to adulthood (several weeks), and is particularly suitable for poultry farms where breeding ends early enough, for example to 6 weeks old, for slaughtering poultry.

Preferably, the manger 1 1 comprises a tray 1 10 for receiving food arriving from the feed silo 12, this tank 1 10 serving as a reservoir for the food that the animal will consume directly from the port of access 1 13 of the manger 1 1.

According to a preferred embodiment, the feed silo 12 comprises a cylindrical tube 120 having a bevelled end 121, and the feed trough 1 1 comprises a trough 1 10 to receive the food having an inclined wall 1 January 1 intended to cooperate with the end 121 bevel feed silo 12. This cooperation is illustrated in Figure 7A where we see the partially tapered portion of the end 121 of the tube cylindrical 120 come to bear against the inclined wall 1 1 1 of the tank 1 10.

In Figure 7B is illustrated a feed silo 12 with the end 121 of the cylindrical tube 120 fully beveled. In this case, it is not necessary that the feed silo 12 bears against the inclined wall of the trough 1 10 of the feeder 1 1. Such an arrangement of the feed silo also makes it possible to carry out the tests. flow of food in the feed silo 12, by sliding a shutter plate 1 14 to determine the optimum opening of the cylindrical tube 120 from which can be deduced the dimensions of the end partially tapered 121 and the inclination of the inclined wall 1 1 1 of the bin 1 10 of the manger 1 1. It is furthermore preferable to ensure that the food does not overflow the individual tank 1 10.

The access port 1 13 can be manufactured directly on the tray 1 10 of the manger 1 1. Preferably, the manger 1 1 comprises a cover January 12 provided to be mounted on the tray 1 10 so as to close its opening, and the access port 1 13 is arranged on the cover 1 12.

Preferably, the access orifice 1 13 is circular and inclined with respect to the ground as illustrated in FIG. 2. This arrangement obliges the poultry, to feed, to completely insert their head into the manger 1 1 through the access port 1 13. The size of the orifice is adjusted according to the age of the animal and its genotype and limits access to only one animal at a time. In addition, when the animal sorts the food, its head is through the orifice inside the feed unit and the waste of the grains is thus avoided, the grains set aside remaining in the feed. manger. This makes it possible to avoid errors in the measurement of the weight of consumed food that would be due to the food left the manger 1 1.

By way of non-limiting example, the access port 1 13 is circular, the diameter of this access port 1 13 may vary between 2 cm and 6 cm. For example, in chicken, the diameter of the access port 1 13 varies as follows:

- 2.5 cm in diameter from the birth of the animal at an age of 15 days;

4 cm in diameter for an animal aged 15 days to 6 weeks; 6 cm in diameter for an animal older than 6 weeks.

Each individual supply unit 10 further comprises a reading device 20 adapted for reading an individual identification code carried by the animal.

This identification system is intended to allow the individual identification of the poultry that comes to feed in the manger 1 1 associated with the individual feeding unit 10. Any identification technology can be considered as codesystems. but the preferred technology is RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification).

For RFID identification, it is possible for example to provide each poultry with an RFID chip, such as a transponder encapsulated in a glass capsule to withstand the constraints of raising poultry group floor. One can for example mention the RFID chip referenced EM4305 - 3.15 ^* 13.3mm L / E - 134.2 kHz marketed by the company Axem Technology. It is also possible to use an RFID tag, such as for example one of the hyper-frequency RFID tags proposed by AGID.

The RFI chip D is preferably placed in the upper neck of the poultry, close to the crest of the chick. This particular positioning is advantageous in that it allows good identification while not disturbing the animal.

The device 20 for reading the individual identification code carried by the animal is positioned at the access orifice 1 13 of the manger 1 1 in an optimized manner for reading the animal that comes to feed in said manger 1 1.

The location of the reading device 20 is chosen to maximize the reading of the code carried by the animal while minimizing the risk of interference between the signals of the different RFID chips.

Thus, it is possible, for example, to position the reading device 20 inside the trough 1 of the feeder 1 1 as illustrated in FIG. 5, to be sure of catching the animal at the last moment, that is, that is, when he has passed the access port 1 13 and has the head inside the feeder 1 1.

To avoid arousing the interest of the bird for the reading device 20, it may optionally be placed on the side walls of the tray 1 10 but outside the manger 1 1. Another possibility is to provide a reading device 20 integrated in one of the walls of the manger 1 1, by overmolding for example.

Another position, illustrated in Figure 6, is to place the reading device 20 above the access port 1 13 through which the animal passes the head to feed. This positioning also makes it possible not to frighten the birds when they feed. In addition, the detection range of the readers 20, in particular RFID, is adapted for such a location.

Each individual feeding unit 10 further comprises a weighing device 30 which comprises a weighing gauge 31 for measuring the weight of the feeder 1 1. Such a weighing device 30 thus makes it possible to follow the evolution of the weight of the feeder and therefore to deduce the amount of food consumed over time, to derive the individual consumption of poultry by correlating this consumption data with the identification data of poultry. Monitoring the evolution of the weight of the feeder associated with the identification of the animal that comes to eat allows to establish the curve of consumption of this animal. The data processing can also raise the hours of consumption (beginning, duration, end) for an animal to refine its consumption curve.

The fact of using a weighing device 30 to monitor the weight of the manger 1 1 is advantageous in that it is easier to implement than monitoring the weight of the animal that feeds. Indeed it is easier to weigh a mass of grain in a container, a poultry always moving and which, moreover, must be properly isolated from other poultry. The weighing device 30 needs to be less accurate in measuring the evolution of the weight of the feeder 11 relative to a measurement of the weight of the poultry.

The weighing device 30 is chosen so that it can be positioned in a low volume and constrained, for example a weighing capacity of 0 kg to 3 kg with for example an accuracy of ± 0.1 g, and able to withstand the conditions of the henhouse (dust, water, vibrations ...). For example, the MTB weighing sensor proposed by Mettler Toledo can be used.

According to a preferred embodiment, the weighing device 30 comprises a weighing gauge 31 having an end fixed to a support member 51 1 of a fastening base 51 of the frame 50. This support element 51 1 is also attached to the ground , either directly or via a fastening element 512. This attachment to the ground avoids vibrations at the level of the weighing gauge 31 which could disrupt its operation. The other end of the weighing gauge 31 is fixed to the feeder 1 1, for example under the tray 1 1 1, so that the manger 1 1 rests on the weighing gauge 31. The weighing sensor 31 measures the weight of all the parts that it supports, including in particular the food contained in the manger, depending on the bending deformation it undergoes.

As is apparent from FIGS. 3, 4, and 8, each individual supply unit 10 is mounted on the frame 50 to form the circular feed structure 1.

In the embodiment shown, each individual supply unit 10 is fixed on the attachment base 51 of the frame 50 via the weighing device 30. The frame 50 further comprises a reinforcing member 52 comprising a central bar 521 parallel to the feed silos 12 of the individual feed units 10, and one or more transverse bars 522 fixed to the central bar to balance and reinforce the frame 50. As illustrated in Figure 8, the reinforcing member 52 comprises furthermore a guide cover 523 provided with a plurality of orifices for receiving the cylindrical tubes of the feed silos 12. This arrangement makes it possible to mount the individual feeding units 10 in a sliding manner with respect to the frame 50, facilitating the operation of the weighing device 30. Preferably, the fastening base 51 of the frame 50 comprises two elements in translation relative to one another, for example by means of a thread. This configuration facilitates the height adjustment of the feed structure. Indeed, the portion attached to the individual supply units 10 is threaded and the other portion is threaded to achieve the height adjustment by screwing or unscrewing the frame 50 incorporating the individual supply units 10.

One of the two elements corresponds to the fixing element 512 which is intended to be fixed to the ground for the stabilization of the whole of the supply structure. The other element is the support element 51 1 serving to support the frame 50 and to secure the weighing gauges 31.

In addition, the installation preferably comprises a holding device 524 designed to prevent the relative movement of the two elements forming the fixing base. For example, a hook system with a tensioned cable can be used to keep the feed structure in position, especially after the height has been correctly adjusted. This arrangement allows in particular to maintain the position despite the efforts exerted by the birds on the feeders.

Finally disassembling the feeder of its support is relatively easy because it is enough to completely unscrew the frame 50 incorporating the individual supply units 10 of its support and remove the hook of the holding cable.

As indicated above, the individual power supply units 10 are mounted on the frame 50 in a circular arrangement. The number of these individual feed units 10 for the same feed structure may vary, but it is important to provide sufficient space between two adjacent access ports 13 to prevent the birds from interfering with or even overlapping with each other. . Preferably, the distance separating two adjacent access orifices 13 is at least equal to the diameter of one of the access orifices 13. Preferably, the proposed feed structure comprises between 6 and 10 individual units. 10, with a further preference for a configuration with 8 individual supply units 10.

The frame 50 may further comprise a protective casing 53, having for example a substantially cylindrical shape, and intended to protect the different individual supply units 10 of the supply structure.

According to one embodiment, each individual supply unit 10 of the feed structure is associated with a protection device 40 of the reading device 20, intended to prevent the reading of an individual identification code of an animal. not present in the access port 1 13 of the corresponding manger 1 1.

For example, the protection device 40 may comprise two protective plates (41; 42) extending from the protective casing 53 of the frame 50 on either side of the access port 1 13 of the feeder 1 1 corresponding. These protection plates (41; 42) are only intended to limit or even eliminate any interference between the various reading devices 20 of the installation. They have no function of isolating the poultry during feeding, and their size and positioning are chosen instead to not form a corridor from isolating the poultry from each other. Thus such protective plates (41; 42) are, if necessary, positioned sufficiently far from the access ports 1 13 and preferably have a small width of a few centimeters. Preferably, the protection plates have dimensions substantially equal to the portion of the feeder 1 1 protruding from the cylindrical protective housing 53, and corresponding to the tray 1 1 1 and the cover 1 12 associated. These guard plates (41; 42), as well as the guard 53 or other parts of the feed structure, can be made of a transparent material, which reduces the possible feeling of isolation on the part of poultry.

According to another embodiment, the installation does not include any protective plates (41; 42) thus limiting the volume of space of this installation. In particular, they are not necessary when the reading devices 20 are chosen and positioned so as not to interfere with each other. It can also be provided to position interference protection elements within the volume defined by the protective housing 53.

According to yet another embodiment, the protective device 40 comprises protective boxes coming between two adjacent feeders 1 1, so as to form a substantially continuous ring with the portions of the feeders 1 1 projecting from the housing Protection cylinders 53. These protective housings are therefore preferably crown portions, defined for example by a curved tube of rectangular section having a width and a length corresponding to the depth and height of the portions of the feeders 1 1 protruding by This solution makes it possible not to increase the overall size of the installation while at the same time making it possible to reduce or even eliminate interference between the power supply units.

Regarding the flow of food, each feed silo 12 is fed, for example grains, via a main silo connected to the feed structure.

The flow of the grains through the flow silo into the trough 1 10 of the feeder 11 depends, among other things, on the particle size distribution, the shape of the flow tubes, the opening size to the reservoir of food and moisture.

In order to facilitate the descent of the grains into the different parts of the individual feed unit 10, it may however be useful to set up a vibration unit coupled to all the feed silos 12 to promote flow. feeding from the feed silo 12 to the feeder 1 1 of each individual feeding unit 10.

One can for example use one or more electric vibrators. It is possible, for example, to use industrial vibrators adapted to the food industry and which can be fixed on different components such as hoppers and silos. These vibrators are used for metering, emptying, sieving, separating, feeding, and are therefore well adapted to the constraints of the proposed feed structure. Among the electric vibrators, one can opt for example for a device comprising a vibrating motor with electromagnets, which has the advantage of being small and inexpensive. Preferably, the device is controlled so that the vibration is done intermittently so as not to disturb the weighing sensors 30.

All the information collected by the reading device 20 and the weighing device 30 are transmitted to a processing unit. This processing unit preferably comprises a receiver for receiving the data measured by the weighing device 30 and the reading device 20 of each individual power supply unit 10, and a computer for processing said measured data.

The communication between the reading and weighing devices 30 and the receiver of the processing unit may be wired, but wireless communication may also be envisaged, with the caveat that the wireless communication technology used does not interfere with the communication. reading individual identification codes.

The processing unit is designed to process the harvested data in order to deduce individual consumption statistics from each farm poultry. In addition to daily consumption per animal, we can study the date, frequency and duration of meals to draw conclusions about the feeding behavior of poultry, and correlate this information to their growth. Moreover, the data collected allow the processing unit to calculate the consumption index, that is to say the quantity ingested by the animal to obtain a kilogram of meat, from which the effectiveness can be evaluated. poultry raised on the ground. This allows a monitoring of the amount of food ingested by the poultry. In addition, it may be planned to record all these data for later analysis.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the feed structure further comprises means for evaluating the mass of the poultry, and / or the mass of wasted food, and / or the number of beaks during each "meal" poultry ".

The study of the individual consumption of poultry reared in group ground is particularly advantageous since it allows to introduce a new criterion of selection of these poultry which corresponds to the food efficiency under conditions of traditional breeding. The study of individual consumption of group poultry on the ground also helps to better understand the social structure of a group of poultry and its influence on consumption.

Such an installation is particularly interesting since it is likely to be used by both avian research teams working on the nutrition, growth, behavior and genetics of these traits, but also by poultry breeders, as well as service firms that form animal feeds, because the measurement of individual consumption can be done under conventional farming conditions (on the ground) and not in experimental conditions (individual cage).

In addition, the proposed facility for individual monitoring of the amount of food ingested by animals with a circular feed structure is very advantageous compared to linear facilities requiring isolation corridors to obtain individual consumption data. Indeed, the proposed circular feeding structure is devoid of isolation corridors, which makes it possible to avoid separating the birds during their consumption of food and to modify their usual behavior accordingly. Facilities with isolation corridors also have reliability problems since they do not completely eliminate the risk of several birds entering the corridor and feeding at the same time, thus distorting the harvest data collected. In addition, with such isolation corridor facilities, there is a higher mortality of poultry, which is due to the fact that poultry can not feed ad-libitum.

The installation is therefore without isolation corridor for guiding animals to the access port of each feeder. In fact, the installation comprises a feed structure and a single access space, that is to say that the feed structure is located in a space providing animals with access to the various access orifices of the feeders. 360 ° feeders compared to the circular configuration of the structure. On the contrary, in the French patent application FR 2 893 822, the installation comprises several different access spaces, namely a specific access space for each feeder, this space being created by the siding corridors.

The advantages resulting from the use of the proposed installation, in particular with respect to installations with an isolation corridor as described in the French patent application FR 2 893 822, are apparent from the comparative study described below, whose objective was to compare the two types of installation allowing the individual monitoring of the consumption, in terms of realization in the field, of the behavior of the animals and zootechnical parameters (growth, mortality, anatomy of the animals). Material and method :

Animals :

Chicks from an experimental genotype of the Poultry Research Unit (URA) of the National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA) were banded, equipped with an RFID chip and weighed. They were vaccinated against Marek's disease and Infectious Bronchitis. The animals were put in breeding during the day. They followed the prophylaxis plan applied at the Tours Poultry Experimental Center (PEAT) of INRA. The animals numbered 99 and are divided into 3 lots:

Lot 1: 34 animals equipped with low-frequency chips accessing an installation No. 1 with isolation corridor, similar to that presented in document FR 2,893,822 and described below, and represented in FIG. 10;

Lot 2: 33 animals equipped with low-frequency chips accessing a facility No. 2, in accordance with the proposed installation and described above;

Lot 3: 32 "control" animals accessing a facility No. 3 corresponding to a traditional circular feeder, that is to say without a system for monitoring the feeding of animals, and shown in Figure 1 1.

Installation # 1 provides a single access to the feeder, which is preceded by a 30 cm long, 30 cm high solid wood walled corridor that is adjustable in width to accommodate the width of the corridor at the age of the animal and therefore to its development. The access on the side of the corridor is obstructed so as not to disturb the reading of the chips. This installation is equipped with a scale placed under the feeder. This scale is connected to an interface linking a chip reader and its ring-shaped antenna (fixed at the level of the head passage of the feeder). The interface connects the scale and the chip reader to software running on a computer in the experiment room. When an animal feeds and passes the head in the ring, the reading of the chip triggers a weighing of the feeder. The weight of the food and the number of the animal are displayed on the computer screen and recorded. The consumption is calculated by the difference in the weight of the feeder between the moment when the animal's chip is read by the reader and the moment when it is read at the head exit of the animal.

Measures :

Mortality was recorded daily. Different measurements have been carried out on animals:

weighings at: 1, 3, 10, 17, 21 and 70 days of age.

anatomical measurements: weight of the carcass, weight of the proventricles, weight of the gizzards and weight of the intestines.

in order to calculate the yields of these organs in relation to the weight of the animal. Analyses :

Descriptive statistics were performed with the sas software (1989). The distribution of the residuals and the homogeneity of the variances were verified with the software sas (1989). Parametric variance analyzes were performed for growth traits (except the three-day weight for which variances were heterogeneous) and for anatomical traits. Statistical tests were performed with the same software, sas (1989). Results

Mortality :

Water Tab 2: Cumulative Mortality per Lot

Number of dead animals% of dead animals

Lot 1 19 54.3

Lot 2 1 2.9

Lot 3 2 6 Mortality was significantly higher for lot 1 than lots 2 or 3. More than half of the animals died in the first batch right from the 6 ^th day of age. Mortality then stabilized (see Table 2). The growth :

Table 3: Average animal weight per batch

The average animal weights are significantly higher for lots 2 and 3 compared to lot 1 for weights at 3, 10, 17 and 70 days. At 1 day, there is no difference between the weights of the animals of the three lots. As early as 3 days of age, the animals of lot 1 show a retardation of growth that they will not catch up to the slaughter and this same with the fall of strength related to the excessive mortality between 3 days and 10 days ( see Table 3).

Anatomy and yields:

Table 4: Averages of Body Composition Characteristics by Batch

The significant difference in growth observed between lot 1 and lots 2 and 3 is also obtained for carcass weights, but is significant only between lot 1 and lot 3. As regards the weights of the organs, no significant difference between the lots are not observed. However, when the weights of the organs are reduced to the weight of the animal, differences between lots appear. This is the case for the gizzard and intestine yields, which are significantly higher for lot 1 than for batches 2 and 3 (see Table 4) (respectively P = 0.06 and P <0.0001). Carcass yield is higher high for lot 1 as lot 2 (with a tendency of a lot effect) and lot 3 significantly.

Conclusion of the comparative study:

The results presented above show that the installation proposed above for the monitoring of the quantity of food ingested by animals is particularly advantageous compared to existing installations with access corridors, in particular with regard to zootechnical characteristics. such as mortality and growth, as well as anatomical features.

Indeed, a high mortality of the animals was observed for the lot 1, ie for the prototype equipped with corridor limiting access to 1 animal. The animals could not feed on ad-libitum and some died. This problem of access to the food also led to growth delays for lot 1. Despite the decrease in numbers, the animals were unable to catch up and kept up until slaughter.

For batch 1, gizzard and intestine yields were significantly higher than for batches 2 and 3. These differences may be explained by less frequent meals during the day but longer and longer, thus increasing the gizzard to be able to hold more food than the animals of lots 2 and 3 and also developing the intestine to absorb a significant amount of food. These results show that the prototype of batch 1 alters the basal response of the animal to the feeder and affects performance, which may be detrimental to future nutrition-based experiments, for example.

The reader will understand that many changes can be made without materially escaping the new lessons and benefits described here. Therefore, all such modifications are intended to be incorporated within the scope of the facility for tracking the amount of food ingested by animals presented. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

- US 2005/0072365

- FR 2 893 822

Claims

1. Installation for monitoring the quantity of food ingested by animals, such as poultry and more particularly chickens, provided with an individual identification code, during a food intake, said installation comprising at least one individual power unit (10) having:

a manger (1 1) with an access port (1 13) for the animal;

a feed silo (12) coupled to the feeder (1 1) for feeding food to the feeder (1 1);

- a weighing device (30) comprising a weighing gauge (31) for measuring the weight of the feeder (1 1);

a reading device (20) of the individual identification code carried by the animal; characterized in that the installation comprises a plurality of individual feeding units (10) mounted on a single frame (50) so that the different access orifices (1 13) of the feeders (20) are arranged in a circle , the access orifice (1 13) of each feeder (1 1) having an adaptable size adapted to receive the head of a single animal, and each reading device (20) being positioned at the level of the orifice of access (1 13) of the corresponding feeder (1 1).

2. Installation according to claim 1, wherein the frame (50) comprises a fixing base (51) on which are fixed the weighing gauges (31), said fixing base (51) being intended to be fixed to the ground in to stabilize the weighing gauges (31).

3. Installation according to claim 2, wherein the fixing base (51) comprises two elements (51 1, 512) in translation relative to each other by means of a thread, one of the two elements being intended to be fixed to the ground, and the other of the two elements serving as support for the frame and for securing the weighing gages (31), the installation further comprising a holding device (524) designed to prevent the relative movement of the two elements forming the fixing base (51).

4. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein two adjacent access ports (1 13) are spaced from each other by a distance sufficient to separate two animals, the distance preferably being at least equal to the diameter of one of the access ports (1 13).

5. Installation according to one of claims 1 to 4, each individual power unit (10) further comprises a device for protecting the reading device (40), intended to prevent the reading of an individual identification code an animal not present in the access port of the corresponding feeder (1 1).

6. Installation according to claim 5, wherein the protection device (40) comprises two protective plates (41, 42) extending from the frame (50) on either side of the access orifice. (1 13) of the corresponding feeder (10).

7. Installation according to claim 6, wherein the protective plates (41, 42) are mounted movably in translation on the frame (50).

The plant of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the feed silo (12) comprises a cylindrical tube having a beveled end (121), and the feeder (1 1) comprises a tray (1 10). ) for receiving food having an inclined wall (1 1 1) intended to cooperate with the beveled end (121) of the feed silo (12), the feeder (1 1) further comprising a cover (1 12) arranged on the tray (1 10) and comprising the access port (1 13) for the animal.

The plant of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a vibration unit coupled to each feed silo (12) for promoting flow of food from the feed silo (12) to the feed silo feeder (1 1) of each individual feeding unit (10).

10. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a processing unit having:

a receiver for receiving the data measured by the weighing device (30) and the reading device (20) of each individual power supply unit (10), and a computer for processing said measured data.

1 1. An installation as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising a single access space in which the frame (50) and the associated individual supply units (10) are located.

12. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 1 1, wherein each individual supply unit (10) is devoid of isolation corridor.