FR2942101A1 - Parallelepipedic shaped breeding cage e.g. parturition cage, for rabbit, has platform including double access branch and safety branch, where one of branches is expanded from access branch or placed close to one of front and rear end faces - Google Patents

Abstract

The cage (1) has a platform (3) e.g. L-shaped platform, including a double access branch (31) and a safety branch (32) extending perpendicularly with respect to each other in active configuration. One of the two branches extends between two opposite side faces, and is isolated from a front end face (1E) and a rear end face (1F) so as to freely form an access space between each of the opposite end faces and the access branch to permit the rabbit to jump from the platform to a floor (1A) of the cage. The other branch is expanded from the access branch, or placed close to one of end faces. An independent claim is also included for a method for breeding animals using a parallelepipedic shaped cage.

Description

This invention relates generally to breeding cages for animals.

The invention relates more particularly to a breeding cage for animals, in particular a nursing cage (also called farrowing cage) and / or a cage for weight gain (also called fattening cage) for rabbits, of parallelepipedal general shape, comprising a bottom face forming a floor and a top face, said top and bottom faces being interconnected by four so-called lateral faces, said cage housing a platform which extends in a configuration called active, in a plane substantially parallel to the floor of the cage, above said floor so as to form a mezzanine.

Cages as described above are known which can be used as a nursing cage and then as a weight gain cage. When the cage is used as a nursing cage, the rabbits, who have been born for a few days, and their mother, are present inside the cage. Between feedings, the mother can jump onto the mezzanine to isolate herself from the rabbits remaining at the floor of the cage. Indeed, the rabbits are not yet sufficiently developed muscularly to be able to jump from the floor to the mezzanine, which allows the mother to rest on the platform. When the rabbits are sufficiently developed muscularly, the mother is removed from the cage, for example to proceed to a new breeding step, and the rabbits are left fed with a feeder. The cage is then used as a weight gain cage (also called a fattening cage). At this stage of development, the rabbits begin to develop sufficient muscle strength to access the platform from the floor. The platform thus forms a play platform for the rabbits, which enables them to develop their bodybuilding by going up and down the platform.

However, in the cages as described above, the platform is of rectangular shape and disposed against or near three lateral faces of the cage, that is to say at one of the opposite ends of the cage. It follows from this arrangement of the platform that it has only one access zone.

The rabbits are therefore limited in their freedom of movement and movement. Now, the more the rabbits do physical exercise up and down the platform, the more their muscle mass, and therefore their weight, increases, while their fat content decreases. Such a cage whose platform is only accessible on one side for the rabbits therefore does not optimize the development of their muscles. Since the fat is less heavy than the muscle and the rabbit sells for weight, a non-optimized muscle development results for the breeder by a loss of profit. The flesh of the rabbits may also have a high fat content, which is unsatisfactory for the consumer.

An object of the present invention is to design a cage to increase the muscular development of rabbits, while retaining the possibility for a rabbit, especially the mother, to isolate other rabbits.

To this end, the invention relates to a breeding cage for animals, in particular a nursing cage and / or weight gain cage for rabbits, of parallelepipedal general shape, comprising a bottom face forming a floor and a top face. said top and bottom faces being interconnected by four so-called lateral faces, said cage housing a platform which extends, in a so-called active configuration, in a plane substantially parallel to the floor of the cage, above said floor so as to form a mezzanine, characterized in that, in active configuration, the platform comprises at least two branches extending substantially perpendicularly with respect to one another, one of the two branches called double access branch s' extending between two opposite lateral faces and being spaced apart from the other two opposite lateral faces, said end faces, so as to leave free, between each of said two faces of e opposite extremities and said double access branch, at least one so-called access space allowing a rabbit to jump, from the platform to the floor of the cage and vice versa, the other branch, said shelter branch, developing from said double access branch up to, or in the vicinity of, at least one of said end faces.

In other words, the platform according to the invention has, on the one hand, a portion spaced apart from the two end faces of the cage so as to provide said access spaces on each side of the platform and, on the other hand, another portion extending against or in the vicinity of at least one of said end faces to form a refuge zone allowing a rabbit to snug at least against said end face and, preferably, in a corner corresponding of the cage.

By "rabbit" is meant both young rabbits and their mother. As recalled above, during the lactation phase, the mother can access the platform while the rabbits are not muscular enough to jump onto the platform. During the weight gain phase the rabbits have sufficient musculature to reach the platform. Thanks to the platform of the cage according to the invention, the rabbits can, by the double-access branch, climb on the platform on one side and descend from the other so as to go around the platform, which gives them great freedom of movement and movement without interfering with each other. They can easily move up and down the platform, which allows them to develop their muscles. Their weight increases and their fat levels increase.

In addition, thanks to the refuge part of the platform, a rabbit, in particular the mother, retains the possibility of isolating herself from other rabbits, particularly in a zone provided with a wedge, otherwise the rabbit is not tempted to access to said platform. Thus, the mother can between two feeds access the platform and isolate at the end portion of the refuge branch, forming area 'rest, while the rabbits whose musculature becomes sufficient can access the branch double access platform on one side and back down the other to exercise and develop their muscles.

The platform according to the invention thus offers the two functions of a rest area and a dual-access playground, without it being necessary to move the platform to obtain one or the other function or to have use two platforms.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, said refuge branch adjoins a lateral face contiguous to said at least one end face in the direction of which said refuge branch develops, so as to allow an animal to take refuge on said branch. refuge by snuggling in the corner formed between said at least one end face and said contiguous side face.

The ability of a rabbit to snuggle into a corner of the cage, while being isolated from other rabbits, allows the rabbit to feel safe by being protected by the corner faces against which he huddles. At the same time, while the rabbit snuggles into a corner of the cage on the shelter branch, the double access branch of the mezzanine remains free to allow the rabbits to jump onto the platform on one side and descend from the platform by the opposite side.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, said end faces comprise a so-called front end face corresponding to the insertion face of the rabbits in the cage and a rear opposite end face, said at least one face. end towards which develops the refuge branch of the platform is the rear end face. Such a configuration of the platform, according to which it has a refuge part at the rear face, allows a rabbit, in particular the mother, who accesses the platform to snuggle on the refuge part at the rear of the platform. the cage, which corresponds to a natural reflex rabbit that nestles in the cage opposite the operator who is usually activated at the front of the cage.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the cage is equipped with a feeder positioned in line with the platform access space delimited by the space left free between the double access branch and the shelter branch.

lo Positioning the manger to the right of the access space delimited by the two branches, that is to say inside the L, makes it possible to ensure that the droppings of the mother, when she is resting on the platform, do not come to contaminate the manger.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the platform is pivotally liftable to present a so-called inactive configuration, in which it extends substantially in a plane perpendicular to the floor of the cage.

Lifting the platform allows the operator, on the one hand, to easily access any part of the floor of the cage, limiting the risk of injury against the platform and on the other hand , facilitate the cleaning of the underside of the mezzanine platform.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the invention, the platform is formed by a grid of which at least one of the free edges is equipped with a protection means, preferably a snap-on strip at least partially surrounding said edge.

The use of such means for protecting at least one or each free edge of the platform makes it possible to prevent the operator or the rabbits from injuring themselves against the ends of bars forming said edge of the platform.

Preferably, the platform has an L shape.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the platform comprises two shelter branches which develop from the double access branch, substantially perpendicular to said double access branch and in the direction of the same end face, said platform preferably having a U-shape

According to another variant embodiment of the invention, the platform comprises two shelter branches which develop from the double access branch, substantially perpendicular to said double access branch, one in the direction of an end face and, the other, towards the opposite end face, said platform preferably having a Z or T shape.

The invention also relates to a method for rearing animals, in particular for rabbits, using a cage of parallelepipedal general shape, comprising a bottom face forming a floor and a top face, said top faces. and from below being interconnected by four so-called lateral faces. Said method comprises a step of placing inside said cage a platform comprising at least two branches extending substantially perpendicularly with respect to each other, preferably forming an L, the platform being placed in a plane substantially parallel to the floor of the cage, above said floor so as to form a mezzanine, so that, on the one hand, one of the two branches known as double access leg is extends between two opposite lateral faces and is spaced apart from the other two opposite lateral faces of the cage, said end faces, so as to leave free, between each of said two opposite end faces and said double access branch, a space designated as access allowing a rabbit to jump, from the platform to the floor of the cage and vice versa, and, on the other hand, the other branch, called refuge branch, develops up to or in the vicinity of , at least one d said end faces.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the breeding cage according to the invention equipped with an L platform; - Figure 2 is a partial perspective view of elevation of two cages according to the invention, juxtaposed and each equipped with an L-shaped platform and a manger.

Figures 1 and 2 show a breeding cage 1 for rabbits, of general parallelepipedal shape. The cage can be used as a nursing cage and as a weight gain cage.

The cage comprises a bottom face 1A forming a floor and a face 1B from above. Said faces 1A, 1B from below and from above are interconnected by four so-called lateral faces 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F. Two of the opposite faces 1E, 1F opposite are respectively said front and rear face. The front face 1E corresponds to the insertion face of the rabbits in the cage or, in the case where several cages are juxtaposed (see Figure 2) to the face of the cage closest to the pathway along the which are distributed to the cages. Said front face also corresponds here to the face in the vicinity of which is positioned a nest 12, outside the cage 1, in which the mother gives birth. The opposite rear face 1 F corresponds here to the face near which is disposed a feeder 7, inside the cage.

Said cage 1 houses, between bottom faces 1A and top 1B, a platform 3 which extends, in a so-called active configuration, in a plane substantially parallel to the floor 1A of the cage, so as to form a mezzanine. Of course, the platform 3 is of shorter length than that of the floor 1A, the length being taken in the front and rear direction of the cage.

Preferably, each of the faces of the cage, as well as the platform, is formed of a grid consisting of two rows of bars arranged perpendicularly.

The platform 3 comprises at least two branches 31, 32 extending substantially perpendicularly relative to each other. In the active configuration AC of the platform, one of the two branches 31 called double-access branch extends between two opposite side faces 1C, 1 D and is spaced from the other two faces 1E, 1 F opposite side, said end faces , so as to leave free, between each of said two end faces 1 E, 1 F opposite and said double access branch 31, at least one so-called access space to allow a rabbit to jump, by jumping, from the platform 3 to the floor 1A of the cage 1 and vice versa. The other branch 32, called refuge branch, develops from said double access branch 31 up to, or in the vicinity of, at least one of said end faces 1E, IF. Said refuge branch 32 occupies part of one of the access areas to the double access branch 31 of the platform, partially closing said access space.

Such a design of the platform makes it possible to benefit from a refuge zone formed by the refuge branch 32 which authorizes the mother to isolate the rabbits between two feedings, while increasing the freedom of movement of the rabbits 20 inside the breeding cage by allowing the rabbits to go up and down the platform by the front and rear sides of the double access leg 31 of the platform. Due to the increase in physical exercise performed by the rabbits, their muscle mass increases.

Each access space to the platform is of sufficient size to allow a rabbit to move up and down the platform. Preferably, the spacing distance between the double-access branch 31 of the platform 3 and one of the corresponding end faces to delimit an access space is between 15 and 19 cm. In the example illustrated in the figures, said double access branch 31 extends in a direction transverse to the front-rear direction, from the side face 1C to the side face 1 D. As a variant, it can be provided that there is a space between said double access leg and one or both lateral faces between which it extends, provided that this space does not allow a rabbit to access the platform.

Preferably, said at least one end face in the direction of which the shelter branch 32 of the platform 3 is developed is the rear end face 1 F.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, said refuge branch 32 adjoins a lateral face 1C contiguous with said rear end face 1F, so as to allow the mother to take refuge on said shelter branch 32 by coming to snuggle in the wedge formed between said end face 1 F and said contiguous side face 1C.

In the example illustrated in the figures, the platform has an L shape. Thus, in the embodiment illustrated in the figures, the platform corresponds to a perforated rectangular platform, said opening 33 being delimited by the branches 31, 32 of the L formed. by the platform.

Thus, the double access branch 31 of the platform is spaced from the end face 20 (here the rear face) in the direction of which the shelter branch 32 extends, due to the opening 33 of the platform which gives it its L shape, and it is spaced from the opposite end face, here the front face, because of its position in the middle zone of the cage. This median position of the double access branch 31 results from the chosen length of the refuge branch 25 which extends towards the rear face, with respect to the length (or depth) of the cage. In other words, the openwork 33 of the L is open on said end face in the direction of which said refuge branch extends and said openwork 33 forms one of the access passages to the platform.

Advantageously, the manger 7 is positioned in line with the access space to the platform delimited by the space left free between the double access branch 31 and the refuge branch 32, that is to say on the right of the ajourage 33 of the platform. The platform can be fixed mounted. According to a fixed mounting of the platform, the edges of the platform that extend against or in the vicinity of the side faces 1C, 1D are connected to said side faces by connecting means, called staples, formed by a wire folded in a loop around at least one bar of one of said side faces and at least one bar of the platform. It can also be provided that the platform is mounted suspended by rods to said side faces or to the top face when it is formed by a grid (that is to say when the top face io is not open on the sky).

Alternatively, it can be provided that the platform is pivotally liftable to present a so-called inactive configuration C1, in which it extends substantially in a plane substantially perpendicular to the floor 15 1A of the cage, which allows a farmer to pass his hand under the platform easily and without injury, for example to seize the rabbits located on the floor of said cage. To do this, the platform is pivotally mounted, preferably around a transverse direction axis to the planes of the side faces 1C, 1 D. In other words, the platform 20 is pivotally mounted about an axis transverse to the direction before behind.

In this case, the cage comprises hinge positioning means for pivotally mounting the platform, preferably by its rear part. The cage also comprises positioning means 25 forming a platform support in the active position. Said positioning means forming a platform support are fixed on the opposite lateral faces transverse to the desired axis of pivoting, that is to say here on the lateral faces 1C, 1D.

Advantageously, each free edge of the platform is protected by a U-shaped clapper rod 8, at least partially surrounding said edge.

In a variant, provision may be made for the platform to comprise two shelter branches which develop from the double access branch, substantially perpendicular to said double access branch and in the direction of the same end face, said platform preferably having a shape in U.

It can also be provided that the platform comprises two shelter branches which develop from the double access branch, substantially perpendicular to said double access branch, one in the direction of an end face and the other in the direction of the opposite end face. Said platform can then have a Z (or S) shape for which the refuges branches originate at the opposite ends of the double access branch. The platform may also have a T-shape for which the refuges branches develop in opposite directions from the same end of the dual access branch.

In the example illustrated in the figures, the mezzanine is made in the form of a grid composed of metal bars. It can be expected that the mezzanine is made of a material other than metal which makes the platform more comfortable to contact for animals. In particular, it is possible to provide the mezzanine made of plastic material.

Claims (10)

REVENDICATIONS1. Animal breeding cage (1), in particular a nursing cage and / or a rabbit weight gain cage, of generally parallelepipedal shape, comprising a bottom face (1A) forming a floor and a top face (1B) , said top and bottom faces (1A, 1B) being interconnected by four so-called lateral faces (1C, ID, 1E, IF), said cage (1) accommodating a platform (3) which extends, according to a said active configuration (CA), in a plane substantially parallel to the floor (1A) of the cage, above said floor (1A) so as to form a mezzanine, characterized in that, in active configuration (CA), the platform (3) comprises at least two branches (31, 32) extending substantially perpendicularly with respect to one another, one of the two branches (31) called double-access branch extending between two opposite lateral faces ( 1C, ID) and being spaced apart from the other two opposite faces (1E, IF) opposite sides, called end faces, d e so as to leave free, between each of said two opposite end faces (1E, IF) and said double access leg (31), at least one so-called access space allowing a rabbit to jump, by jumping, from the platform (3) the floor (1A) of the cage (1) and vice versa, the other branch (32), said refuge branch, developing from said branch (31) double access to or near, at least one of said end faces (1E, IF). 2. Cage (1) for breeding according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said refuge branch (32) adjoins a side face (1C) contiguous to said at least one end face (IF) towards which said branch refuge (32) is developed, so as to allow an animal to take refuge on said refuge branch (32) by snuggling in the corner formed between said at least one end face (1 F) and said contiguous lateral face (1 C). 3. Cage (1) breeding according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said end faces comprising a front end (1E) said front corresponding to the introduction face of the rabbits in the cage and an opposite end surface (1 F) said rear, said at least one end face in the direction of which develops the shelter branch (32) of the platform (3) is the rear end face (1 F) . 4. Cage (1) breeding according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cage is equipped with a manger (7) positioned in line with the access space to the platform defined by the space left free between the double access branch (31) and the refuge branch (32). 5. Cage (1) breeding according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the platform (3) is pivotally liftable to present a so-called inactive configuration (Cl), in which it extends substantially in a plane perpendicular to the floor (1A) of the cage. 6. Cage (1) breeding according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the platform (3) is formed by a grid of which at least one of the free edges is equipped with a means of protection (8 ), preferably a snap-on strip at least partially surrounding said edge. 7. Cage (1) breeding according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the platform has an L-shaped. 8. Cage (1) breeding according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the platform comprises two shelter branches which develop from the double access branch, substantially perpendicular to said double access branch and in the direction of the same end face, said platform preferably having a U shape. 9. Cage (1) breeding according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the platform comprises two shelter branches which develop from the double access branch, substantially perpendicular to said double access branch, one in the direction one end face and the other towards the opposite end face, said platform preferably having a Z or T shape. 10. Process (1) for rearing animals, in particular for rabbits, with the aid of a cage of parallelepipedal general shape, comprising a bottom face (1A) forming a floor and a face (1B) from above, said faces (1A, 1B) from above and from below being interconnected by four so-called lateral faces (1C, 1D, 1E, IF), characterized in that said method comprises a step of placing in the interior said cage (1) of a platform (3) comprising at least two branches (31, 32) extending substantially perpendicular to each other, preferably forming an L, the platform being placed in place in a plane substantially parallel to the floor (1A) of the cage, above said floor (1A) so as to form a mezzanine, so that, firstly, one of the two branches (31) said double access branch extends between two opposite lateral faces (1C, ID) and is separated from the other two lateral faces (1E, IF) opposed to the cage, said end faces, so as to leave free, between each of said two opposite end faces (1E, IF) and said dual access branch (31), a so-called access space allowing a rabbit jump, from the platform (3) to the floor (1A) of the cage (1) and vice versa, and secondly, the other branch (32), said refuge branch, develops until , or in the vicinity of, at least one of said end faces (1E, IF).