GB2061083A - Animal feeding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Animal feeding apparatus of the kind which comprises an elongate trough 12 from which the animals can feed and means such as a travelling hopper 20 for supplying feed into the ion trough includes a track extending lengthwise of the trough and supported at a predetermined height above the bottom of the trough, and a feed leveller mounted for travelling on the track. Thus, the leveller is adapted to follow a path which is a predetermined height above the bottom of the trough, so that the depth of feed remaining in the trough after the leveller has passed, is constant. In the preferred construction, the leveller forms part of a feed dispenser 60 which travels along the track, being propelled thereon by the hopper, but being separate from the hopper. It is also preferred that the track forms part of a reticulation, 32, 34, (36 not shown) which assists in preventing feed being ejected from the trough by the animals. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Animal feeding apparatus The invention is concerned with animal feeding apparatus of the kind which comprises an elongate trough from which the animals can feed, and means for supplying animal feed (usually in pelletised or granular form) into the trough. It is intended that the invention shall be used with caged birds (e.g. battery hens) but it is possible to envisage use of the invention with animals other than birds and also with free range animals.

Feed is sometimes supplied to apparatus of this kind from a hopper which travels lengthwise of the trough and as a rule, the hopper is suspended from a gantry. There are however, problems in ensuring that each animal gets the correct amount of feed and this applies particularly to caged animals. These problems are accentuated if the trough itself is not straight and level, and since the troughs are frequently of considerable length and may be subjected to a certain amount of rough usage, it sometimes happens that parts of the trough are bent relatively to adjacent parts, or that parts of the trough are sloping, or that parts of the side walls of the trough are distorted.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a feed apparatus which is adapted to provide for good control over the quantity of feed available to the animals. A secondary object is to provide animal feed apparatus which is adapted to cope with problems created by distorted troughs.

A further problem which arises with some animals, and in particular birds, is that the animals sometimes eject feed from the trough with their beak or snout, and almost invariably, feed which is ejected in this way is wasted. A preferred form of the invention is intended to reduce the incidence of feed ejection by the animals, although it will be appreciated that this is in any case less likely if the animal is only presented with a quantity of feed appropriate to its requirements, and hence even the basic feature of the invention assits in reducing the ejection of feed.

According to this invention an animal feeding apparatus comprises an elongate feed trough; means for supplying feed into the trough; a track extending lengthwise of the trough and supported in a predetermined position relatively to the bottom of the trough; and a feed leveller, having an operative lower edge mounted for travelling lengthwise of the trough on the track, the engagement of the leveller on the track preventing substantial vertical or sideways motion of the feed leveller relatively to the track, so that the operative edge of the leveller is constrained to follow a path which is a predetermined height above the bottom of the trough.

The significant feature which distinguishes the invention from previous apparatus is that since the path of the leveller is a predetermined height above the bottom of the trough, it is possible to ensure that the depth of feed which will be left in the trough after a passage of the leveller will be constant throughout the length of the trough. Hence, if the apparatus is placed alongside a row of battery hen cages for example, each bird will have access to the same amount of feed. This remains true even if the trough slopes or has portions which are at different levels, since the path of the leveller is always related to the bottom of the trough and not to some extraneous apparatus such as a gantry.

Preferably the leveller embraces the track to provide the engagement which constrains the vertical and sideways movement of the leveller. In the preferred construction, the track comprises a pair of parallel rods and the leveller has the two C-shaped portions engaging respectively on the rods with the open sides of the C-shaped portions facing each other.

According to another preferred feature of the invention, the track is spaced from the bottom of the trough. Adjustable mounting means may be provided for the track inside the trough, whereby the height of the track above the bottom of the trough can be adjusted.

It is further preferred that part of the leveller which engages with the track is flared at both ends to facilitate sliding of the leveller on the track in both longitudinal directions.

According to another preferred feature of the invention the leveller is mounted within the trough and has at least one wing at each end, each wing being curved or inclined inwardly to provide a deflector to facilitate travel of the leveller passed any inward projections from or of the adjacent wall of the trough in both longitudinal directions.

The leveller may comprise or be attached to a feed dispenser open at both top and bottom so that feed can pass vertically therethrough into the trough. Preferably the dispenser has substantially imperforate side walls and end walls and the trailing end wall acts as the feed leveller.

According to yet another preferred feature of the invention the means for supplying feed into the trough comprises a hopper adapted to reciprocate lengthwise of the trough but supported independently of the trough, part of the hopper being received in the feed dispenser, so that the hopper is adapted to drive the dispenser, causing the latter two travel on the track. Preferably the part of the hopper which is received in the dispenser is shorter than the dispenser so that there is some lost motion between the hopper and the dispenser each time the hopper reverses its direction of motion.

In a preferred arrangement a reticulation is provided in the trough below the path traversed by the operative edge of the leveller, to effectively divide any feed below the path of the operative edge into a series of discrete areas corresponding to interstices of the reticulation or spaces defined between parts of the reticulation and the side walls of the trough.

The reticulation may be so constructed that a poultry animal is restricted from ejecting feed from the trough with its beak.

The drawing(s) originally filed were informal and the print here reproduced is taken from a later filed formal copy.

From the animals point of view, the the reticula tion effectively divides the feed in the trough into separate compartments each of which is defined by an aperture in the reticulation or buy a space defined by the reticulation and one of the side walls of the trough. The fact that the feed may be higher than the reticulation does not alter this effective division of the feed, so long as the top of the reticulation is near enough to the surface of the feed to present an obstruction to sideways motion of the beak or snout of the animal. A hen, for example, is confined to pecking at feed in the effective divisions and is so restricted that it cannot aggregate the feed and then toss it from the trough.In the case where the feeding apparatus is to be used with battery hens, it is preferred that no aperture of the reticulation has a dimension greater than 7.5 centimetres. It is further preferred that the interstices of the reticulation are rectangles, the longest side of which is between 2 and 6 centimetres in length.

According to yet another preferred feature of the invention the reticulation is releasably attached to the trough. A construction which provides for this comprises a headed-element secured to the trough co-operating with a keyhole slotted bracket attached to the reticulation.

It is preferred that the track is fixed to the reticulation and in the preferred construction the track comprises a pair of parallel rods and the reticulation comprises a wire mesh bridging the rods, there being a plurality of reticulations connected end-toend by sleeves fitted on the ends of contiguous rods of adjacent reticulations, each reticulation having sufficient inherent flexibility and resilience to allow it to be bowed longitudinallyto disconnect its rods from the sleeves at at least one end thereof.

The construction and operation of a battery hen feeding apparatus will now be described by way of exemplification of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through part of the apparatus, Figure 2 is a plan view of the part of the apparatus shown in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a transverse section on the line Ill-Ill in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a plan view of a reticulation used in the apparatus, and Figure 5 is a perspective view showing one end of a feed dispenser used in the apparatus.

Part of a row of battery cages is shown diagrammatically at 10 in Figures 1,2 and 3. In a battery hen house there may be a considerable number of cages in a single row such as that illustrated at 10, and it is customary to have several birds in each cage. The feeding apparatusforthe birds in the row of cages includes a feed trough 12 which extends in close juxtaposition to an throughout the length of, the row of cages, so that each bird in the cages by stretching its head and neck through the front of its cage, has access to the interior of the feed trough 12. It will be observed that the trough 12 has a flat bottom 14 and diverging front and rearwalls 16 and 18, the front wall 16 being somewhat deeper than the rear wall 18.

A hopper 20 is associated with the trough 12, and forms part of feed supply means for the feeding apparatus. As shown, the hopper is generally rectangular in plan view, but tapers from top to bottom (see Figure 3), its lower portion 22 being parallel sided and considerably narrower than the width of the trough 12. The hopper is supported by means (not shown) from a gantry inside the hen house and extending overthe row of cages 10.

The hopper support means is arranged to produce travel of the hopper along the length of the trough 12. When feed is to be supplied to the birds, the hopper is filled and caused to travel from one end of the trough to the other. At the end of this traverse, the hopper reverses direction, and returns to the starting end where it waits until the nect time the traversing mechanism is operated.

Since the bottom of the hopper 20 is open, feed is able to fall from the hopper into the trough 12 and it is to be noted that the lower portion 22 of the hopper is in the trough.

The apparatus which has been described so far, namely the trough 12 and the travelling hopper 20 is generally well known, and in the known apparatus, the trailing end wall of the hopper acts as a feed leveller. That is to say, as the trailing end wall passes over the feed which has dropped into the trough, it scrapes over the feed presenting a more or less flat top surface on the feed in the trough behind the hopper. However, in orderthat the hopper may act as an effective leveller, its trailing end has to be nearly the same width as the trough in contradistinction to the relatively narrow lower end 22 of the hopper shown in the drawings.

A wire grid 30 is provided in the trough 12 and extends through substantially the entire length of the trough. In fact, the grid comprises a series of grid sections joined together in end-to-end fashion and in a specific example each section is 2 metres long.

Referring to Figure 4, a grid section 30a is shown, joined at one end to an end of an adjacent grid section 30b and at its other end to another grid section 30c.

Each grid section comprises a pair of parallel steel rods 32 and 34 and a wire mesh 36 defining a series of square apertures 38, welded to the rods. In the specific embodiment which is being described, the apertures 38 are 5 centimetre squares. Three steel brackets 40 are welded to each grid section, one at the centre of its length and one near to each end.

These brackets act as mounting brackets for the grid section, and to this end, each has a part-spherical upset 42 at its centre and is formed with a keyhole slot 44 (see Figure 2).At three longitudinally spaced positions corresponding to the spacing of the brackets 40, the trough 12 is provided with attachments for the grid, one such attachment being shown in detail in Figure 3. Each grid attachment comprises a plastics ball 46, which is a snug fit in the upset 42; a cup headed bolt 48 passing through clearance holes in the ball 46 and the bottom 14 ofthe trough; a compression spring 50 arranged between the bottom 14 and the underside of the ball 46 and a nut 52 engaged on the bolt and under the trough.

To locate the grid section 30 in the trough, each of the brackets 40 is secured to a respective attachment device. This is done by passing the head of the bolt 48 th rough the large end of the keyhole slot 44 in the bracket and then sliding the grid section 30 sideways - to engage the head of the bolt over the small end of the keyhole slot 44, at the same time engaging the ball 46 in the upset 42. Initially, the spring 50 holds the ball 46 against the underside of the bolt head, but it is possible to depress the ball against the action of the spring 50 to allow the bolt head to pass through the keyhole slot for effecting the connection.Once the ball is in the upset 42, the grid is held securely in the trough because the head of the bolt cannot pass through the small end of the slot and the engage ment of the ball in the upset prevents lateral move ment of the grid. It is, of course, possible to disen gage the grid from the attachments but this can only be done by applying sufficient sideways pressure to the grid to cause itto slide over the balls (compres sing the springs 50) until the large ends of the keyhole slots are in register with the heads of the bolts, when the grid can be simply lifted off the attachments.

For the purpose of connecting the grid sections together end-to-end, sleeve couplings 54 are pro vided at the ends of the rods 32 and 34. (As is clearly shown in Figure 2, the grid 36 stops short of each end of the rods 32 and 34, to provide for the fitting of the sleeve couplings 54.) The sleeves may be com pletely free to slide on the rods 32 and 34, or they may be welded to the rods of one grid section, leav ing a part of each sleeve projecting beyond the ends of those rods, to provide a socket for the rods of an adjacent grid section. In order to engage the ends of the rods 32 and 34 of a grid section with the sleeve couplings of adjacent grid sections, it is possible to bow the grid section by virtue of its inherent flexibil ity and resilience, until the rod ends can engage in the sleeves.Similarly, when the grid section is being disengaged in order to allow it to be removed, this can be achieved by bowing the grid section.

Now when all the grid sections are fitted into the trough 12, the spring 50 of each attachment device urges the ball 46 upwardly to the limit permitted by the engagement of the nut 52 with the underside of the bottom 14 of the trough, and the ball 46 holds the grid in a position spaced from the bottom of the trough. It will be appreciated, that the mounting bracket 40 is in fact nipped between the ball and the head of the bolt 48. Provided all the attachment devices are arranged, so that the balls 46 are located at the same height above the bottom of the trough, then the grids 36 will all extend parallel to the bot tom of the trough. In practice, it is possible to make some adjustment of the height of each ball 46 above the bottom of the trough, by turning the nut 52.Ide ally however, the attachment devices should be so set, that the grid 36 is parallel with the bottom of the trough, and this forms a significant feature of the invention.

A feed dispenser 60 is also provided, and gener ally, this comprises a rectangular box, open at the top and bottom, and having front and rear walls 62 and 64 which are parallel with the front and rear walls 16 and 18 ofthe trough 12. In its operative position as illustrated, the feed dispenser 60 fits inside the trough 12, and its front and rear walls 62 and 64 are spaced respectively inwardly of the walls 16 and 18 ofthe trough. The trough is made of sheet steel or plastics material, and its front, rear and end walls are all imperforate. Inturned lips 66 and 68 are formed along the lower edges of the front and rear walls. At each end of the dispenser, there are side plates 70 and 72 riveted to the front and rear walls respectively.Each of the side plates projects below the wall to which it is fixed, and has an inturned lip 74,76, these lips being parallel with the lips 66 and 68 formed on the front and rear walls of the dispenser. Hence, a C-shaped formation is provided by the lip 68, the plate 72 and the lip 76, and an oppo sitelyfacing C-shaped formation is provided by the lip 66, the plate 70 and the lip 74 (see especially Figure 3). The depth of each of these C-shaped configurations, is such that it is able to embrace one of the rods 32 and 34, together with part of the grid 30 as illustrated in Figure 3. Hence, the rods 32 and 34 provide a track extending longitudinally of the trough 12, on which the dispenser 60 is able to slide.

Each ofthe lips 66 and 68 rests on a respective rod 34 and 32, so that the weight of the dispenser and its contents is supported by the rods, the grid and the attachment devices. Moreover, because the C-shaped configurations embrace three sides of each rod and part of the grid, vertical motion of the dispenser relatively to the tracks provided by the rods 32 and 34 is prevented, and since the side plates 70 and 72 engage with the outsides of the rods 34 and 32, lateral motion of the dispenser 60 relatively to the trough 12 is prevented.Thus, the arrangement provides that the dispenser 60 is free to move longitudinally along the length of the trough, but in a path which is closely defined by the positioning of the track provided by the rods 34 and 32, and since that track is at a predetermined height above the bottom of the trough, it follows that the path of the dispenser is also at a predetermined height above the bottom of the trough.

As illustrated in Figure 5, both ends of the side plates 70 and 72 in the lower regions below the lips 66 and 68 (including the lips 74 and 76) are outwardly flared. This flaring of the ends of the side plates facilitates sliding of the dispenser along the track provided by the rods 34 and 32 and the grid 30.

For example, the flaring enables the dispenser to negotiate the sleeve couplings 54. The additional depth to the guide track created by one of the couplings 54 is compensated for by the absence of the grid 36 in the region where the coupling 54 is located. It is necessary to provide the flaring at both ends of each side plate, because the dispenser 60 is required to travel in both directions longitudinally of the trough 12.

Also as shown in Figure 5, at each end of the dispenser, the front and rear walls 62 and 64 extend beyond the end wall, and these extensions 78 and 80 are bent inwardly at acute angles. For various reasons, there can be obstructions into the path of motion of the dispenser 60 along the length of the trough, particularly inward distortions of the walls 16 and 18 of the trough itself, but the wings 78 and 80 act as deflectors, pushing any such obstructions outwardly, as the dispenser travels along the trough.

In the normal operative position, the lower portion 22 of the hopper 20 is within the dispenser 60, and as is clear from Figure 1, the dispenser is somewhat longer than the lower portion 22. The hopper and the dispenser are not connected together, but when the hopper is moved in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 1, the then leading end of the hopper engages with one of the end walls of the dispenser leaving a gap 82 between the then trailing end of the lower portion 22 of the hopper and the opposite end wall of the dispenser. As the hopper traverses along the length of the trough, it pushes the dispenser with it, and this provides the means for moving the dispenser along the track provided by the rods 34 and 32.At the end of its traverse, the hopper 20 reverses direction, and there is a slight lost motion equal in length to the gap 82, whilst the hopper moves into engagement with the other end of the dispenser, and then pushes the dispenser in the opposite direction to the arrow A. Therefore, the motion of the dispenser 60 is derived from the hopper but there is provision for relative vertical motion between the dispenser and the hopper. This is important, because as has been previously mentioned, the trough - and hence the track provided by the rods 34 and 32-may not follow a path which is precisely parallel with that along which the hopper 20 moves.

Feed 86 within the hopper falls through the bottom of the hopper into the dispenser, and feed in the dispenserfalls through the bottom of the dispenser into the trough. As the hopper and dispenser travel along the length ofthe trough, the then trailing end wall of the dispenser acts as a scraper or leveller, which forms a flat top surface on the feed which has fallen into the trough, this surface being approximately level with the tops of the rods 34 and 32.

Hence, the feed in the trough is levelled, and since the rods 34 and 32 are at a constant height above the bottom of the trough, so is the level of the feed in the trough. This provides the means for ensuring that each bird in the cages 10 has access to approximately the same quantity of feed. On the return motion of the hopper, since the level of the feed in the trough will not have been substantially reduced by birds feeding therefrom, there is practically no supply of feed out of the hopper and the dispenser into the trough.

As has been indicated, the construction and arrangement of the dispenser is such as to facilitate its travel along the track within the trough. However, most poultry feed contains natural oils, some of which accumulates on the rods 34 and 32 and the grid 36, and this accumulation of oil acts as a lubricant assisting in the passage of the dispenser.

Although the birds are able to peck at the feed even when the level of the feed falls below the level of the grid 36, the presence of that grid presents an obstruction, which inhibits the ejection of feed from the trough. It is almost impossible for a bird to aggregate a quantity of feed into a pile, and then insert its beak and throw the feed out of the trough, because of the obstruction provided by the parts of the grid 36. This therefore assists in preventing wastage of feed. Also, since each of the birds is presented with approximately the same amount of feed, it is possible to regulate the feeding, so that none of the birds is presented with a considerable excess of feed, which might be wasted.

In an alternative construction, each attachment device has a headed bolt similar to the bolt 48, passed through a keyhole slot in a bracket 40. However, the spring 50 is omitted, and the nut 52 is tightened, until the ball 46 rests on the bottom of the trough.

The height ofthe grid section above the bottom of the trough is therefore determined by and equal to the outside diameter of the ball 46. Clearly, there is then no means of adjusting the height of the grid and the track provided by the rods 34 and 32 relatively to the bottom of the trough. However, it is possible to supply sets of balls of different sizes, so that by replacing all the balls of one diameter with balls of another diameter, the height setting of the grid and track in the trough can be varied.

Claims (20)

1. An animal feeding apparatus comprising an elongate feed trough; means for supplying feed into the trough; a track extending lengthwise of the trough and supported in a predetermined position relatively to the bottom of the trough, and a feed leveller, having an operative lower edge, mounted for travelling lengthwise of the trough on the track, the engagement of the leveller on the track preventing substantial vertical or sideways motion of the feed leveller relatively to the track, so that the operative edge of the leveller is constrained to follow a path which is a predetermined height above the bottom of the trough.

2. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, in which the leveller embraces the track to provide the engagement which constrains the vertical and sideways movement of the leveller.

3. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, in which the track comprises a pair of parallel rods and the leveller has two C-shaped portions engaging respectively on the rods with the open sides of the C-shaped portions facing each other.

4 An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, which the track is spaced from the bottom of the trough.

5. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 4, in which adjustable mounting means are provided for the track inside the trough, whereby the height of the track above the bottom of the trough can be adjusted.

6. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5, in which that part of the leveller which engages with the track is flared at both ends to facilitate sliding of the leveller on the trck in both longitudinal directions.

7. Animal feeding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 6, in which the leveller is mounted within the trough and has at least one wing at each end, each wing being curved or inclined inwardly to provide a deflector to facilitate travel of the leveller past any inward projections from or of the adjacent wall of the trough in both longitudinal directions of motion.

8. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 7, in which the leveller comprises or is attached to a feed dispenser open at both top and bottom so that feed can pass vertically therethrough into the trough.

9. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, in which the dispenser has substantially imperforate side walls and end walls and the trailing end wall acts as the feed leveller.

10. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 8 or Claim 9, in which the means for supplying feed into the trough comprises a hopper adapted to reciprocate lengthwise of the trough but supported independently of the trough, part of the hopper being received in the feed dispenser, so that the hopper is adapted to drive the dispenser causing the latter two travel on the track.

11. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 10, in which the part of the hopper which is received in the dispenser is shorterthan the dispenser so that there is some lost motion between the hopper and the dispenser each time the hopper reverses its direction of motion.

12. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 11, in which a reticulation is provided in the hopper below the path traversed by the operative edge of the leveller, to effectively divide any feed below the path of the operative edge into a series of discrete areas corresponding to interstices of the reticulation or spaces defined between parts of the reticulation and the side walls of the trough.

13. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 12, in which the reticulation is so constructed that a poultry animal is restricted from ejecting feed from the trough with its beak.

14. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 13, in which no aperture ofthe reticulation has a dimension greater than 7.5 centimetres.

15. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 14, in which the interstices of the reticulation are rectangles, the longest side of which is between 2 and 6 centimetres in length.

16. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 12 to 15, in which the reticulation is releasably attached to the trough.

17. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 16, in which the releasable connection of the reticulation comprises a headed element secured to the trough, co-operating with a keyhole slotted bracket attached to the reticulation.

18. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 12 to 17, in which the track is fixed to the reticulation.

19. An animal feeding apparatus as claimed in Claim 18, in which the track comprises a pair of parallel rods and the reticulation comprises a wire mesh bridging the rods, there being a plurality of reticulations connected end-to-end by sleeves fitted on the ends of contiguous rods of adjacent reticulations, each reticulation having sufficient inherent flexibility and resilience to allow itto be bowed longitudinally to disconnect its rods from the sleeves at at least one end thereof.

20. An animal feeding apparatus constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.