GB2092876A - Feeding device for piglets - Google Patents

Abstract

A feeding device suitable for piglets has a U-shaped trough one side of which has a turned-out lip and the other side of which supports an artificial nipple, the width of the trough being such that a piglet can suck iron, the nipple without having to place its feet in the trough and the height of the nipple above the base of the trough being such that a piglet can feed without raising its head above shoulder height. Preferably the device has walls at the ends of the trough and a cover above the nipples to limit access from the ends and the top of the device. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Feeding device This invention relates to a feeding device suitable for the demand feeding of piglets.

It is recognised that the productivity of pig farms can be increased if piglets are removed from the sow at the earliest practicable age. Various proposals for the early weaning of piglets have been made and an age of 14 days is a particularly appropriate age for such early weaning. In addition, arrangements have sometime to be made for the artificial feeding of orphaned piglets or some piglets from very large litters.

One of the practical difficulties in the artificial feeding of piglets which has delayed its introduction on a large scale has been the development of a suitable feeding device. Artificial nipples supplying liquid (e.g. milk or milk substitute) are known and have been used in the rearing of calves, but it has been found that they cannot be used for feeding piglets without modification.

The present invention is therefore concerned with a feeding device suitable for piglets.

According to the present invention, a feeding device suitable for piglets comprising a U-shaped trough, one side of which has a turned-up lip and the other side of which supports an artificial nipple, the width of the trough being such that a piglet can suck from the nipple without having to place its feet in the trough and the height of the nipple above the base of the trough being such that a piglet can feed without raising its head above shoulder height.

The design of the feeding device has been based on extended studies which have shown that piglets are intelligent and quickly learn to suck from artificial nipples. The studies have also shown, however, that they are intelligent enough to learn to adapt the nipples for other purposes. Thus if a nipple is placed too high so that the piglets have to reach up to it they learn to use it as a shower, actuating the nipple with their sout or head, rather than their mouth, so that the liquid, which may be supplied at blood heat, flows down over their face and bodies. Similarly, any trough for supplying liquid or collecting surplus liquid tends to be used as a bath if the piglet can get any or all of its body into it.

Such abuse of a feeding device produces an unacceptable wastage of relatively expensive milk or milk substitute. It also gives riserto serious health hazards.

As a further disincentive to misuse of the device, the ends and the top of the device may be covered.

For example, when the piglets are initially introduced into a pen having a trough or when they are cold there may be tendency for them to rush the trough and vie for access to the nippples. This can lead to other piglets climbing on the backs of feeding piglets or seeking access to the nipples from the ends rather than the front of the trough. Thus, while the turned-out lip of the trough is effective to discourage feeding piglets from putting their feet into or getting into the trough it may sometimes be possible for non-feeding piglets to get into the trough over the backs of feeding piglets or around the sides.

In a preferred embodiment, therefore, the feeding device also has means to prevent access to the trough from its ends and a cover to limit access to the nipples from on top.

The means to prevent access to the trough from its ends may be walls extending up from the end of the trough. The walls may be solid or of mesh construction.

The prevention of access to the trough from its ends may also be effected in practice by suitable positioning ofthetrough in a pen. Thus access from both ends may be effectively prevented by placing the trough diagonally across a corner, or access to one end may be prevented by placing the trough along a wall but into one corner.

The cover across the top of the device, which may also be solid or of mesh construction, should be at a height above the nipples so that access to the nipples from the floor of the pen is not restricted but not too high so that piglets can gain access over the back of a feeding piglet. Preferably the cover does not extend over the full width of the trough above the nipples, otherwise a piglet may become jammed between the nipples and the cover.

The device may be desired for piglets weighing from 3 kg to 8 kg. It has been found possible to design a device suitable for piglets within such a weight range and suitable for all the piglets of a litter, irrespective of weight.

It would normally be used for piglets from 14 days old onwards (average weight 4 kg) but it has the capacity for feeding even younger piglets such as orphaned piglets.

The term "U-shaped trough" includes troughs with flat or curved floors. It has been found that piglets will learn to consume milk or milk substitute from a trough and that in many cases they prefer to actuate the nipples to release milk or milk substitute into the trough and to drink it from there. The trough should therefore be of such shape to allow for such consumption and should be leak proof.

The turned-out lip on one side ofthe trough is preferably at an angle of from 20 to 40 to the horizontal and serves to discourage the piglets from getting too close and putting their feet in the trough.

The other side of the trough may extend higher than the side with the turned-out lip to support the nipple at the appropriate height. The side of the trough may be flat with the nipple projecting from it and with the pipework supplying liquid to the nipple behind the side and concealed from the piglets.

The nipple may be of any known design comprising a tube of, for example, stainless steel, of a size such that a piglet can get its mouth round it and a stud projecting from the tube which releases liquid when depressed. Normally the stud is depressed by the tongue with the mouth around the nipple but, as previously explained, piglets may learn to depress the stud with the snout or face to allow liquid to fall into the trough.

Liquid may be supplied to the nipple through pipes from any suitable source. A particularly suitable source when using milk substitute as feed may be a mixer of the type known for feeding calves. This comprises a container, thermostatically controlled to maintain a given temperature and also controlled to maintain a minimum level in the container. When the liquid level in the container drops by a given amount, further quantities of water and milk powder are mixed and supplied to the container.

The container may be placed above the feeding device to give a gravity feed to the artificial nipple. It has been found that the height is important to give the right head of liquid so that the piglets can suck successfully but not too high so that the liquid will spurt out beyond the trough. A suitable height may be from 2 feet to 3 feet measured from the liquid level in the container.

A pump may be used, if desired, instead of a gravity feed but, if so, the same considerations of supplying the liquid at the right pressure apply.

The temperature of the liquid in the container may be from ambient to 42"C, preferably about 40"C.

It has been found that one nipple can supply liquid for 10 piglets. A device may have more than one nipple if required, depending on the number of piglets in the pen containing the feeding device.

Similarly, there may be a separate source of liquid supply for each feeding device or a single source may be used to supply two or more feeding devices.

With a gravity feed and with a mixer and container supplying liquid to two or more feeding devices, it will be apparent that feed lines from the mixer and container to the nipples may have to be several feet long. Preferably, therefore, the feed lines, which may be of transparent plastic, are arranged so that they can be temporarily disconnected at certain points to allow them to be flushed through at regular intervals with water. To this end the water inlet to the liquid feed mixer may have a T-piece on it so that a suitable length of hose terminating in a nozzle (e.g. an udder washing nozzle) can be attached and used to flush out the feed lines. Flushing may be carried out daily.

Having regard to the above considerations, suitable dimensions for a feeding device according to the present invention may be: Width of trough from into 5f 5 < inches Height of trough from 2 to 4 inches Height of nipple above base of trough from 2 to 4 inches Height of end wall above lip of trough from 2 to 4 inches Width of cover above nipples from 1 to 3 inches Height of cover above tipples from 2 to 4 inches The above dimensions assume that the bottom of the trough is at the same level as the floor on which the piglets stand.

The feeding device of the present invention is particularly suitable for use in the pig rearing unit which is the subject of our UK Applications No.s 8101044, 8120157, and 8125548. The contents of those Appli cations are herein incorporated into the present Application by reference.

The trough may, as previously stated, be placed across the corner of a pen or along a side. It is desir ably fixed to the pen and a convenient method of fixing is through the nipples. Thus metal or plastic pipes holding the nipples can be passed through holes in a wall of the pen and holes in the back wall of the trough and be held by e.g. a screw threaded nut or other fixing device.

Examples of feeding devices according to the present invention are now described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figures 1, 2 and 3 are, respectively, a front elevation of, plan of, and section through a feeding device, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a feeding device having end walls and a cover.

In Figures 1 to 3, a U-shaped trough 4 has a turned-out lip 5 on one side and a perpendicular limb 6 on the other side. The side with the lip 5 curves to form the ends of the trough as well as one side. The lip 5 is at an angle of 30 to the horizontal. Two stainless steel nipples 7 and 8 are fixed to the perpendicular limb 6 with pipes 9 and 10 extending through the limb for supplying liquid to the nipple.

The trough is made of a suitable material (e.g.

plastic, metal, or resin-coated metal) and has the following dimensions: Width (to end of lip) 4 < inches Width (to base of lip) 2l inches Height (to end of lip) 3 inches Height (to base of lip) 19 inches Height of nipples above base of trough 3 inches Length (to end of lip) 20 inches Length (to base of lip) 14 inches Distance of nipples from end of trough 5 < inches Length of nipples 2 inches In use the trough may be fixed to the wall of a pen, or may itself form one wall, with the base of the trough on a level with the floor of the pen.

Piglets can feed from the nipples 7,8 without raising their heads above shoulder level and without placing their feet in the trough. Lip 5 discourages the piglets from placing their feet in the trough. Any liquid escaping from the nipples falls into the trough where it can be licked up by the piglets.

The nipples are supplied with liquid milk substitute through pipes 9 using a mixer positoned outside and above the pen to give gravity feed to the nipples.

Figure 4 shows a feeding device generally similar to that shown in Figures 1 to 3, using the same reference numerals.

However, the device also has walls 11, 12 extending from the ends of the trough. Although the drawing shows the lip 5 extending around the end of the trough, the lip is not necessary at the ends and the walls 11, 12 may simply be an extension of the ends of the trough.

Acover 13 extends across the top of the device above the nipples being supported by the back 6 and end walls 11, 12. The cover is cut away above the nipples so that it only extends partly across the width of the trough.

Walls 11,12 prevent piglets from gaining access to the trough and nipples from the ends and over 13 restricts access to piglets who may climb onto the backs of feeding piglets.

The trough is made of plastic or metal and has the following dimensions: Width (to end of lip) 42 inches Width (to base of lip) 20 inches Height (to end of lip) 3 inches Height (to base of lip) 12 inches Height of nipples above base of trough 3 inches Length (to end of lip) 20 inches Length (to base of lip) 14 inches Distance of nipples from end of trough 5 < inches Length of nipples 2 inches Height of wall above lip 3 inches Width of wall 5 inches Length of narrow portion of cover 16 inches Width of narrow portion of cover 1r inches The device of Figure 4 is used in the same way as that of Figures 1 to 3.

Claims (7)

1. A feeding device suitable for piglets comprising a U-shaped trough, one side of which has a turned-out lip and the other side of which supports an artificial nipple, the width of the trough being such that a piglet can suck from the nipple without having to place its feet in the trough and the height of the nipple above the base of the trough being such that a piglet can feed without raising its head above shoulder height.

2. Afeeding device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the device has means to prevent access to the trough from its ends and a cover to limit access to the nipples from on top.

3. A feeding device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the turned-out lip is at an angle of from 20 to 400 to the horizontal.

4. Afeeding device as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3 wherein the dimensions of the feeding device are: Width oftrough from 3 < to 5 < inches Height of trough from 2 to 4 inches Height of nipple above base of trough from 2 to 4 inches Height of end wall above lip of trough from 2 to 4 inches Width of cover above nipples from 1 to 3 inches Height of cover above nipples from 2 to 4 inches

5. A method of feeding piglets with liquid milk substitute comprising forming the milk substitute in a mixer and feeding it by gravity to a feed device as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4.

6. A method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the gravity head is from 2 to 3 feet measured from the liquid level in the container of the mixer.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5 or 6 wherein the feed lines connecting the mixer to the mixerto the nipples are disconnectable and are flushed out periodically.