GB2118418A - Animal feeder for ruminant animals - Google Patents
Animal feeder for ruminant animals Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2118418A GB2118418A GB08307073A GB8307073A GB2118418A GB 2118418 A GB2118418 A GB 2118418A GB 08307073 A GB08307073 A GB 08307073A GB 8307073 A GB8307073 A GB 8307073A GB 2118418 A GB2118418 A GB 2118418A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- animal feeder
- feeder according
- compartment
- bars
- upper compartment
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 241001465754 Metazoa Species 0.000 title claims abstract description 43
- 241000282849 Ruminantia Species 0.000 title claims abstract description 9
- 241000283690 Bos taurus Species 0.000 claims abstract description 15
- 241001494479 Pecora Species 0.000 claims abstract description 13
- 239000004460 silage Substances 0.000 description 5
- 229910000831 Steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000010959 steel Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000008878 coupling Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010168 coupling process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005859 coupling reaction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 244000144972 livestock Species 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000717 retained effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000005728 strengthening Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
- A01K—ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; REARING OR BREEDING ANIMALS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NEW BREEDS OF ANIMALS
- A01K1/00—Housing animals; Equipment therefor
- A01K1/10—Feed racks
Landscapes
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Environmental Sciences (AREA)
- Zoology (AREA)
- Animal Husbandry (AREA)
- Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
- Feeding And Watering For Cattle Raising And Animal Husbandry (AREA)
Abstract
An animal feeder for ruminant animals, which animal feeder comprises a main frame (1) which defines an upper compartment (50) accessible to cattle for feeding purposes and a lower compartment (16) which is positioned beneath the upper compartment so as to form an extension of the upper compartment and which is accessible for feeding purposes to sheep through spaces in a wall of the lower compartment, the spaces in the wall of the lower compartment being too small for cattle satisfactorily to feed therethrough. A single bale of hay is provided for both compartments. <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Animal feeder for ruminant animals
This invention relates animal feeders and more especially it relates to using big bale hay or silage animal feeders for ruminant animals such as cows and sheep for example.
When conditions do not permit domestic ruminants to graze naturally, it is essential for animal feed such as hay or silage to be provided. Conventionally, small manageable feed bales are placed in a feed trough or merely left on the ground where the animals are confined. Both of these practices are somewhat less than ideal. In the first case, in order for the bales to be easily managed by hand, they must be relatively small and are therefore soon torn apart and wastefully distributed by the animals.
Moreover known feed troughs suitable for cattle are unsuitable for small animals, such as sheep, whilst sheep feeders are unsuitable for cattle. In the second case, it is quite obviously undesirable for feed bales to be left on the ground where they will rapidly deteriorate and where they will soon be torn apart only to be wastefully distributed and trampled.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide an animal feeder for ruminant animals, which feeder can be used by both large and small ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, and which feeder can receive large feed bales.
Accordingly, this invention provides an animal feeder for ruminant animals, which animal feeder comprises a main frame which defines an upper compartment accessible to cattle for feeding purposes and a lower compartment which is positioned beneath the upper compartment so as to form an extension of the upper compartment and which is accessible for feeding purposes to sheep through spaces in a wall of the lower compartment, the spaces in the wall of the lower compartment being too small for cattle satisfactorily to feed therethrough.
The upper compartment may comprise bars which form a part of the frame, the upper compartment being accessible to cattle for feeding purposes via spaces between the bars.
By providing an animal feeder which comprises two compartments in mutual communication, one above the other, and enclosed by a common frame, the use of a single large feed bale of, for example hay or silage, is facilitated. The single large feed bale can then rest in the lower compartment and extend into the top compartment. Furthermore, it can be advantageously arranged that the single large feed bale (which may weigh from 8-10 hundredweight for example) can be transported together with the animal feeder by means of a tractor.
The lower compartment may comprise bars which form a part of the frame, the bars being spaced apart to define the spaces through which the sheep feed.
In addition to, or as an alternative to, the bars for the lower compartment, the lower compartment may comprise a mesh member. The mesh member may be a wire mesh member.
The lower compartment may be formed to be square, rectangular, U-shaped or V-shaped in cross section.
The upper compartment may be formed to be square or rectangular in cross section and the lower compartment may be arranged to extend downwardly from the floor of the upper compartment.
The upper compartment may comprise side walls defined by vertical bars.
One side wall may be hinged or provided with a drop side whereby access to the compartments is facilitated.
The main frame may be constructed of steel tube and may be adapted to receive a lifting bracket, for example a forked lifting bracket. The animal feeder can then easily be transported with a single large feed bale by tractor as mentioned above.
The forked lifting bracket may be provided together with the feeder and may comprise a pair of horizontal forks disposed in spaced apart relationship and supported by a framework adapted to be attached to a tractor.
The forked lifting bracket may include between the forks a retaining member which in use is hooked under a horizontal member forming a part of the main frame of the animal feeder so as to steady the animal feeder during transportation and prevent the animal feeder from tilting and falling off of the forks.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure lisa side view of an animal feeder;
Figure 2 is a plan view of the feeder shown in
Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a front end view of the feeder shown in
Figure 4 is a rear end view of the feeder shown in
Figure 1 and shows a hinged tail gate;
Figure 5 shows a first modified lower compartment for the feeder shown in Figure 1;
Figure 6shows a second modified lower compart mentforthefeedershown in Figure 1;
Figure 7 is a front view of a lifting bracket for attachment to a tractor for lifting animal feeders as shown in Figures 1 to 6;
Figure 8 is a side view of the bracket shown in
Figure 7; and
Figure 9 is a plan view of the bracket shown in
Figure 7.
Referring now to Figures 1 to 4, an animal feeder comprises a main frame 1 fabricated of steel tubing and including vertical bars 2 which are evenly spaced and secured to horizontal bars 3 to define one side of an upper compartment 50. The upper compartment 50 comprises another similar side which is opposite to the side shown in Figure 1 and a front end comprising vertical bars 4 and horizontal bars 5 as shown in Figure 3. The rear end of the upper compartment 50 is shown in Figure 4 and comprises vertical bars 6 to which are secured a tail gate comprising vertical bars 7 and horizontal bars 8 and 9. The horizontal bar 8 is provided with end pieces 10 which are each apertured to receive a stub member 11 which projects outwardly from the vertical bars 6.Once the end pieces 10 are positioned overthe stub members 11, the end pieces 10 can be retained in position by locking pins 12 passing
through apertures in the stub members 11. Thus the
tail gate is locked to the vertical bars 6. The
horizontal bar 9 of the tail gate is hinged by means of
hinges 13 and 14 to a horizontal bar 15 which forms a
part of the main frame 1.
Beneath the upper compartment 50 there is pro
vided a lower compartment 16, which is generally
rectangular in cross section as shown in Figures 1 to
4 and which is enclosed by a wire mesh grill 17. The
wire mesh grill 17 is supported at its rear end by
tubular members 18 (see Figure 4) and at its front
end by similar tubular members 19 (see Figure 3). At
the base of the lower compartment 16 and linking
the tubular members 18 and 19 is a horizontal
supporting tube 20. The horizontal tube 20 is secured
at its rear end 21 to an orthogonally disposed frame
member 22 which is welded at a point 23 to an
upright frame member 24. In a similar manner, the
horizontal tube 20 is welded at its front end 25 to a
vertical frame member 26 as shown most clearly in
Figure 1. The sides of the lower compartment 16 are
defined by vertically extending bars 27.
The lower compartment 16 may alternatively be
formed as shown in Figure 5 but with more bars 27A
than there are bars 27. There will thus be more bars
27A than there are bars 2. In other words, the
spacing between the bars 27A will be less than the
bars 2. Thus the spacing between the bars 27A is
only suitable for letting sheep gain access to the
lower compartment 16 and the spacing is too small
for cattle. By way of example it is mentioned that the
bars 27A may be spaced apart such that the distance
between their centres is 61/4 inches. This type of
lower compartment 16 is suitable for high density
big feed bales which contain approximately 20%
more silage than lower density big bales but which
are nevertheless the same size.
For use with the lower density big bales, a lower
compartment 16 as shown in Figure 1-4 may be
used. Alternatively, a metal mesh trough may be
dropped into the lower compartment 16 of Figure 5
to provide, as shown in Figure 6, more restricted
openings through which the sheep can gain access
to the less densely packed silage.
The feeder is arranged to be opened from the rear
end shown in Figure 4 and lifted from the front end
shown in Figure 3. Accordingly, the front end shown
in Figure 3 is provided with a horizontal frame
member 28 which is secured by means of two curved strengthening members 30 and 31 to the
lower of the horizontal members 5. In order to
provide additional strength at the lifting end, shown
in Figure 3, the vertical frame member 26 is secured
at its upper end to the uppermost of the horizontal
members 5, as shown in Figure 3, and is bent at its
lowermost end to form a curved part 33 as shown in
Figure 1 and returned to a point 34 at which it is
welded to the horizontal member 20.In order to
provide further structural strength at the lifting end, a a tubular frame member 35 is provided which, as shown in Figure 1, is welded at a point 36 to the main
frame and at a point 37 to the lower part of the frame
member 26 between its curved part 33 and the point
34.
In use of the feeders shown in Figure 1 to 6, a large feed bale is placed in the lower compartment 16 so as to extend into the upper compartment 50 defined between the bars 2,4 and 7. Thus the feed bale is accessible to cattle between the bars 2, the bars 4 and the bars 7, and the feed bale is also accessible to smaller animals such as sheep between the spaces, for example in the grill 17, of the lower compartment 16.
In order to facilitate lifting of the feeder, together with a bale when placed in position in the lower compartment 16, a forked lifting bracket is provided as shown in Figures 7,8 and 9. The forked lifting bracket is provided with two forks 38 and 39. The forks 38, 39 are secured to a bracket 40 which is of an inverted T-shape and lower parts of which are connected to struts 41 and 42. The struts 41,42 are provided with apertures 43,44 respectively. The apertures 43,44 are for receiving locking pin arrangements for enabling a connection to be made to the lifting gear (not shown) of a tractor. The upper part of the inverted T-shape member 40 is fitted with a pair of shackle forks 45,46, which are provided with aligned holes 47 and 48 respectively to receive a locking pin for retaining the coupling bar of a tractor.
In use of the lifting bracket, the forks 38 and 39 are placed underthe horizontal frame member 28, and in order to prevent the feeder from tilting and falling from the forks 38,39 during a lifting movement, a forked retaining member 49 is provided, see Figure 7 to 9, which hooks beneath the lower of the horizontal bars 5 shown in Figure 3.
It will be appreciated that by providing animal feeders as just before described, large feed bales of different densities may be used. The feed bales may be loaded into the feeder via the tail gate shown in
Figure 4 and transported in the feeder by means of a tractor utilising a bracket as shown in Figures 7 to 9.
Moreover once the feeder is positioned in a field or in some other live stock enclosure, a large feed bale in the feeder is accessible via the upper compartment 50 to cattle and via the lower compartment 16 to smaller animals such as sheep. In order to minimise loss of feed from the upper compartment 50 through spaces in the frame, timber boards 51 as shown in Figure 2 may be fitted to form an edge floor along the sides of the upper compartment 50.
It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above with reference to the drawings have been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the lower compartment 16 can be Vshaped and horizontal bars like the bars 27 can be employed.
Claims (14)
1. An animal feeder for ruminant animals, which animal feeder comprises a main frame which defines an upper compartment accessible to cattle for feeding purposes and a lower compartment which is positioned beneath the upper compartment so as to form an extension of the upper compartment and which is accessible for feeding purposes to sheep through spaces in a wall of the lower compartment, the spaces in the wall of the lower compartment being too small for cattle satisfactorily to feed therethrough.
2. An animal feeder according to claim 1 in which the upper compartment comprises bars which form a part of the frame, the upper compartment being accessible to cattle for feeding purposes via spaces between the bars.
3. An animal feeder according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the lower compartment comprises bars which form a part of the frame, the bars being spaced apart to define the spaces through which the sheep feed.
4. An animal feeder according to any one of the preceding claims in which the lower compartment comprises a mesh member.
5. An animal feeder according to claim 4 in which the mesh member is a wire mesh member.
6. An animal feeder according to any one of the preceding claims in which the lower compartment is formed to be square, rectangular, U-shaped or
V-shaped in cross section.
7. An animal feeder according to any one of the preceding claims in which the upper compartment is formed to be square or rectangular in cross section.
8. An animal feeder according to any one of the preceding claims in which the upper compartment comprises side walls defined by vertical bars.
9. An animal feeder according to any one of the preceding claims in which one side wall of the upper compartment is arranged to be hinged or provided with a drop side whereby access to the upper and lower compartments is facilitated.
10. An animal feeder according to any one of the preceding claims in which the main frame is adapted to receive a lifting bracket.
11. An animal feeder according to claim 10 in which the lifting bracket is a forked lifting bracket.
12. An animal feeder according to claim 11 in which the forked lifting bracket comprises a pair of horizontal forks disposed in spaced apart relationship and supported by a framework adapted to be attached to a tractor.
13. An animal feeder according to claim 11 or claim 12 in which the forked lifting bracket includes between the forks a retaining member which in use is hooked under a horizontal member forming a part of the main frame of the animal feeder so as to steady the animal feeder during transportation and prevent the animal feeder from tilting and falling off of the forks.
14. An animal feeder substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB08307073A GB2118418B (en) | 1982-04-15 | 1983-03-15 | Animal feeder for ruminant animals |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB8211034 | 1982-04-15 | ||
GB08307073A GB2118418B (en) | 1982-04-15 | 1983-03-15 | Animal feeder for ruminant animals |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
GB8307073D0 GB8307073D0 (en) | 1983-04-20 |
GB2118418A true GB2118418A (en) | 1983-11-02 |
GB2118418B GB2118418B (en) | 1985-10-16 |
Family
ID=26282566
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GB08307073A Expired GB2118418B (en) | 1982-04-15 | 1983-03-15 | Animal feeder for ruminant animals |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
GB (1) | GB2118418B (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2215975A (en) * | 1988-02-24 | 1989-10-04 | Edward Arthur Davies | A feed container |
FR2789544A1 (en) * | 1999-02-17 | 2000-08-18 | Jourdain Ets | Coupling system for a mobile feeder assembly for pigs, cattle and other types of livestock, comprises a modified lifting assembly enabling operation without the need for tractor assistance |
Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1058737A (en) * | 1963-10-22 | 1967-02-15 | Joseph Sutter | A manger for stock-feeding |
-
1983
- 1983-03-15 GB GB08307073A patent/GB2118418B/en not_active Expired
Patent Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1058737A (en) * | 1963-10-22 | 1967-02-15 | Joseph Sutter | A manger for stock-feeding |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB2215975A (en) * | 1988-02-24 | 1989-10-04 | Edward Arthur Davies | A feed container |
GB2215975B (en) * | 1988-02-24 | 1992-02-19 | Edward Arthur Davies | A feed container |
FR2789544A1 (en) * | 1999-02-17 | 2000-08-18 | Jourdain Ets | Coupling system for a mobile feeder assembly for pigs, cattle and other types of livestock, comprises a modified lifting assembly enabling operation without the need for tractor assistance |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB2118418B (en) | 1985-10-16 |
GB8307073D0 (en) | 1983-04-20 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US4844424A (en) | Fence structure | |
CA2113150C (en) | Hay saving round bale feeding apparatus and method | |
US4258663A (en) | Livestock feeder | |
US8919286B2 (en) | Modular baled hay feeding system and method for livestock | |
US3834353A (en) | Haystack feeder | |
US3004518A (en) | Stock feeder | |
US4148278A (en) | Self feeding bunk or barrier | |
US5486020A (en) | Vehicle chassis | |
CA3217488A1 (en) | Animal feeding reservoir and dispenser | |
US8839743B2 (en) | Apparatus and method for forming a cart | |
US5237962A (en) | Portable mobile rack and trough type livestock feeder | |
US7007633B2 (en) | Feeding apparatus for livestock | |
GB2118418A (en) | Animal feeder for ruminant animals | |
US4722302A (en) | Hay feeding apparatus | |
US5947055A (en) | Movable livestock feeder for baled hay with solid trough | |
US5743211A (en) | Universal feed bunker for livestock | |
US5477811A (en) | Hay bale feeding trailer | |
US3881449A (en) | Stack feeding device | |
GB2125670A (en) | An animal feeder | |
US4202292A (en) | Modular pig cage assembly | |
GB2203322A (en) | Animal feeders and agricultural trailers | |
CN218417895U (en) | Animal feeding trough capable of automatically supplementing feed | |
CN213323144U (en) | Forage transport vechicle for poultry | |
CN212414253U (en) | Novel swinery | |
GB2162038A (en) | A silage feeder for feeding silage to cattle or sheep |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |