GB2222928A

GB2222928A - Bird feeding devices

Info

Publication number: GB2222928A
Application number: GB8920368A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gerard Clement Burns; Francis Joseph Burns
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-09-08
Filing date: 1989-09-08
Publication date: 1990-03-28
Also published as: GB8920368D0; GB8821098D0

Abstract

The invention concerns a perch device for use in connection with a bird feedstuff sock and the device is adapted to be connected to the sock end. The connection is preferably by means of a one-way gripping action defined by flexible gripping tongues of the device through which the end of the sock is passed and pulled so as to place the sock under tension against the perch device. The perch device will preferably have perch bars or the like located outwardly of the sock on which feeding birds can perch whilst feeding. <IMAGE>

Description

Improvements Relating to Bird Feeding Devices This invention relates to devices for the feeding of birds, and in particular has reference to devices for use in connection with the popular bags of nuts, seeds or other feedstuff for birds which are sold in large quantities throughout the world.

Typically, the said bags in question comprise plastic filaments in the form of netting and in tubular form so as to provide a sock which is filled with nuts or other feedstuff grains or granules of a size too large to fall through the netting mesh of the sock and of a character which can be pecked by seed feeding birds such as tits and finches so as to break up the nuts or other granules into smaller pieces which can be consumed by the birds.

In the use of such socks they are suspended from suitable locations, and the birds when feeding from such socks typically cling to the plastic filaments of the sock mesh, but this in fact limits the feeding device to birds of a particular type, because only certain birds are capable of approaching and landing on the feeding device and in practice only a few of the tit family can feed effectively from these devices.Furthermore, as the contents of the sock are gradually consumed by the birds, so the sock, previously filled with the nuts or the like to a degree placing the sock in tension, becomes limp so much so that it is difficult for the birds to feed therefrom on the one hand, and on the other hand the pecking action of the birds tends simply to displace the nuts or the like inwardly relatively to the sock without effectively breaking same up, and feeding therefore becomes difficult if not impossible leading to some wastage.

The present invention aims at providing a perch for use with the bird feeding socks whereby on the one hand a greater variety and type of bird will be attracted to the feeding sock and can feed therefrom, ensuring a better distribution of the feedstuff, and secondly in the preferred construction of the device, there will be less wastage of feedstuff, and the danger of birds becoming entrapped in the loose sock will be reduced.

In accordance with the invention, a perch device for use in connection with a bird feedstuff sock is adapted to be connected to the sock end. The connection is preferably by means of a one-way gripping action defined by flexible gripping tongues of the device through which the end of the sock is passed and pulled so as to place the sock under tension against the perch device. The perch device will preferably have perch bars or the like located outwardly of the sock on which feeding birds can perch whilst feeding and it will be understood that the precise configuration of the perch bars may vary according to aesthetic and marketing considerations. However in the following description a specific embodiment will be described for ease of explanation.

The device may comprise suitably a bowl portion with slits on the base thereof defining triangular tongues, said tongues being resilient, the arrangement being that the end of the sock is pressed between the tongues, and pulled through the base of the bowl, the tongues forming one-way resilient gripping devices preventing return of the end of the sock past the end of the tongues. The tongues may act in a similar fashion to a resilient tongued towel holder currently used in the holding of dish and hand towels.

Connected to the bowl portion there may be a perch bar which is suitably circular in nature and is connected to the bowl portion by radial arms, the whole device forming a one-piece plastic moulding in the preferred embodiment.

Instead of having a circular rod forming the perch, other configurations may be adopted.

In the utilisation of the preferred embodiment which comprises a bowl portion preferably of hemispherical shape, a ring surrounds the bowl portion and is of greater diameter than the largest diameter of the bowl portion, but is concentric therewith and is connected thereto by means of radial arms, in the centre of the base of the bowl portion are four tongues defined by two diametrically arranged slits lying at right angles to each other, and there may be a circular aperture at the intersection point of the slits in order to provide a ready means for enabling the end of the sock to be pushed therethrough. When the sock is so pushed through the aperture, it is gripped by the fingers, and the device is forced in one direction while the sock is pulled in the other direction.This ensures that the contents of the sock, for example nuts or other granular material is pushed towards the other end of the sock and the sock is put into circumferential and longitudinal tension. The nuts are "bunched together".

The device is now ready to be placed in use in that the sock is suspended from the other end so that the perch device is at the lower end of the sock. As the birds progressively remove nuts by feeding from the sock, so the perch device can periodically be pushed upwardly again to bunch the nuts or other material together and to reinstate the tensioning of the sock portion above the device. A used portion of the sock is progressively pulled through the bowl of the device and can hang therefrom. If required, the hanging portion of the sock under the bowl can be removed by cutting same with scissors or the like.

By ensuing that the nuts are held firmly compacted, and providing an out lying perch on which the birds can stand, it is ensured that there will be maximum consumption of the nuts by the bird with minimum wastage. The dangers of birds catching in the loose sock are avoided, and the provision of the perch means that a much greater range of birds can feed from the sock.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a side view of a bird nut bag; Fig. 2 is a side view of the nut bag of Fig. 1 when used conventionally, and after a majority of the nuts have been broken by the birds and eaten; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a device according to a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the device shown in Fig.

3; Fig. 5 shows how the device of Fig. 4 is used in relation to the bag as shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 shows to a reduced scale how the device is used after the majority of the nuts in the bag have been broken and consumed by the birds; and Fig. 7 is a plan view similar to Fig. 3, showing an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, a bird nut bag comprises a sock 10 made up of plastic filaments formed into a mesh, the bag having a suspension device 12, at one end, the top end, thereof and the bottom end 14 being suitably closed to ensure that the bag contains the nuts 16. When this bag is used, it is simply suspended from the device 12, and the birds feed from the bag by landing on same and holding the plastic filaments with their claws whilst they peck at the nuts.

Fig. 2 shows the condition of the bag after the majority of the nuts have been consumed. It is to be noticed that the residue of the nuts 16 gravitates to the bottom of the sock, leaving the top portion 18 empty. This empty portion of the bag in fact is dangerous to birds as the birds feed can become entangled in the loose netting. Birds trapped in this way have been known to die from such trapping.

Furthermore, when the bag is in the condition shown in Fig.

2, it is more difficult for the birds to extract or break down the nuts as the nuts are simply pushed inwardly when pecked by the birds rather than the nuts being broken down.

Thirdly, it has been found that only the smaller and more agile birds can land upon the nut bag and grip the plastic filaments. In practise therefore only the small birds such as tits can feed from such bags and the feedstuff is denied to other small birds such as finches.

The present invention provides a simple and effective means for providing a perch which can be attached to the nut bag of Fig. 1 in a simple and effective manner, enabling the provision of a gripping bar or rod for a much larger variety of birds. The perch in fact provides a number of additional advantages as will be clear from the two embodiments disclosed herein.

Figs. 3 and 4 show one embodiment of the invention. The device shown in these figures comprise a one-piece moulding in the form of a central bowl portion 20 surrounded by a perch ring 22 in concentric fashion. The ring 22 is connected to the bowl portion by means of radial arms 4.

The bowl portion as shown in Fig. 4 is of hemispherical shape, and the base is provided with two diametrically arranged slits 26, 28 which are at right angles, and the slits cross in a region in which there is provided an aperture 30. The portions of the material of the bowl between adjacent slits form self gripping resilient tongues which grip and retain the sock 10 in position as will be explained.

To connect the device of Figs. 3 and 4 to the sock 10, it is simply a matter of pushing the end 14 of the sock through the hole 30 in the base of the bowl and pulling such end 14 in a downwardly directed fashion as indicated by arrow 32 in Fig.

5 whereby the nut bag seats inside the bowl 20 as shown and is tensioned so as to compact the nuts by the pulling of the end of the sock 14 in the direction of arrow 32. The self gripping tongues of the bowl resiliently engage the pull through portion of the sock and prevents same from returning through the bowl. The perch therefore provides a tensioning device for the nut sock and also a perch as provided by the ring 22 so that a bigger variety of birds can feed from the nut bag.

Fig. 6 shows the condition when the majority of the nuts in the bag -have been consumed. As consumption of the nuts continues, the user simply pulls the sock 10 further through the bowl 20 so that a long empty tail of the sock is formed as shown at 34 in Fig. 6. This tail can be cut off if required for example at the location 36.

The perch device can be pushed upwardly relative to the nut bag as consumption of the nuts proceeds until all of the nuts have been consumed. By keeping the nuts compacted in the bag, so the disadvantageous effect of the nuts being pushed away with the beak as in the case of the arrangement of the Fig. 2, is avoided. Also, there is no danger that the birds will become entangled in the loose netting as this is under the perch on the one hand and secondly can be cut away as described herein.

Fig. 7 shows an alternative construction indicating that the perch ring need not be circular. In this case the perch ring 38 is elongated with rounded ends, and the ring is integral with the bowl 20 so that radial arms such as arms 24 are not required. Again the item shown in Fig. 7 suitably is a one-piece moulding.

A perch device according to the invention enables a wide variety of seed eating birds to take advantage of the nut.

The perch device according to the embodiments described may be produced at minimum cost as simple one-piece and inexpensive plastic mouldings may be used.

Claims

1. A perch device for use in connection with a bird feed stuff sock which device is adapted to be connected to the sock enabling birds perched on the device to feed from the sock.

2. A perch device according to Claim 1 wherein the device comprises a one-way gripping means defined by flexible gripping tongues such that the end of the sock can be passed through same and pulled so as to place the sock under tension against the perch device.

3. A perch device according to Claim 1 an 2 wherein the device has perch bars or the like located outwardly of the sock on which the feeding birds can perch whilst feeding.

4. A perch device according to any preceediing claim wherein the device comprises a bowl portion with slits on the base thereof defining triangular tongues, said tongues being resilient, the arrangement being that the end of the sock is pressed between the tongues and pulled through the base of the bowl, the tongues forming one-way resilient gripping devices preventing return of the end of the sock past the end of the tongues.

5. A perch device according to Claim 4 wherein the bowl portion is connected to a perch bar which is suitably circular and is connected to the bowl portion by radial arms, the whole device forming a one-piece plastic moulding.

6. A perch device according to claim 5 wherein the perch bar is of a preferrred configuration.

7. A perch device comprising a bowl portion preferably of hemispherical shape, a ring surrounds the bowl portion and is of greater diameter than the largest diameter of the bowl portion, that is concentric therewith and is connected thereto by means of radial arms, in the centre of the base of the bowl portion are four tongues definde by two diamertrically arranged slits lying at right angles to each other, and there is an aperture at the intersection point of the slits in order to provide a ready means for enabling the end of a bird feed stuff sock to be pushed therethrough.

8. A method of connecting a perch device to a bird feed stuff sock comprising pushing an end of the sock through a device in accordance with the invention in one direction while the sock is pulled in the other direction thus ensuring that the contents of the sock are pushed towards the opposite end of the sock so that the sock is put into circumferential and longitundinal tension.

9. A perch device for use in connection or combination with a bird feed stuff stock substantially as herein described.