GB2343608A

GB2343608A - Animal restraining device

Info

Publication number: GB2343608A
Application number: GB9819536A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gareth Davies
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-09-09
Filing date: 1998-09-09
Publication date: 2000-05-17
Anticipated expiration: 2018-09-09
Also published as: GB2343608B; GB9819536D0

Abstract

The device comprises a cradle 14 having an elongate, generally upright channel-section back portion 16 for receiving the body of the animal to be restrained and an elongate front portion 17 which can be retained in a raised position in which it extends axially in front of the channel-section back portion 16, to retain the animal therein, the front portion being pivotable downwardly from the raised position to a generally horizontal loading and unloading position. The device may comprise a plurality of cradles and a rotatable stand 12,13.

Description

Animal Restraininq Device This invention relates to a device for restraining animals and more particularly but not solely to a device for use by farmers to restrain livestock.

It is often necessary for farmers to restrain lambs shortly after they have been born, so that the lambs can be generally examined, so that their sex can be determined, and so that male lambs can be castrated. The restrained lambs are then marked or tagged and their tails are removed.

It will be appreciated that the above-mentioned procedures are difficult, especially if the lamb is struggling.

Furthermore, the procedures require two persons, since one person needs to restrain the lamb whilst the other carries out the procedures.

The above-mentioned procedures may need to be carried out on a substantial number of lambs, thereby making the farmer's task even more difficult.

I have now devised a device for restraining animals which alleviates the above-mentioned problems.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided an animal restraining device having a cradle assembly which comprises an elongate, generally upright channel-section back portion for receiving the body of the animal to be restrained and an elongate front portion which can be retained in a raised position in which it extends axially in front of said channelsection back portion, to retain the animal in said channelsection back portion, the front portion being pivotable downwardly from said raised position to a generally horizontal loading and unloading position.

In use, the front portion of the cradle assembly is pivoted into its loading and unloading position and the animal to be restrained is then placed with its underbelly resting on the front portion, and its left and right legs astride, the front portion of the cradle assembly. The front portion is then pivoted upwards into its raised position, wherein the animal is restrained in a generally upright position with its back received in and extending along the channel-section back portion of the cradle assembly.

The animal is thus easily restrained in a position which is ideal for carrying out procedures such as generally examining the animal, determining its sex, marking, worming, dosing, castrating and tail removal.

Preferably, opposite side edges of the front portion of the cradle assembly are spaced apart from the back portion to define slots through which the legs of the animal extend, Preferably the channel-section back portion and/or the front portion of the cradle assembly comprises an open framework to provide easy access to all areas of the animal and to enable the animal to be fully examined.

Preferably the channel-section back portion of the cradle assembly is inclined slightly rearwardly, so that the restrained animal is lying slightly on its back against the channel-section back portion.

Preferably the back and front portions of the cradle assembly are movable apart against a biassing force, so that the cradle assembly automatically adjusts to suit different sized animals.

Preferably the front portion is provided with a rest to support the bottom of the animal as the front portion is pivoted up to, and whilst it remains in, its raised position.

Preferably a base extends across the lower end of the channel-section back portion.

Preferably the cradle assembly is mounted to an elongate support, which supports the assembly above the ground, preferably at about waist height.

Preferably the cradle assembly is rotatably mounted to the support about an axis which extends generally parallel to the axis of the channel-section back portion of the assembly.

Preferably the device comprises a plurality of cradle assemblies, so that more than one animal can be restrained at one time.

Preferably each cradle assembly is mounted to an arm which is rotatably mounted to the support.

An embodiment of this invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a view of a restraining device in accordance with this invention, for restraining lambs; Figure 2 is a view of the device of Figure 1, when in use.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, there is shown a device for restraining lambs which comprises a metal support stand 10 having a base 11 and elongate support post 12 extending vertically upwards therefrom. A horizontal arm 13 is rotatably mounted intermediate its opposite ends to the support post 12, at a point which is disposed at about 1.0 metre above the ground. The support post 12 is vertically adjustable relative to the base 11, to position the arm 13 and two cradles 14 carried thereby at an appropriate working level.

The two cradle assemblies 14 are rotatably mounted to respective mountings 25 disposed at respective opposite ends of the arm 13, for rotation about respective vertical axes.

Each cradle assembly 14 comprises a horizontal base 15 which is slidably mounted to its respective mounting 25 and an upright channel-section back portion 16 extending upwardly from the base 15. The back portion 16 comprises a rear wall which is defined by an inverted U-shaped metal bar 21 and opposite side walls which are defined by respective upright bars 22 that are cranked at their upper ends towards and join respective arms of the inverted U-shaped bar 21. The back portion 16 of the cradle assembly 14 is inclined rearwardly at an angle of about 10 to the vertical.

The cradle assembly 14 further comprises an elongate front portion 17, formed of an inverted U-shaped metal bar, which is pivotally attached to the mounting 15 on the underside of the base 15 of the cradle assembly 14, by means of U-shaped arms 18. The front portion 17 of the cradle assembly 14 can be pivoted upwards, from a substantially horizontal loading position, to the upright position shown in Figure 1, wherein it extends in front of the mouth of the channel-section back portion 16. A lock (not shown) is provided for locking the front portion 17 of the cradle assembly 14 in this position. The opposite side edges of the front portion 17 of the cradle assembly 14 are each separated by a wide gap from the front edges of respective side walls 22 of the back portion 16 of the cradle assembly 14.

The base 15 of the cradle assembly is slidable relative to its mounting 25, such that the back portion 16 of the cradle assembly 14 is moveable towards and away from the front portion 17. A spring (not shown) normally biasses the back portion 16 of the cradle assembly 14 towards the front portion 17 of the cradle assembly 14.

A tray 19 for holding tools etc. may be mounted on the post 12 of the support above the arm 13. Hooks 20 may also be provided at various positions along the post 12.

Referring to Figure 2 of the drawings, in use the front portion 17 of the cradle assembly 14 is pivoted into a generally horizontal position in which it extends forwardly of the back portion 16 of the cradle assembly. A lamb L2 is then loaded onto the front portion 17, with its left and right legs astride the front portion 17.

A rest 23 is provided adjacent the hinged end of the front portion 17 of the cradle, in order to prevent the lamb L2 from sliding down the front portion 17 of the cradle 14 as it is pivoted upwardly from the horizontal position shown on the left of Figure 2 to the vertical position shown on the right of Figure 2. In the example shown, the rest 23 comprises a U-shaped element which may be formed as an extension of the hinge arms 18.

As the front portion 17 reaches the vertical position, the back of the lamb is introduced into the channel provided by the back portion 16 of the cradle: the lamb's back urges the back portion 16 of the cradle, against their spring bias, away from the front portion 17, and thus the spacing between the front and back portions 17,16 of the cradle automatically adjusts itself according to the size of the lamb. Once in the vertical position, the front and back portions 17,16 of the cradle are locked together. It can be seen that in this position, the body of the lamb LI extends along the channel in the back portion 16 of the cradle 14, the front portion 17 of the cradle 14 serving to hold the lamb securely in-situ. The left and right legs of the lamb LI extend through the slots provided between the opposite sides of the front portion 17 and the respective arms 22 of the cradle 14.

The restraining device thus enables two lambs to be restrained in a convenient upright position, which enables examination and other procedures to be carried out singlehandedly. Bottles or bags of drugs or dosing and bathing chemicals may be hung on the hooks 20. Alternatively, brackets e. g. 24 may be provided for attaching to the post 12 of the support 10, for supporting bottles or other objects.

Each cradle 14 is of an open framework construction and thus the farmer can easily examine and access most parts of the lamb. Each cradle 14 is rotatable about a vertical axis, thereby enabling the farmer to turn each lamb around, but stops are provided to limit each cradle to 180 of rotation, i. e. 90 to each side of the position shown for each cradle in Figure 1. The arm 13 is also rotatable, preferably through 360 , and thus the farmer can also examine and work on two lambs without having to move himself, and also to load a lamb from one pen at one position, then subsequently unload the lamb into a second pen at a second position.

Claims

Claims An animal restraining device having a cradle assembly which comprises an elongate, generally upright channel-section back portion for receiving the body of the animal to be restrained and an elongate front portion which can be retained in a raised position in which it extends axially in front of said channel-section back portion, to retain the animal in said channel-section back portion, the front portion being pivotable downwardly from said raised position to a generally horizontal loading and unloading position.

2) An animal restraining device as claimed in claim 1, in which opposite side edges of the front portion of the cradle assembly are spaced apart from the back portion to define slots through which the legs of the animal extend.

3) An animal restraining device as claimed in claims 1 or 2, in which the channel-section back portion and/or the front portion of the cradle assembly comprises an open framework to provide easy access to all areas of the animal and to enable the animal to be fully examined.

4) An animal restraining device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the channel-section back portion of the cradle assembly is inclined slightly rearwardly 51, An animal restraining device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the back and front portions of the cradle assembly are movable apart against a biassing force, so that the cradle assembly automatically adjusts to suit different sized animals.

6) An animal restraining device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the front portion is provided with a rest to support the bottom of the animal as the front portion is pivoted up to, and whilst it remains in, its raised position.

7) An animal restraining device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which a base extends across the lower end of the channel-section back portion.

8) An animal restraining device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the cradle assembly is mounted to an elongate support, which supports the assembly above the ground.

9) An animal restraining device as claimed in claim 8, in which the cradle assembly is rotatably mounted to the support about an axis which extends generally parallel to the axis of the channel-section back portion of the assembly.

10) An animal restraining device as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the device comprises a plurality of cradle assemblies, so that more than one animal can be restrained at one time.

11) An animal restraining device as claimed in claim 10 as appended to claim 8, in which each cradle assembly is mounted to an arm which is rotatably mounted to the support.

12) An animal restraining device substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.