GB2487383A - Uni-directional access gate for a chicken house - Google Patents

Abstract

A gate, suitable for fitting to a hen house, includes a frame 1 supporting two separate gate panels 2. The gate panels 2 are mounted to the frame 1 by a plurality of hinges 12. The gate has a top 11 and a wire base 3. In use, the gate panels 2 have two predominant use faces, characterised in that one face A for entrance use is smooth and one face B for exit use is rough. The gate panels 2 have spikes 20 on the exit face B, with a resiliently deformable elastic member 21 linking the two gates panels 2. At dusk, hens will naturally return to roost, and will be able to push against the panels 2 and stretch the member 21 to allow an appropriate gap to open up, allowing entry to the coop, the gates closing, thus preventing the birds from leaving.

Description

NIGHT GATE

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a night gate, more particularly a gate for use by fowl as they retire for a night.

Bacic±qround Self-sufficiency and smallholding is becoming an increasingly popular choice, it being particularly desirable and common to keep a small number of fowl for eggs.

Preferably these fowl are free-range and indeed many commercial egg producers also look to produce free-range eggs and fowl more and more frequently.

Free-range laying hens or fowl need to be let out of their shed, hen house or coop during the daytime so they are able to range. To prevent the hens from being taken by a fox or other carnivore they need shutting up at night in their coop where the hens will naturally go back into the coop to roost, at dusk.

The time crucial aspect of a keeper or user's next steps revolve about the truth that if the hens or coop are locked up too early, whilst many hens are still out. Running around trying to catch the hens can be hard work and very time consuming, and for larger flocks this is impossible. If they are locked up too late there is always the possibility that a fox may have entered the coop and killed some or all the hens.

Dusk changes depending on time of year and can range in the northern hemisphere as much as from 4 in the afternoon of winter to 10 at night in summer. Being around at the right time to shut the coop can be very inconvenient, interfering with plans and leading to impracticality for owners, keepers or users who live at a distance from the coop. This reduces the numbers of keepers at a time when self sufficiency is increasingly desirable.

Prior Art

Japanese patent application JP 2006 325 508 (YAMAGUCHI) discloses a net-like bottom face, side faces surrounding the sides of the net-like bottom face, and a top face covering an upper opening formed of the side faces and the top face, provided with ventilation ports capable of adjusting an opening.

Granted European patent EP 1 647 342 (CRUZ et al) discloses a sclerophyllic mesh characterized in that it is made from electrowelded metallic wires or bars of any cross-section and/or thickness, which form polygons of any size and/or shape that, with any arrangement, regular, irregular, having sharp points on their surface, the sharp points being of any length and/or thickness, being individual or multiple, straight or curved, single or multiple, or of any other type, having any placement, either at the vertices of the mesh or at any other point therefore, and having any distribution and/or density, homogeneous or not, and facing one way or both ways, and being oriented perpendicularly, obliquely or in any other orientation.

United Kingdom patent application GB 2 403 126 (BLACKMORE) discloses a hutch with a stand, wherein the hutch comprises a front with a front door aperture; and the stand comprises a frame that defines an internal space, wherein the hutch and frame are moveable relative to one another between a first relative position where the stand supports the hutch and a second relative position where the hutch front engages with the stand frame so that the door aperture faces into the internal space.

United States patent application US 5 799 613 (GREENHAW) discloses a cage front forming part of an animal confinement cage, said animal confinement cage also including a cage body, said cage front and said cage body each including a plurality of metal wires welded together to form a mesh capable of preventing animals from escaping the confinement cage, the plurality of metal wires forming said cage front being of heavier gage metal than the plurality of metal wires forming said cage body, and a metal coating applied to said wires forming said cage front, after said wires have been welded together to form the mesh cage front.

United States patent application US 4 023 530 (COBB) discloses a non-metallic cage bottom grid cover for isolating caged bird inhabitants and their eggs from rust on the wires of the cage bottom and for preventing further rusting of such wires, said cover including curvilinearly rounded longitudinal channel means in a first direction and curvilinearly rounded longitudinal channel means in a second direction intersecting said first channel means for overlaying securement with respective grid-like configured wires in the cage bottom, the openings between said cover channel means permitting waste flushing liquids to pass therethrough and providing the collection of eggs in the cage without contact with the bottom cage wires, and locking tabs within at least some of said channel means for securing said cover to the respective wires of the cage bottom, and wherein the channel means running longitudinal in said first direction are higher than the channel means running longitudinal in said second grid direction whereby wires of the cage bottom are engaged within respective channel means to prevent lateral shifting of said cover.

The present invention in contrast provides a simple, natural and failsafe method to ensure that fowl are inside and safe from predators after dusk; that relies on the natural rhythms and behaviour of the fowl and predator.

Summarq of the Invention According to the present invention there is provided a night gate that includes a frame, said frame holding two gate panels, said panels connecting in use to provide two gate faces; namely a favourable entrance face and an unfavourable exit face.

In preferred embodiments the exit face contains at least one protrusion.

In use therefore the night gate or gate is used to prevent foxes or other predators entering a hen or fowl house. The fowl can easily enter the house and will be unable to leave, but a typical predator will be uncomfortable with the gate as it is disposed to have a unidirectional bias and a predator will refuse to allow itself to be trapped or likely to become so.

The gate is a bolt-on or retro-fit device for chicken coops which allows hens to enter the coop at dusk when they are ready to roost. It is a one way gate, thereby ensuring the hens remain in the coop until released by the owner. The gate prevents foxes from entering the coop and thus ensures that no hens are taken. The hens or birds are let out in the morning as usual, then at any point through an evening the coop can be shut, leaving the birds to walk in on their own through the gate. The birds are kept in the coop in the morning till typically before 9am, to ensure that any eggs laid are laid in the coop not outside.

Ideally the two panels are connectable by a resiliently deformable member which may or may not be detached by a user and may in some embodiments contain a degree of elasticity in order that the panels may flex apart from one another to open a gap between the panels for entrance or exit of animals.

Preferably the panels are formed of a steel mesh or grid and the favourable face of the gate is formed by the smoother side of the mesh, and additionally the panels may be curved towards one another when they are connected. The curvature of the panel may be towards the exit face.

Furthermore the panel may have a rough or unsealed edge at the edge that relates to the other panel when the panels are connected. In this way or in other words the edges of panels that are curved or pointed towards the exit face are typically irregular, rough or unsealed.

The panels need to close under their own weight to shut the gate, but not be too heavy that a hen cannot easily push the gate open. The gate must be ajar so the hens can comfortably put their heads through, and then the gate will open easily as they carry on walking.

If a fox puts his nose through the gap, it will keep on trying forward and back to make sure it is not getting trapped, as it pulls back the protrusion(s) on the exit face will catch the foxes head or neck and the gate will pull closed and even pull tighter on its nose or head, making it feel like it is getting trapped. For this reason a fox or other predator is unlikely to ever walk through. In particular as a result of a fox's delicate nose.

Brief Description of Fjgures

Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a preferred embodiment of the gate; Figure 2 shows an isometric view of a preferred embodiment of the closed gate; Figure 3 shows a front view of the gate from the coop side; Figure 4 shows a side view of the preferred embodiment; and Figure 5 shows a view from underneath of a preferred embodiment of the gate.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embocment of the Invention In the pictured embodiments the frame I is provided with screw holes 10 for attachment to existing hen coops. The frame 1 also has a top 11 to prevent foxes attempting to enter the coop (not shown) from entrance face (A) from climbing or avoiding the gate panels 2.

There are provided 2 gate panels 2, making up the active part of the gate. These panels 2 have spikes 20 on the exit face (B) of the gate.

At dusk a hen will naturally return to its coop to roost. The hen (not shown) walks up-to the coop and pushes its head between the space between the gate panels 2. As the hen walks through, its body pushes the gate panels 2 apart. In the preferred embodiment a resiliently deformable, elastic or elastomer/rubber member (21) links the gate panels (2).

The hen can easily push against the panels 2 and stretch the member 21 to allow an appropriate gap to be opened. The panels (2) have a plurality of hinges (12) on the frame (1) to allow easy opening and provide robustness.

The gates then close under their own weight or through the retraction of the member 21 thus preventing any hens from leaving the coop. In preferred embodiments the gate is unable to close beyond a certain point, therefore always providing a gap through which a hen can see the inside of the coop and through which the hen can push. The means to ensure this happens is the triangular profile of the top 11 of the frame 1.

In the pictured embodiment the panels are formed of metal mesh and provided with two faces -an entrance face A, and an exit face (B). The exit face B presents unsealed mesh ends which present spikes 20 towards an animal attempting to go from the exit face B to the entrance face A, or in the wrong direction. Typically in addition the uppermost level of the mesh will be facing the entrance face A, so as to provide a smoother surface to the face.

It is envisaged that some embodiments of the gate may be curved, constructed of varying materials and have varying means to provide roughness to the exit face, so as to prevent the exit of hens from the coop and entrance of foxes. For example this may include solid panels having plastic or rubber frays at the gap.

Yet further embodiments may include plastic or elastorner paddles forming part or whole of the panels which may be angled, folded or creased in order that return through the exit face is problematic.

In some embodiments the gate panels 2 may be easily and readily removable from the frame I so that the gate may be opened or even replaced with a solid panel, in the event of a desire to fully close the frame opening.

In use a fox (not shown) will smell the scent of the hens and approach the coop. The fox will attempt to enter the coop, pushing its nose through first and then pulling back slightly to ensure it will be able to escape. As it pulls back the spikes 20 on the gate panels 2 will press against its nose. The fox will not push its nose through any further and will leave the scene.

The hens push through, the wire panels 2 opening and allowing the bird entrance to the coop. However pushing from the interior of the coop against the wire panels will not open them. A fox meanwhile is deterred from entry, believing it will get trapped.

In the pictured embodiment the panels 2 are inclined in order to facilitate entrance of hens as their bodies pass through. Further embodiments may have vertical gate panels 2.

In addition a wire base 3 is provided to the gate such that there is no chance of a fox entering from below, and additionally any effects of dirt, faeces or rust are minimised.

The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of invention.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realised that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims (6)

1. Claims 1. A night gate that includes a frame, said frame holding two gate panels, said panels connecting in use to provide two gate faces; namely a favourable entrance face and an unfavourable exit face.
2. 2. A night gate according to claim 1 wherein passage from the entrance face to the exit face is facilitated and passage from the exit face to the entrance face is discouraged.
3. 3. A night gate according to claims 1 or 2 wherein the exit face contains at least one protrusion.
4. 4. A night gate according to claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein the exit face provides spikes.
5. 5. A night gate according to any preceding claim wherein the panels are constructed of wire mesh.
6. 6. A night gate according to any preceding claim wherein the panels are connected by a resiliently deformable member.