GB2524483A

GB2524483A - Feeder assembly and guard

Info

Publication number: GB2524483A
Application number: GB1405172.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Butler
Original assignee: PERDIX WILDLIFE SOLUTIONS
Current assignee: PERDIX WILDLIFE SOLUTIONS
Priority date: 2014-03-24
Filing date: 2014-03-24
Publication date: 2015-09-30
Anticipated expiration: 2034-03-24
Also published as: GB2524483B; GB201405172D0

Abstract

A bird feeder assembly 10 having a feed container 20 positionable at a predetermined height above the ground 1 via use of a stand 50, a feed port 30, and a removable guard 70 arranged about said feed port to limit access thereto. The guard comprises an attachment region (73, 74, fig 3) and two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs (72, fig 3) defining a space therebetween. The attachment region and the two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs are separated by a distance D. The guard prevents vermin accessing bird feed in the feeder container.

Description

Feeder Assembly and Guard The present invention relates to a feeder assembly and guard and particularly hut not exclusively to a feeder assembly having a feed container positionable at a predetermined height above the ground, port, and guard alTanged about said port to limit access thereto.

Various ground feeding bird species may be reared for the purposes such as the conservation of a particular species and re-population of, or reintroduction to, a region. Additionally. game hirds may he reared for hunting and for food. Rearing of sllch birds may he done initially in captivity, hut beyond a certain age they arc released into the wild to mature in their natural habitat. To ensure that the birds are reared successfully, game keepers and conservationists may supplement the birds' diet with feed, commonly seed stock. Supplementary feeding of passeriries during Winter and Spring months when natural food availahility is low is also a common consenation practice. Supplementary feeding improves bird survival and reproductive success.

Known methods for providing feed include manually distributing feed at various locations around a site. This is a labour intensive process. with small quantities of feed being distributed frequently to minimise the spoilage of seed due to exposure to the elements and prevent attraction and use by vermin such as rats.

Alternatively, feed drums may he used, often with spring feeders or trays located underneath the drums. The spring feeders are agitated by birds to release a quantity of seeds from the container under gravity, while birds feed directly from trays. Both systems may equally be used by non-target species such as rats, squirrels, rabbits, badgers, deer, crows (corvids) and pigeons, preventing the birds from feeding and increasing pest populations that reduce the value of habitats to other wildlife. Spillage onto the ground from these types of feeders is often considerable which increases the chances of feed hecoming contaminated by disease or parasites that may he ingested by a feeding bird. This can be overcome by moving the feeders regularly but current mounting techniques and design of feeders often prevent this. Reducing spillage and consumption by non-target species reduces feed costs, both in terms of labour time.

feed stock and reduces the requirement for vermin control around feeder sites.

The invention aims to address one or more problems of the prior art.

According to the first aspect of the present invention there is provided a feeder assembly comprising: a container having a wall; a feed port located in an aperture of the container wall; a support for the container; and a guard; the guard having two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs defining a space therebetween; wherein in use said feed port is provided at a predetermined height relative to a reference suhstrate by the support and wherein further said guard is attached to said port such that access to the contents of said container is limited by the two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs. The term upwardly is used in relation to the substrate.

The term outwardly is used in relation to the container interior.

This arrangement restricts the species of animal that is able to feed at the feeder assembly on the basis of their physical characteristics. Furtheimore, such an arrangement is readily transportable. The prongs provide a deterrent to an animal attempting to feed at the feeder that is not able to utilise the space between the upwardly and outwardly extending prongs. For example, whilst a partridge is able to place its relatively long neck in the space between the two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs and use its beak to extract the feed from the feed port, vermin such as squirrels and rats are unable to place their heads between the upwardly and outwardly extending prongs and arc therefore unable to reach the feed in the feed port.

Any attempt by vermin to reach over, or even climb between the upwardly and outwardly extending prongs results in the edges of the prongs sticking into the body or limbs of the vermin to cause discomfort and restrict movement, thereby preventing access to the feed in the feed port.

The guard may he arranged about said feed port, such that the space between the upwardly and outwardly extending prongs is aligned with the feed port. This arrangement provides a line of sight to the feed contents of the container for animals of a certain height. Line of sight to the feed contents is important when encouraging birds to feed from the container. The prongs also act as a perch for feeding passerines.

The guard may he detachable. Thereby precocial chicks may learn to feed from the container without a guard, in captivity, such that on release to the wild the birds more readily feed from the container with the guard fitted. Using the same feeder design through the entire life cycle of the bird is particularly beneficial.

Furthermore, the components may be disassembled and placed inside the container for transport or storage. The feeder can also be placed directly on the floor to allow chicks to feed from it.

The port and the guard may be mounted to the container using the same fastening arrangement. This minimizes the number of parts necessary for the assembly.

The fastening arrangement may additionally provide an avian perch when the guard is not in place. This alTangernent allows smaller passerine to feed from the feeder assembly by perching on the fastening arrangement. rather that standing on the suhstratc when the guard is not attached. When guard is attached passerines can perch on prongs.

The means for setting the height of the container may comprise a stand. The stand may he a split ring stand. A spht ring stand allows placement of the container on the stand without the need to disassemble the feed port and guard.

Alternatively, the means for setting the height of the container may comprise a suspension arrangement.

The predetermined height may be in the range of 150 to 225mm, preferably 200mm.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of preventing vermin from having access to bin! feed supply comprising the steps of: providing a container having a wall, filling the container with the bird feed supply; providing a feed port located in an aperture of the container wall; providing a support For the container; and providing a guard; the guard having two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs defining a space therehetween; arranging the feed port at a predetermined height relative to a reference substrate using the support and attaching the guard to said feed port such that access to the bird feed supply in said container by vermin is prevented by the two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs.

The prongs prevent the vermin, having different physical characteristics as compared to the birds for which the bird feed is supplied to feed, from reaching the feed port, in a humane manner. The prongs are not designed to impale the vermin, hut merely act as an uncomfortable obstacle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a feeder guard comprising a body having an attachment region. a base region and two prongs, the base region separating the two prongs from the attachment region by a predetermined distance D, the two prongs extending upwardly from the base region and outwardly from the base region in a direction away from the attachment region, the two prongs defining a space therehetween.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only. with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: Figure 1 is a front view of the feed container with a feed port; Figure 2 is a front view of the feed container with a feed port of figure 1.

positioned on a stand; Figure 3a is a front view of the guard: Figure 3b is a rear view of the guard; Figure 3c is a side view of the guard; Figure 3d is a plan view of the guard; Figure 4 is a front view of the feeder guard assembly.

The feeder guard assenibly 10 comprises a feed container 20. a feed port 30. a stand 50 and a guard 70, (see figure 4).

The feed container 20 is in the form of a bucket 22 with a cylindrical wall S defining an interior space. the cylindrical wall having a substantially circular bore 24 cut therethrough, adjacent the base 23 of the bucket 22. The bucket 22 is sealed at its top with a removable lid 26, (see figure 1). Other container configurations are possible.

The feed port 30 is an insert having a peripheral flange 32 which is substantially circifiar. The feed port 30 has an upper region 34 defining an aperture 36 and a lower region 38 defining an attachment bore 40. The upper region 34 has a hood, which extends in a direction perpendicular to the flange 32 of the upper region 34.

The feed port 30 is installed on the outside surface of the bucket 22, with the hood inserted through the circular bore 24. The hood prevents feed stock from flowing through the circular bore 24 of the bucket 22 as the feed container 20 is filled.

The periphera' flange 32 rests against the container 20 outside wall.

The stand 50 is a split-ring stand, having first ring half 52 with two male locking projections at either end of the ring half and a second ring half 56, with female locking sthts at either end of the ring half, arranged to receive the male thcking projections of the first ring 52 when the first and second ring halves 52, 56 are brought together to form a ring. Each ring half 52. 56 has two downwardly depending legs 60, with respective feet 62 for engaging the ground 1, (see figure 2).

With reference to figures 3a to 3d, the guard 70 is formed from a single piece of sheet metal. The guard is pressed in two parallel locations to approximate a U-section defining the main body of the guard 70, with a further parallel press thereby defining two prongs 72. The guard is symmetrical about a centre-line passing between the two prongs 72. The prongs 72 are separated by a distance at their respective tips. The prongs 72 are separated by a distance S2 at theft respective bases. Si is greater than S2. The prongs thereby define an inverted trapezoidal gap 74 therebetween.

The main body of the guard 70 has a rear face 73 and a parallel forward face 75. separated by a base face 74. The prongs 72 extend upwardly relative to the base face 74 and outwardly relative to the base face 74 and forward face 75. in a direction away from the rear face 73. The separation of the rear face 73 and the forward face 75 is a distance D. D is 30mm. A slot 76 is defined in the rear face 73. An aperture 77 is defined in the forward face 75. The slot 76 and aperture 77are aligned. The distance from the centre-line to the edge of the base face 74 is dimension R. R is m in.

Typical diniensions for the guard 70 are presented in table 1 below.

IS Table 1. Typical Dimensions Dimension Suitable Range (mm) Preferable (mm) Si 38-58 48 S2 20-33 27 D 24-36 30 R 28-42 35 The feeder guard assembly is assembled as follows: The feed port 30 is installed on (he surface of the bucket 22 so that the hood of the upper region 34 passes through the bore 24 as described above. The feed container is placed through the stand 50 so that the bucket 22 is suspended above the ground 1. The aperture 36 of the feed port is therefore set at height H above the ground 1 (see figure 2).

The guard 70 is mounted on the feed port 30 with the slotted rear face 73 aligned with the attachment bore 40 of the feed port 30 and is connected to the bucket by the same fastener 90. The shaft 92 of the fastener is arranged to pass through the bore 77 in the forward face 75 guard 70. The portion of the shaft 92 passing through the bore 77 provides a perch. The position of the guard 70 relative to the feed port 30 is such that the prongs 72 extend outwardly froni the container interior and upwardly with respect to the ground 1.

In usc. the ground feeding bird, such as partridge, are able to feed from the container 20 by placing their neck through the gap 79 defined between the upwardly and outwardly extending prongs 72. Smaller birds, such as passerines may feed by perching on the shaft 92 of the fastener when the guard 70 is not in place. or perching on the prongs 72 when the guard 70 is in place.

The guard 70 prevents access to the feed within the feed container 20 via the feed port 30 for various animals non-targeted by game keepers such as mice, rats, squirrels, rabbits, deer, badgers, pigeons and crows. In particular, the dimensions D and R prevent animals reaching between or around the upwardly and outwardly extending prongs 72 respectively. At the same time, dimension D is selected such that ground leeding hirds may place their neck across this to reach (he Iced port.

The stand may be set such that H is 200mm. This is the optimal height for ground feeding birds such as partridge. A minimum value for H to sufficiently prevent feeding by the non-targeted animals referred to above is 150mm.

The guard described is made of metal. The profile of the guard may be cut using a laser cutter and then bent into shape using a press. The guard is made of a thickness such that is not deformable by a non-targeted animal. For example. an aluminium guard may be made in the thickness range of at least 0.5 to 1.5mm.

The embodiment described above includes a single feed port and a single guard. arranged about a single bore within the container. Of course it is understood that other embodiments could be arranged with a plurality of said features, arranged around the periphery of the container.

Claims

Feeder Assembly and Guard 1. A feeder assembly comprising: a container having a wall; a feed port located in an aperture of the container wall; a support for the containet and a guard; the guard having two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs defining a space theitbetwccn; wherein in use said feed port is provided at a predetemiined height relative to a reference substrate by the support and wherein further said guard is attached to said port such that access to the contents of said container is limited by the two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs.
2. A feeder assembly according to claim I wherein the guard is attached to said feed poit in a first orientation, such that the space between the two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs is aligned with the feed poil.
3. A feeder assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the guard is detachable.
4. A feeder assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the feed port and the guard are attachcd to the container using the same fastening arrangement.
5. A feeder assembly according to claim 4 wherein the two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs provide an avian perch when the guard in in place.
6. A feeder assembly according to claim 4 wherein the fastening arrangement additionally provides an avian perch when the guard is not in place.
7. A feeder assembly according to any preceding claim wherein the support comprises a stand.
8. A feeder assembly according to claim 7 wherein said stand is a split ring stand.
9. A ceder assembly according o any of claims to 6 wherein Itie support comprises a suspension arrangement.S
10. A feeder assemh!y according to any preceding claim wherein the predetermined. height is iii the range of 150 to 225mm.
ii. A feeder assembly according to claim 2 where:n the predetermined height is in the range of 190 to 210mm, preferably 200mm.
12. A feeder assembly according to any preceding claim having a plurality of fc.ed ports located in a plurality of apertures provided in thc. container wall, the plurality of feed pons having, a plurality of guards attached thereto.
13. A method oFprevennng vermin from having access to bird feed supply comprising the steps of: providing a container having' a wall, filling, the container witn the lird lèed supply: providing a feed port located in an aperture of the container wall; providing a support for the container; and providing a guard; the guard having wo upwardly and ou wardly extending prongs defining a space therehetween: arranging the 1eed port at a predetermined height relative to a. reference substrate using the support and a(taching the guard to said feed port such that access to the bird feed supply in said container by vemñn is' prevented by the two upwardly and outwardly extending prongs.
14. A feeder guard comprising: a body having an attachment region: a base region; and two prongs; the base region separatIng the two prongs from the attachment region by a predetermined distance I), the two prongs extending upwardly from the base region and outwardly from the hase region in a direction away from (lie attachment region, the two prongs defining a space therehetween.S15. A feeder guard according to claim 14 wherein the attachment region defines a bore.16. A feeder guard according to claim 14 wherein the attachment region defines a slot.17. A feeder guard according to claim 16 wherein the slot includes a Jshapc having a return.18. A feeder guard according to any of claims 14 to 17 made (morn pressed metal sheet.19. A feeder assembly subsLantially as hereinbefore descrthed with reference to figures Ito 3.20. A feeder guard for a feeder assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 3a to 3d.