Animal husbandry – Bed or rest
Patent
1989-10-23
1992-03-31
Mancene, Gene
Animal husbandry
Bed or rest
A01K 102
Patent
active
050997955
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns an apparatus for housing small animals, especially poultry to be fattened, such as chickens.
The breeding of poultry to be fattened, especially chickens, takes place in large-area housing enclosures on a continuous enclosure floor. The chickens reared in a housing enclosure are transported away at the same time when they have reached the desired weight.
To facilitate this removal, which is a problem in the keeping of small animals, it has already been proposed to provide above the enclosure floor a grate-shaped supporting floor designed as a conveyor belt. The supporting floor, consisting of individual tracks located next to one another, is moved to one side of the housing enclosure, carrying the chickens along with it. In a region where the supporting floor is deflected, the chickens pass on to a transversely directed conveyor belt to be conveyed away out of the housing enclosure (DE-A 2703 968). In this known proposal the supporting floor or the tracks of the same consist of individual grate bars made of plastic, which are articulated to one another. These are arranged rotatably by means of bearing sleeves on transversely directed supporting bars. Such a design of the supporting floor or the tracks of said proposal has proven to be unfavourable in practice. The resting base is too hard for the sensitive animals. Because of the ribs, pressure points arise, especially in the region of the animals ' breasts, when they rest on the supporting floor for a relatively long time. Furthermore the relative movement between the grate elements or bars is unfavourable because of the danger of soiling, clogging of dung, and the like.
According to a proposal in accordance with EP-B-51 844 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,960) these disadvantages are to be eliminated by having the supporting floor consist of intersecting, supporting profiles made of an elastic, soft material, especially soft PVC, and on the upper side, in each case above the supporting rods, by having soft, elastic elevations. This type of construction, indeed, has proven to be favourable in practice. However, it is still relatively expensive, in manufacture as well as in assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The objective of the present invention, therefore, is to further develop and improve the latter mentioned type of construction so that with simpler means still better breeding will be obtained.
Thus, the supporting floor constructed according to invention no longer consists of members movable relative to one another or of mats, made of intersecting supporting profiles, which are to be connected to one another, but rather of a continuous track of relatively finely meshed netting, which can be manufactured and assembled with the greatest simplicity. This is also true for the connection of the supporting profiles to one another and for the mats assigned to said profiles. To be mentioned especially in this regard is a novel construction in which an integrated conveying agent consists of supporting floor net, supporting profiles and the assigned mats.
Preferably, the supporting floor net is produced from reinforced plastic threads made of relatively soft and elastic plastic, especially polyamid, whereby the reinforcement is formed by a heavy-duty core, e.g. textile or metal wire cores.
Also of special importance is the use of a simple open-link chain as a supporting floor conveying agent and the corresponding adjustment of the driving and guiding means.
In order to keep the supporting floor net, provided according to invention, taut at least in the region of the upper stringer, the deflection and support of said net are controlled by adjustable guide drums.
Surprisingly it is possible to achieve a considerably greater fattening result when utilizing the apparatus according to invention in comparison to the apparatus according to EP-B-51 844, even when the other external conditions remain the same. The meat yield is approx. 7-10% higher. Moreover, the meat is considerably more tender.
The net thread
REFERENCES:
patent: 4430960 (1984-02-01), Nagel et al.
patent: 4437433 (1984-03-01), Nijhof
Mancene Gene
Price Thomas
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