Animal husbandry – Feeding device – Hopper and trough
Patent
1991-10-03
1993-04-27
Wilson, John J.
Animal husbandry
Feeding device
Hopper and trough
119 5112, 119 72, A01K 500
Patent
active
052052400
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a method for the preparation and distribution of feed for animals, especially piglets. The invention also relates to an installation for the implementation of this method.
In pig-rearing, a sow often farrows a greater number of piglets than its physiology permits it to suckle. Under these conditions, the healthy and vigorous piglets are well fed while the weaker and sicklier animals are ultimately doomed. For the pig farmer, this situation entails a possibly substantial loss.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
To overcome this drawback, it has been proposed to feed some piglets of the farrow with substitute products such as powdered milk mixed with water.
However, implementing a method of regular feeding of substitute products can be difficult for a pig farmer. For example, the feedings should be regular and frequent, being required at least once an hour during the first days after birth of the piglets. In addition, each feeding should comprise a volume and dry feed concentration that varies according to the physiological age of the piglets and the period of time during which the piglets are fed. These requirements make for a fairly cumbersome system of feed management and back-up checks on the feed management.
Of course, automatic feed-distribution machines are known. However, when applied to the distribution of feed for piglets, known automatic feed-distribution machines are unable to resolve a number of technical problems related, first, to the dry feed concentration of the substitute feed (which is relatively low) and, second, to the fact that these substitute products may after distribution stagnate in the piping system of the machine, endangering the health of the piglets.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An aim of the invention, therefore, is to propose a method and an installation for automatically feeding piglets or other animals that can supply a desired dry feed concentration to each piglet and to prevent stagnation of substitute feed product in piping of the automatic machine.
To this end, the invention relates to a method for the preparation and distribution of feed for animals penned in a plurality of stalls. Each stall contains a trough for accepting feed, said feed being formed by at least one dry feedstuff mixed into a diluting liquid and being distributed in a predetermined volume and concentration to the trough of each of the stalls.
According to one aspect of the invention, the method comprises: dry feed and diluting liquid with a predetermined concentration of dry feedstuff; of the stalls, a volume of the mixture having only one concentration obtained in the step (a), this concentration of mixture being a function of a final volume of feed to be prepared for each trough, and the dilution liquid so as to obtain, in each trough, the final volume of feed with a predetermined concentration for each trough, the dilution made in (c) being done by distributing the dilution liquid through the same conduit as that by which the mixture prepared in (a) has been distributed in (b).
According to another characteristic of the invention, the final volume of feed prepared for each trough at the step (c) is a function of the physiological age of the animals to be fed and their number in each stall containing the trough, with the dry feed concentration of the final volume of feed prepared in (c) being a function of the period of time for which said animals have been fed in the stalls.
The invention also relates to an installation for the implementation of the above method. According to one characteristic, it comprises a set of stalls in which the animals are penned and in each of which there are installed, firstly a trough and, secondly, a means to controllably prevent the animals penned in the stall from reaching the trough, a distribution system comprising a hopper in which a dry feed is stored, a mixer that is provided with a stirrer and has two inlets and one outlet, one inlet being designed to receive the dry feed that is stored in the hopper and is brought by a conveyor and the o
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Colas Pierre
Coroller Yvon
Guillou Michel
Manahan Todd #E.
Volac Limited
Wilson John J.
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