Animal husbandry – Animal controlling or handling – Stock sorting
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-28
2003-03-04
Price, Thomas (Department: 3643)
Animal husbandry
Animal controlling or handling
Stock sorting
C119S014020
Reexamination Certificate
active
06526919
ABSTRACT:
1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to an arrangement for sorting pigs by weight and holding for market shipment, and more particularly to a pen and feeding configuration in “wean to finish”, or “finisher”, facilities.
2. PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION
In the present practice of raising hogs for commercial use, such hogs are typically housed in large buildings where they are separated into approximately 40 small rectangular pens per room, with each pen holding 25 to 50 animals and having one gate per pen. While the basic concept of dividing a finishing barn into a number of separate pens has been standard practice for decades, the disadvantages of such a pen design are numerous. For example, it is well known that confining hogs in small, overcrowded pens leads to agitation and fighting amongst the animals, as well as contamination from wastes. In addition, each pen usually has its own feeder and waterer, so that caretakers must check each individual pen for an adequate supply of feed and water as well as good health of the hogs, which is very labor intensive and time consuming.
Another drawback occurs in sorting the hogs. At market time, each pen must be checked for hogs that meet market weight. This is usually done by chasing whole pens of hogs down an alleyway and forcing them through a scale. The hogs are then hand-separated, with heavier pigs entering the market truck, and lighter pigs being herded back to their respective pens. This method of sorting hogs by weight is also very time-consuming, and furthermore poses a risk of injury to both humans and animals.
An alternative method of sorting hogs by weight that is sometimes utilized involves estimating weights by sight. However, estimating weights produces very inaccurate results, and can be very costly, since at the marketplace, sort bonuses are awarded for hogs that fall within a specified weight range. Hogs that are not in this range do not receive a bonus, and in fact may be docked in price.
In addition, it is desirable to ship hogs with empty stomachs. Feed in the stomach could be worth up to 50 cents per pound, which cumulatively represents a significant expenditure, particularly for larger finishing facilities. In addition, if the hogs are shipped with full stomachs, a feed disposal problem at the packing plant results. The only way to achieve empty-stomach shipment is to hold market hogs off of feed for 24 hours, which is impossible in a standard system because market weight and light weight animals are mixed throughout each pen.
Also desirable is to water hogs with electrolytes prior to shipping in order to help the animal to retain water and reduce water shrinkage. However, this is impossible in the current practice of raising hogs because it is not cost-effective to feed watered electrolytes to an entire room or pen of market weight, as well as non-market weight, hogs.
Hogs are generally social animals, and, as indicated above, confinement in small pens can lead to stress and agitation. Over time, the hogs become weaker and less healthy. This in turn can effect their eating habits and growth rate. Thus, it has been found that if the hogs are allowed to roam and mingle in a larger environment and are not confined to a small pen, they will be less agitated and kept in a calmer state. In addition, there will be less of a pecking order which inevitably develops in each small pen, since the dominant hogs will not be able to fight every other hog, which inability presumably will lead to fewer overall fights and injuries.
3. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
Numerous methods and arrangements for managing or sorting animals by size, weight or other criteria are known in the prior art. One common sorting method is to herd such animals through a gate wherein upon exiting the gate they can be individually directed to different pens or areas. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 182,688 issued to A. Minor, entitled “Stock Separator,” discloses an early gate system for separating livestock wherein two pivotable panels positioned near an entranceway funnel the livestock through a gate one at a time, and wherein a third panel positioned outside the exitway is manually swung from side to side depending on which direction it is desired to push the livestock.
Other arrangements wherein animals are guided through chutes into a desired holding area are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 2,050,527 issued to C. Grabe, entitled “Animal Chute,” discloses a chute formed by a pair of parallel stationary fences having two swinging or alternatively positionable fence sections therebetween, so that the fence sections can be manipulated and positioned to channel livestock in a particular direction such as into a certain pen or corral. U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,407 issued to W. T. Moore, entitled “Animal Pen,” discloses a pen comprised of a plurality of pivotable outer fence sections surrounding a chute-like passageway, wherein the outer sections can be positioned to direct a herd of animals as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,641 issued to H. F. Hoffman, entitled “Livestock Sorting Gate,” discloses a three-sided swinging gate pivotally connected in series so that it swings as a unit from side to side, thereby either opening or closing off entrances to opposing pens. U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,297 issued to E. Van Maarion et al., entitled “Animal Processing System and Cutting Gate,” discloses another generally triangular swinging gate which can be situated so as to allow entry into or block entrance into various fenced areas. Van Maarion et al., also utilizes simple arcuate swinging gates in combination with the triangular gate to increase the effectiveness and versatility of the triangular gate. U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,096 issued to W. J. Forrest on Nov. 12, 1985, entitled “Sorting Gate Assembly,” discloses a pivotable gate for use in a holding pen, which gate can be moved to various positions to corral or sort the animals. While such gates are used to urge or force animals in a particular direction or into a particular pen, the animals are separated by visual inspection rather than by weighing.
Another common sorting arrangement is to provide a doorway or opening through which only animals below a predetermined size can fit. One such arrangement is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 1,381,797 issued to H. D. Caspers, entitled “Stock Separator,” wherein the distance between a pair of vertical rollers is adjustable so that only hogs smaller than a selected size can fit through such opening. Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 1,788,244 issued to J. E. Larson, entitled “Stock Separator,” which discloses a feed house having openings doors adjustable so that while smaller pigs can pass through the doors, larger pigs cannot and therefore eat less. U.S. Pat. 3,072,100 issued to H. E. Dustin, entitled “Animal Sorter,” discloses a sorter for selecting and segregating hogs which are ready for market, comprising an adjustable gate wherein smaller hogs can fit through the bars in the gate, while larger animals cannot. Other similar arrangements can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,359 issued to R. Pals, entitled “Hog Sorter Gate Device,” U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,516 issued to M. J. Schaefer, entitled “Animal Sorting Gate,” U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,464 issued to T. G. Miller, entitled “Animal Size Sorting and Control Gate” and U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,109 issued to E. T. Nixon, entitled “Animal Separator Gate.” While over time such sorter gates divide the animals into groups of larger and smaller size, none of such gate systems represents a significant improvement over merely visually estimating the size of the animals. Such systems simply cannot segregate animals with sufficient accuracy for the packer to receive sort bonuses for meeting packer weight specifications.
Various gates or chutes for sorting animals by weight are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,366 issued to J. L. Elliot, entitled “Animal Sorter,” discloses a sorter wherein the end of a chute is aligned with either a first or second exit depending upon the weight of the animal. If the weight of the animal exceeds the weight of a counterweight, the
Price Thomas
Wilkinson Charles A.
Wilkinson Clinton H.
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