WO2013121335A1

WO2013121335A1 - Method and apparatus for feeding young poultry

Info

Publication number: WO2013121335A1
Application number: PCT/IB2013/051105
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yonatan Bernat; Guy Eshel
Original assignee: Plasson Ltd.
Priority date: 2012-02-19
Filing date: 2013-02-11
Publication date: 2013-08-22

Abstract

A chick feeding apparatus comprising a poultry food director configured to direct poultry food from an opening in a food transport pipe towards a chick-accessible auxiliary pan, said director comprising an auxiliary sensor configured to transmit a signal to a shed controller when an amount of food in the chick-accessible auxiliary pan is lower than a predetermined threshold.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING YOUNG POULTRY

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for automatically providing food to young poultry.

BACKGROUND

When rearing poultry in sheds (sometimes also referred to as "coops"), one of the most important and expensive resources is food, which usually includes barley, chick-peas, millet, wheat bran, or a combination of several types of grains.

Feeding is often done using feeding lines, including a pipe having thereon openings which are directed to special pans hanging from the pipe. The food is supplied to the tube from a hopper, and advances along the pipe using, for example, a screw conveyor (sometimes referred to as an Archimedes Screw or Auger) activated by a motor. A typical feeding line may comprise between a few and dozens of pans, and each shed may comprise any number of feeding lines. Each bird may have access to one or more of the pans. Some of the pans along a particular line, usually a single pan, are referred to as "control pans". A control pan has thereon a sensor for sensing the level of food in the control pan, which is assumed to be representative of the level of food in all pans along the line. When the level of food drops below a predetermined level, a control command is sent to the feeding line motor, which activates the screw conveyor, such that more food is pushed along the pipe and dispensed into the pans.

However, the regular feeding pans are not always adequate for young poultry which are small and weak and usually cannot reach the food in the pans. The relatively high rims of these pans usually prevent access by the young poultry even if the pans are removed from the pipe and placed directly on the ground. Therefore, it is common to see poultry farmers feeding the chicks manually during their first days of life, by simply pouring food on low-rim or no-rim trays (sometimes referred to as "auxiliary pans") placed on the shed's floor. Most of the chicks will feed from the auxiliary pans, and usually only a minority, consisting of the stronger and larger chicks, may be able to reach the regular pans and feed from them. Therefore, since more food is consumed from the auxiliary pans reachable by the young chicks, no indications or few indications are received from the control pans regarding drops in the food level along the feeding line. Therefore, even if the poultry farmer were to place auxiliary pans below the openings in the food pipe in the hope of having them filled automatically, the minimal, inconsistent indications from the control pan may cause an insufficient amount of food to be dispensed to the auxiliary pans.

PCT Publication No. WO1999/013708 discloses a trough designed for feeding poultry such as chicks, chickens or other fowl. In one embodiment, a capacitive feed level sensor is fitted on one or more of the feed devices according to the invention, which feed level sensor can serve to control the central feed installation or to give warning of undesirable situations.

U.S. Patent No. 5,927,232 discloses a feeder which may be readily adjusted so as to dispense a relatively small quantity of feed into the feed pan of the feeder and to continuously replenish such feed so as to maintain a substantially constant amount of feed in the feed pan as the feed is consumed between cycles of the feed conveyor which deliver more feed to the feeder. The feeder may be selectively adjusted so as to substantially flood the feed pan with feed thereby to make it easier for young birds to see the feed within the feed pan. A sensor may be positioned within control unit. This sensor is responsive to the quantity of feed within control unit such that upon the control unit receiving a desired amount of feed, the sensor will generate a signal indicating that the control unit is substantially filled with feed. This control signal is then used to stop operation of the feed conveyor. It will be appreciated that upon another signal being generated for starting operation of the feed conveyor (such other signal may, for example, be a timer or the same or another sensor located within the control unit sensing that the feed within the feeder has dropped below a predetermined level), the feed conveyor will again resume operation so as to convey fresh feed along feed conveyor and to refill each of the feeders along the feed conveyor.

U.S. Patent No. 5,311,839 discloses a poultry feeder located at each of the feeding stations which allows young chicks to readily see and to have access to the feed in the feeder. The conveyor switch has a feed sensor located within feed drop tube so as to be responsive to the amount of feed in the drop tube. More particularly, feed sensor is movable within feed drop tube from a first or tube full position to a second or tube empty position for opening and closing switch in response to the amount of feed within the feed drop tube. It will be appreciated that with the feed tube filled with feed such that the feed within the drop tube serves as a feed reservoir for resupplying feed to feed pan as the birds consume feed from feed pan, the level of feed within feed drop tube will correspondingly drop. Upon the feed within the drop tube falling below a level which permits the switch arm to move fully to its second or tube empty position (shown in FIG. 21), switch is actuated to turn on the feed conveyor thereby to replenish the feed in the feeders and in the control unit. As feed is supplied to the control units, the feed will drop down through drop tube, fills feed pan, and backs up within the drop tube.

U.S. Patent No. 6,050,220 discloses an improved poultry feeder which is constructed so that the lowest position of the feeder results in producing the highest feed level within the feeder so that the young birds can see the feed and are drawn to the feed within the feeder. The highest feed level within the feeder also permits young birds to crawl into and out of the feeder. A poultry feeder adapted to be supported by a horizontally extending feed distribution tube, comprising a generally vertical drop tube adapted to be supported by and receive feed from the distribution tube, a feed pan disposed under said drop tube for receiving the feed and supported by said drop tube for vertical movement relative to said drop tube, a grill member surrounding said drop tube and connected to said feed pan, a vertically moveable flow control member disposed within said feed pan for establishing an adjustable level of feed within said pan and moveable vertically relative to said pan and said drop tube, a support actuator for said flow control member and connected to said drop tube, and said support actuator being operable to move said flow control member downwardly relative to said pan automatically in response to upward movement of said drop tube relative to said pan.

U.S. Patent No. 2,800,106 discloses an automatic feeder for poultry. When the chicks are small the pan can be placed close to the floor and as the birds grow the pan can be raised accordingly. A switch is set to be operated by the clock so that all of the feed buckets are filled automatically through a predetermined period of the night.

There is thus a long-felt need in the art for an enhanced solution for feeding chicks in sheds.

SUMMARY

There is provided, in accordance with an embodiment, a chick feeding apparatus comprising a poultry food director configured to direct poultry food from an opening in a food transport pipe towards a chick-accessible auxiliary pan, said director comprising an auxiliary sensor configured to transmit a signal to a shed controller when an amount of food in the chick-accessible auxiliary pan is lower than a predetermined threshold.

In some embodiments, said poultry food director comprises a tubular body.

In some embodiments, said tubular body comprises a cone.

In some embodiments, said tubular body comprises a telescopic assembly for adjusting a height of said tubular body.

In some embodiments, said telescopic assembly comprises a lower tube slidable about an upper tube.

In some embodiments, the chick feeding apparatus further comprises a connector integrally formed with said upper tube, wherein said connector comprises a food entry port opening into said tubular body, and wherein said connector is configured to connect said poultry food director to the food transport pipe such that food exiting the food transport pipe falls into said tubular body through said food entry port.

In some embodiments, said connector is rotatable about said food transport pipe, to disable the chick feeding apparatus by blocking a hole in the food transport pipe using an internal surface of said connector.

In some embodiments, one or more openings are provided in said tubular body, to enhance food outflow in one or more directions.

In some embodiments, said auxiliary sensor is mounted on said poultry food director externally.

In some embodiments, said auxiliary sensor is mounted on said poultry food director internally.

There is further provided, in accordance with an embodiment, a shed feeding line comprising: a poultry food container; a poultry food transport pipe connected to said food poultry food container and comprising a screw conveyor operable by a motor; a shed controller configured to activate said motor responsive to a control signal received; a plurality of adult poultry pans connected to said poultry food transport pipe and being accessible to adult poultry, wherein at least one of said adult poultry pans is a control pan comprising a sensor configured to transmit said control signal to said shed controller when an amount of food in said control pan is lower than a first predetermined threshold; and one or more young poultry feeding apparatuses connected to said poultry food transport pipe and configured to dispense food to a location accessible to young poultry, wherein at least one of said young poultry feeding apparatuses is a control feeding apparatus comprising an auxiliary sensor configured to transmit said control signal to said shed controller when an amount of food in said control feeding apparatus is lower than a second predetermined threshold.

In some embodiments, said shed feeding line further comprises one or more auxiliary pans positionable beneath said one or more young poultry feeding apparatuses, respectively, to prevent food from spilling on the ground.

In some embodiments, said one or more auxiliary pans comprise rims having a height sufficient to prevent food from spilling on the ground but low enough to allow access to the food by the young poultry.

In some embodiments, the height of said rims is approximately 5 centimeters or less.

In some embodiments, the height of said rims is approximately 2-3 centimeters. In some embodiments, said at least one of said young poultry feeding apparatuses comprises a tubular body.

In some embodiments, said tubular body comprises a cone.

In some embodiments, said shed feeding line further comprises a connector integrally formed with said upper tube, wherein said connector comprises a food entry port opening into said tubular body, and wherein said connector is configured to connect said poultry food director to said food transport pipe such that food exiting the food transport pipe falls into said tubular body through said food entry port.

In some embodiments, said connector is rotatable about said food transport pipe, to disable said at least one young poultry feeding apparatuses by blocking a hole in said food transport pipe using an internal surface of said connector.

In some embodiments, said auxiliary sensor is mounted on said at least one control feeding apparatus externally. There is further provided, in accordance with an embodiment, a method for automatically feeding chicks, comprising: providing an initial amount of food to a location accessible to chicks; sensing for changes in amount of food accessible to the chicks; sending a signal to a controller; sending a signal from the controller to activate a motor for dispensing an additional amount of food to the location accessible to the chicks.

In some embodiments, the food is provided and dispensed to an auxiliary pan.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures. Dimensions of components and features shown in the figures are generally chosen for convenience and clarity of presentation and are not necessarily shown to scale. The figures are listed below.

Fig. 1A shows a schematic illustration of a typical feeding line;

Fig. IB shows a schematic illustration of a typical feeding line with food loaded onto the pan;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a typical feeding line with a chick pan sensor, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the invention;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of housing for the chick dish sensor, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an exemplary chick feeding apparatus, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the invention;

Fig. 5 is a flow chart of steps in a method for automatically feeding chicks, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the invention; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view, partially cross-sectional, of an exemplary chick feeding apparatus, in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description relates to automated poultry feeding lines in sheds, which are, advantageously, also suitable for feeding young poultry (hereinafter "chicks" or "young chicks") of various breeds, especially those specifically developed to provide high growth rates. Broilers are a good example of such a breed. In addition, good nourishment during the first few days of life is critical for many breeds. For some, such as pullets and turkey poults, the food served during this period includes important vaccines, and hence, easy access to food is of great significance.

One technical problem handled by the disclosed method and feeding line relates to automatically keeping at least a minimal level of food accessible at least to chicks in a shed. One technical solution is the provisioning of a sensor for sensing the level of food available to chicks. The sensor may be attached to, connected to, or integrally formed with a structure configured to direct food from an opening in the feeding line's pipe towards a chick-accessible auxiliary pan (or simply "auxiliary pan"). The sensor may therefore be referred to as an "auxiliary sensor" or a "chick pan sensor". During the first few days of the chicks' lives, when most food is consumed from the ground- level auxiliary pans, the auxiliary sensor will provide an indication when the food level available to chicks decreases below a predetermined level. This will cause the sending of a control signal to the motor, and the dispensing of food through the structure and onto the auxiliary pans.

The term "chick- accessible auxiliary pan", as referred to herein, relates to an auxiliary pan having low enough rims at its circumference which, on one hand, enable short chicks to reach the food with their beaks, and, on the other hand, to prevent food from slipping off the pan. The actual height of the rims may be dependent of the breed on poultry being reared. For example, newly-hatched chickens may require lower rims than newly-hatched turkey poults. According to some embodiments, the auxiliary pans have rims extending to a height of up to approximately 4 centimeters above ground level. In some embodiments, the rims are less than 4 cm high. In further embodiments, the rims are more than 4 cm high. In yet further embodiments, the auxiliary pans are flat, at least at their circumference, albeit food might fall off to the ground in such configurations.

One technical effect of the disclosed subject matter is providing an improved feeding line and associated method, which ensure that enough food is automatically provided to the shed's population regardless of its age.

In some embodiments, when the chicks are young and weak, the control signals may be provided by the auxiliary sensor(s), and the regular control pan may be signal- wise disconnected or its commands otherwise ignored. In some other embodiments, the regular control pan may remain connected, such that control commands are made both by the auxiliary sensor and the control pan. When the chicks reach a size at which they can easily access the regular pans (also "adult poultry pans"), the auxiliary sensor may be disconnected or its commands may otherwise be ignored, such that food supply will be controlled by the regular control pan.

Reference is now made to Fig. 1A and Fig. IB, which show a schematic illustration of a typical feeding line 100.

Feeding line 100 comprises a container or a hopper 104 which is filled with poultry food such as barley, chick-peas, millet, wheat bran or any other suitable food, or a combination of several types of grains. Container 104 may be connected to or hung by wires 120 from an appropriate fixture. Container 104 is connected to a pipe 108 which may be made of metal, such as galvanized still, or of another rigid material. Pipe 108 is connected to a motor 112, which may activate a screw conveyor contained inside the pipe in order advance the poultry food from container 104 along pipe 108. Pipe 108 and motor 112 may be hung by wires 116, for example from the ceiling of the shed. An anti-perch cable 117 may be stretched above pipe 108, to prevent poultry from standing on the pipe itself. Motor 112 may receive control commands via an electrical cable (not shown) and/or wirelessly from a shed controller (not shown), which may be pre-programmed, receive control commands from an external source such as a food level sensor, manually activated and/or the like. The controller may be positioned, for example, inside the shed, whether in a control room built inside the shed or within the main space of the shed, next to one of the walls. The control room may also be located outside the shed, such as adjacent to one of its walls. The controller optionally controls and/or monitors multiple parameters in the shed, such as temperature, humidity, ventilation, light, water supply, food supply and/or the like. The poultry farmer may preset one or more of these parameters, and the controller may then control the necessary operations in the shed automatically. The parameters may be changed by the poultry farmer from time to time, as needed.

The controller may include a computing unit having a processor, a random access memory (RAM) and a non-volatile memory. The controller may send and receive digital and/or analog signals.

Pipe 108 has one or more openings (not shown), optionally in its bottom side. Each of feeding pans 124 is hung from pipe 108 using a connector 126, and aligned with one of the openings in the pipe, so that activation of the screw conveyor causes food to exit the opening and fall into the feeding pan.

One or more of pans 124 may serve as a control pan having a sensor for sensing the food level in the control pan. When food level decreases below a predetermined level, a corresponding signal or control command may be sent via an electrical cable (not shown) to controller 104, so that motor 112 activates and fills pans 124. The signal or control command may be analog and/or digital.

A pan 124 may have too high a rim, or may be too elevated from the floor for a few days old chick to see or reach the food. Therefore, one or more auxiliary pans, such as one auxiliary pan 128, may be provided. Auxiliary pan 128 may be accessibly lower than pan 124, may have lower rims and/or be positioned directly on the floor, so that the chicks can easily see and reach the food, or even step into the auxiliary pan. Auxiliary pan 128 receives the food from a corresponding opening in pipe 128 via a structure such as a cone 132. This structure may also be referred to as a "chick feeding apparatus". It is also possible to omit one or more of the auxiliary pans and dispense the food through cone 132 directly to the floor.

Fig. IB shows feeding line 100 in which pans 124 and auxiliary pan 128 are filled with food. It can be seen that the lowest food grains in pans 124 are higher than those in auxiliary pan 128. This difference may be significant for newly-hatched chicks. When auxiliary pan 128 is filled to capacity, some of the lower part of cone 132 may be sunk in food, as shown. The height of cone 132 may be such that its lower rim is suspended above auxiliary pan 128 or the floor, whichever is relevant. This allows food dispensed via cone 132 to spread sideways on auxiliary pan 128, around the cone. As the chicks eat the food, cone 132 gradually empties due to gravity, so that the food level inside it lowers, and the food is dispensed onto auxiliary pan 128. Eventually, when all food has been consumed from auxiliary pan 128, cone 132 becomes essentially empty.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2, which shows a schematic illustration of an exemplary feeding line which, advantageously, includes a chick feeding apparatus, such as a cone, equipped with one or more auxiliary sensors. The feeding line, generally referenced 200, may comprise the components of feeding line 100. In addition, feeding line 200 may comprise the one or more sensors, for example one sensor (not shown), optionally contained within a housing 204, the sensor and/or the housing being connected to, attached to or integrally formed with cone 132.

Cone 132 may be positioned above an auxiliary pan, such as auxiliary pan 128, or directly above the floor, as discussed above. The sensor is configured to sense the food level inside and/or in the vicinity of cone 132. When the sensor does not sense food in its vicinity, or otherwise senses that the level of food is below a predetermined threshold, it provides a control signal, which may be an analog and/or a digital signal, to the controller, for example via a cable, a wireless connection, or the like. For example, one or more cables 216 may extend from the sensor's housing 204 towards a connection box 218, which is optionally attached to pipe 108. From connection box 218, another cable 220 may extend towards the ceiling, and continue, along the ceiling, to the shed controller. The controller may then activate motor 112 for a predetermined duration, such as a few seconds or minutes, depending of one or more factors such as the height of the sensor in or on cone 132, the sensed food level, the chicks' age, the cone's volume, the volume and supply rate characteristics of pipe 108 and its internal screw, etc. The activation causes the screw conveyor to swivel and dispense food through cone 132, for example into auxiliary pan 128 or directly onto the floor. Naturally, if pans 124 are connected to the feeding line, food will also be dispensed to them. However, a poultry farmer may decide to disconnect one or more of pans 124 during the first few days of rearing, to prevent them from being filled and the food remaining inside them getting spoiled.

The sensor may be, for example, a capacitive sensor, a resistive sensor, a photo resistor with an illuminator such as a light-emitting diode (LED), a laser source with a reflector, a volumetric sensor, a weight sensor, a mechanical switch which is pressed by the food and released in the absence of food, or a combination of some of these sensor types.

Optionally, the sensor's sensitivity may be calibrated by a user. For example, one user may desire the sensor to issue a signal only when cone 132 gets completely empty, while a different user would like the sensor to act already when the food level in the cone becomes lower than a certain height.

Optionally, the sensor is calibrated in accordance with the type of food used, the size of the grains, the height of the cone above the floor or the auxiliary pan, the location of the sensor on or in the cone and/or the like. The calibration may also take into account the species and/or age of the chicks therein. The sensor may have a default state of "normally open" or "normally closed". Optionally, the sensor constantly transmits its current reading, such as the voltage, current and/or resistance it senses. The controller constantly receives the sensor's readings and determines when a certain reading (or multiple readings) exceeds a preset threshold and constitutes a meaningful "signal", based on which motor 112 is to be triggered.

Optionally, the controller includes a noise filtering functionality, in which it reacts to a signal from the sensor (whether a signal that food is present and/or that food is absent) only if multiple consecutive signals are consistent in the food present/absent indication. This may prevent a case where a momentary reading of the sensor causes the controller to prematurely or incorrectly trigger the dispensing or stopping the dispensing of food. The noise filtering functionality may enable an operator to set the aforementioned threshold for a meaningful signal, which threshold may be defined, for example, by time (e.g. a number of seconds).

Optionally, the controller includes a wear prevention functionality, intended to prevent wear and damage to motor 112 if hopper 104 becomes empty; if such a scenario occurs and a wear prevention functionality is not present, the controller may keep instructing the motor to operate, since the sensor will never indicate that sufficient food is present. The wear prevention functionality, accordingly, stops motor 112 after a predetermined period of time, optionally set by the operator, if there is still no indication from the sensor that sufficient food has been dispensed. This implies that hopper 104 is likely empty. The period may be, for example, a few dozen seconds up to a few minutes, for example.

The sensor may further provide an indication of its status, wherein the indication may comprise light, sound and or the like. This may enable the user to know if a current operation of the screw conveyor was triggered by the sensor or by the regular control pan.

Similar to the way a typical feeding line includes multiple regular feeding pans 124 and a lower number (commonly one) of control pans, feeding line 200 may further include one or more additional chick feeding apparatuses (not shown), such as cones, for dispensing food for chicks, wherein these additional apparatuses are passive and do not contain sensors. In such a configuration, cone 132, which is equipped with a sensor, may serve as a control chick feeding apparatus, according to which food is dispensed to all other cones and optionally regular pans 124.

Reference is now made to Fig. 3, which shows a perspective view of the optional housing 204 of the cone's sensor. Housing 204 comprises a main body 300 which may be a box-like structure encompassing space 312. Main body 300 is shown with an open top for illustrative reasons only. In practice, its top and bottom ends may be closed, for protecting the components therein. Main body 300 may connect to cone 132 via any attachment mechanism, such as two clips 304 and 304' . The sensor and any additional components such as electrical circuitry, may reside inside space 312. In some embodiments, in which the communication between the sensor and the controller is wired, one or more wires, such as wire 208 of Fig. 2, may connect sensor 308 or another component within main body 300 to the controller.

The structure of the chick feeding apparatus will now be discussed in greater detail. The chick feeding apparatus, according to some embodiments, may include a poultry food director such as a tubular body (not necessarily cylindrical) configured to direct poultry food from an opening at the bottom of a poultry food transport pipe, and ending a few millimeters or centimeters above the floor or above an auxiliary pan positioned beneath the apparatus. This gap, as discussed above, allows for food to exit sideways from the bottom of the apparatus, onto the floor or the auxiliary pan. Optionally, the apparatus may also include one or more openings in the tubular body's walls, to enhance the outflow of food in general, and/or specifically in a certain direction or directions. If these wall openings are present, having the tubular body touch the floor or the auxiliary pan and remain functional, since the food may exit through these openings. At its upper part, the chick feeding apparatus includes a connector for connecting the apparatus to the pipe - in order to be able to receive food through the opening in the pipe and/or to suspend the apparatus in the air, according to the prescribed gap.

Fig. 4 shows cone 132 in greater detail; the cone is disclosed herein as an example of a chick feeding apparatus. It is explicitly intended that the term "cone", as referred to herein, be interpreted as relating to a chick feeding apparatus of any other shape, not necessarily a cone; the term "cone" is used here for reasons of simplicity only.

Cone 132 may be an assembly of tubes arranged and secured to one another in a telescope configuration. For example, the telescopic assembly may include an upper tube 402 and a lower tube 404, the lower tube having a conical shape. Upper tube 402 and/or lower tube 404 may be made of a durable polymeric material which can withstand poultry pecking, for example acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polypropylene. Lower tube 404 may be mounted on upper tube 402, such that the lower tube can slide over the upper tube. This sliding enables adjustment of the total height of cone 132. The total height may affect, for example, the gap between cone 132 and the floor or the auxiliary pan, and/or make the cone suitable to sheds having pipes suspended in different heights. A fastening mechanism, such as a pair of fasteners 408 and 408', may be provided on either upper tube 402 or lower tube 402, to secure their relative position. In other embodiments, however, a cone may have a fixed length with no telescopic capabilities.

Cone 132 may further include a connector, optionally being made of two parts: a lower part 418 attached to or integrally formed with upper tube 402, and an upper part 420 which, once secured to the lower part, fasten the entire cone to the pipe. A food entry port 404 may be provided in lower part 418 and opening into upper tube 402 of the cone. Cone 132 may be mounted of the pipe such that an opening in the lower part of the pipe is aligned with food entry port 404, allowing food pushed from the pipe to flow into upper tube 402.

Advantageously, cone 132 may remain in the feeding line even when the chicks are old enough to feed from the regular pans; this may be enabled by virtue of the connector fastening the cone to the pipe. When the chicks are sufficiently old, cone 132 may simply be rotated about the pipe, such that its upper 402 and lower 404 tubes point upwards (hereinafter "upright position"). Since the pipe does not have a hole in its opposite, upper surface, food will no longer exit the pipe at the cone when the screw conveyor is activated; the internal surface of upper part 420 of the cone will block the hole in the pipe's lower surface, thereby disabling the cone. Similarly, cone 132 may also be rotated to an angle smaller than 180°, as long as food entry port 404 is not aligned with the hole in the pipe. Upon the end of one brooding cycle and the beginning of another, cone 132 may be rotated back to its working position, pointing down and ready to feed the new chicks.

Cone 132 may retain its upright and/or working positions due to the pressure exerted by the connector on the pipe due to tight fastening. Alternatively or additionally, cone 132 may be secured to anti-perch cable 117 when in the upright position. Fig. 6 illustrates this. When cone 132 is rotated about pipe 108 to point generally upwards, one of its parts, such as its fastener 404, may be clung to anti-perch cable 117 so as to secure the upright position. Similarly, in other embodiments (not shown), the cone may be functionally secured to the anti-perch cable by means of either a separate connector or an element of the cone serving as a connector.

When the chicks are old enough, it is also possible for cone 132 to remain in its working position, but its sensor may be turned off, disconnected, deflected to the side such that no detection is effectively made, or even completely removed from the cone. This will make it function essentially like a regular feeding pan, and signals will only be transmitted from the regular control pan.

Lower tube 402 of cone 132 are optionally provided with holes, here triangular slits 410, 410' (and others not shown do to the perspective in the figure), which enhance the flow of food out of the cone.

A sensor (not shown) may be enclosed in a sensor housing 204 and mounted on the poultry food director internally or externally, for example mounted externally on lower tube 402 using a pair of clips (only clip 404 is shown in this view). The connection between the sensor and the controller, in this example, is wired, by virtue of one or more electrical wires 416.

Reference is now made to Fig. 5, which shows a flow chart of steps in a method for automatically feeding chicks.

On step 500, an initial amount of food is dispensed from a chick feeding apparatus, such as a cone, to a location accessible to chicks, such as an auxiliary pan or the floor. In parallel, if regular feeding pans are connected to the feed line, food is also dispensed into these pans.

On step 504, the amount of food accessible to chicks, namely - the level of food inside the cone or in the vicinity of the cone is sensed, for example by a sensor functionally associated with the chick feeding apparatus dispensing the food.

On step 506, if the food level is below a predetermined threshold, a corresponding signal, such as a "low food level" signal is sent to a controller. Alternatively, the sensor constantly transmits its reading to the controller, and the controller determines when a certain reading or a plurality of readings are above a preset threshold. On step 508, a signal is sent from the controller, to activate the motor for dispensing food. The activation may be for a predetermined period of time, such as a few seconds or minutes, or for a period of time that depends on the food level, on the sensor's height in or on the cone, on the chicks' age and/or any other parameter.

It will be appreciated that the apparatus and method of this disclosure are not limited to young and adult poultry, but may also be used for feeding poultry of specific characteristics or needs that may require special methods of feeding. Such examples may include poultry which are older, shorter, sick or otherwise have different nutritional requirements and/or physical accessibility limitations.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation, material, step or component to the teachings without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosed subject matter not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but only by the claims that follow.

In the description and claims of the application, each of the words "comprise" "include" and "have", and forms thereof, are not necessarily limited to members in a list with which the words may be associated.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A chick feeding apparatus comprising a poultry food director configured to direct poultry food from an opening in a food transport pipe towards a chick-accessible auxiliary pan, said director comprising an auxiliary sensor configured to transmit a signal to a shed controller when an amount of food in the chick-accessible auxiliary pan is lower than a predetermined threshold.

2. The chick feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said poultry food director comprises a tubular body.

3. The chick feeding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said tubular body comprises a cone.

4. The chick feeding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said tubular body comprises a telescopic assembly for adjusting a height of said tubular body.

5. The chick feeding apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said telescopic assembly comprises a lower tube slidable about an upper tube.

6. The chick feeding apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a connector integrally formed with said upper tube, wherein said connector comprises a food entry port opening into said tubular body, and wherein said connector is configured to connect said poultry food director to the food transport pipe such that food exiting the food transport pipe falls into said tubular body through said food entry port.

7. The chick feeding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said connector is rotatable about said food transport pipe, to disable the chick feeding apparatus by blocking a hole in the food transport pipe using an internal surface of said connector.

8. The chick feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 2-7, wherein one or more openings are provided in said tubular body, to enhance food outflow in one or more directions.

9. The chick feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said auxiliary sensor is mounted on said poultry food director externally.

10. The chick feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said auxiliary sensor is mounted on said poultry food director internally.

11. A shed feeding line comprising:

a poultry food container;

a poultry food transport pipe connected to said food poultry food container and comprising a screw conveyor operable by a motor;

a shed controller configured to activate said motor responsive to a control signal received;

a plurality of adult poultry pans connected to said poultry food transport pipe and being accessible to adult poultry, wherein at least one of said adult poultry pans is a control pan comprising a sensor configured to transmit said control signal to said shed controller when an amount of food in said control pan is lower than a first predetermined threshold; and

one or more young poultry feeding apparatuses connected to said poultry food transport pipe and configured to dispense food to a location accessible to young poultry, wherein at least one of said young poultry feeding apparatuses is a control feeding apparatus comprising an auxiliary sensor configured to transmit said control signal to said shed controller when an amount of food in said control feeding apparatus is lower than a second predetermined threshold.

12. The shed feeding line according to claim 11, further comprising one or more auxiliary pans positionable beneath said one or more young poultry feeding apparatuses, respectively, to prevent food from spilling on the ground.

13. The shed feeding line according to claim 12, wherein said one or more auxiliary pans comprise rims having a height sufficient to prevent food from spilling on the ground but low enough to allow access to the food by the young poultry.

14. The shed feeding line according to claim 12, wherein the height of said approximately 5 centimeters or less.

15. The shed feeding line according to claim 14, wherein the height of said rims is approximately 2-3 centimeters.

16. The shed feeding line according to claim 11, wherein said at least one of said young poultry feeding apparatuses comprises a tubular body.

17. The shed feeding line according to claim 16, wherein said tubular body comprises a cone.

18. The shed feeding line according to claim 16, wherein said tubular body comprises a telescopic assembly for adjusting a height of said tubular body.

19. The shed feeding line according to claim 18, wherein said telescopic assembly comprises a lower tube slidable about an upper tube.

20. The shed feeding line according to claim 19, further comprising a connector integrally formed with said upper tube, wherein said connector comprises a food entry port opening into said tubular body, and wherein said connector is configured to connect said poultry food director to said food transport pipe such that food exiting the food transport pipe falls into said tubular body through said food entry port.

21. The shed feeding line according to claim 20, wherein said connector is rotatable about said food transport pipe, to disable said at least one young poultry feeding apparatuses by blocking a hole in said food transport pipe using an internal surface of said connector.

22. The shed feeding line according to any one of claims 11-21, wherein one or more openings are provided in said tubular body, to enhance food outflow in one or more directions.

23. The shed feeding line according to claim 11, wherein said auxiliary sensor is mounted on said at least one control feeding apparatus externally.

24. The shed feeding line according to claim 11, wherein said shed controller is further configured to filter noise resulting from a momentary reading of one or more of the sensor and the auxiliary sensor.

25. The shed feeding line according to claim 11, wherein said shed controller is further configured to prevent wear of said motor when said container is empty, by inactivating said motor is the control signal received persists for a predetermined duration.

26. A method for automatically feeding chicks, comprising:

providing an initial amount of food to a location accessible to chicks;

sensing for changes in amount of food accessible to the chicks;

sending a signal to a controller;

sending a signal from the controller to activate a motor for dispensing an additional amount of food to the location accessible to the chicks.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein the food is provided and dispensed to an auxiliary pan.