Patent ID: 9538731
Date: 2017-01-10
CPC Classifications: A01K,Y10T

Claim:
1. A cage-free aviary comprising: a cage-free aviary module having a first side, a second side, and a nesting area, said nesting area positioned between the first side and the second side; a belt extending beneath the nesting area; a grate having a first end and a second end, said grate being positioned within the nesting area and over the belt, the first end of the grate extending to the first side of the cage-free aviary module and the second end of the grate extending to the second side of the cage-free aviary module; a first egg conveyor positioned adjacent the first end of the grate; a second egg conveyor positioned adjacent the second end of the grate; and a scratching platform extending from the cage-free aviary module adjacent to the grate; wherein the scratching platform is sloped toward the grate to facilitate movement of a deposit on the scratching platform to the grate.