Pig holder

A pig holder designed to support pigs by their hind legs while performing operations on the pig or while giving treatment to the pig, includes a support frame which mounts to the rails of a ferring crate. A leg holder assembly including two pairs of hooks are secured to the support frame for engagement with the pig's hind legs. Each pair of hooks is adapted to engage with a respective hind leg of the pig and includes one upwardly facing hook and one downwardly facing hook. The spacing between the first and second pairs of hooks may be adjusted to accommodate pigs of different size or to spread the hind legs of the pig to permit access to the pig's abdomen.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates generally to devices used in the production 
of pigs, and, more particularly, to a device for holding pigs while 
performing operations or giving treatment to pigs. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In order to promote growth, male pigs are normally castrated within 10-15 
days of birth. It normally takes two persons to perform a castration. One 
person grasps and holds the young pig by its hind legs while the other 
performs the castration. Even with two persons, holding the pigs while 
performing the castration can be awkward and cumbersome. 
In the past, it is known to use a pig holding device to hold the pig while 
performing operations on them or giving them treatment. For example, the 
patent to Moeller, U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,266, discloses a pig holding device 
for holding a pig by its hind feet. The holding device includes a pair of 
V-shaped members for suspending the pig by its hind legs. The V-shaped 
configuration of the members causes the pigs legs to be grasped in 
response to the downward force of gravity on the pig. U.S. Pat. No. 
3,693,595 to Stewart also discloses a pig holding device for holding a pig 
by its hind legs. This device uses a pair of jaw members for grasping the 
pigs hind legs. The spacing between the jaw members is adjustable for 
animals of different sizes. 
These prior art devices are either too cumbersome to use or do not 
adequately support the pig. Thus, these devices are not currently in use 
in most hog production facilities. 
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a pig holder for holding pigs while giving 
treatment or performing operations. The pig holder includes a support 
frame having means for mounting the support frame to a ferring crate. A 
leg holder assembly is mounted on the support frame for holding a pig by 
its hind legs. The leg holder assembly includes a pair of spaced apart 
hook members. Each hook member includes a pair of hooks for engaging 
respective hind legs of the pig. The hooks of the rearward hook member are 
pointed downwardly, while the hooks of the forward hook member are pointed 
upwardly. When the pigs hind legs are placed in the hook members, the 
force of gravity acting on the pig rotates the hind legs against the 
rearward hook members to retain the pig within the holder. 
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a second set of leg holders 
are mounted on the frame. The second leg holder also includes two pairs of 
hooks. However, in the second leg holder, each set of hooks is mounted on 
a separate telescoping support so that the spacing between the hooks can 
be adjusted by simply sliding the support. This enables the pig's legs to 
be spread apart to permit access to the pig's abdomen. 
The present invention may also include a support plate for use in 
conjunction with each leg holder assembly. The support plate mounts to the 
support frame immediately below the leg holder assembly and is adapted to 
bear against the belly or back of the pig. A retaining strap extends 
around the pig and has its ends secured to the support plate for holding 
the pig against the support plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to the drawings, the pig holder of the present invention is 
shown therein and indicated generally by the numeral 10. The pig holder is 
designed to mount directly to the rails of a ferring crate 100 and 
supports the pig by its hind legs. 
The pig holder 10 includes a support frame 12 and two leg holder assemblies 
20 and 34 which are mounted on the support frame. Mounting means are 
provided at the lower end of the support frame 12 for mounting the pig 
holder 10 to the rails of the ferring crate 100. The mounting means 
includes a crossbar 16 secured at its center to the support post 14 and a 
pair of downwardly extending fork members 18. The crossbar 16 is disposed 
at 90.degree. to the support post 14. The fork members 18 extend 
downwardly from the crossbar 16 at opposite ends thereof. The fork members 
18 are disposed on the opposite side of the crossbar 16 from the support 
post 14. The rails of the ferring crate 100 are received in the gap 
between the lower end of the support post 14 and fork members 18 as most 
clearly seen in FIG. 2. Thus, the lower end of the support post 14 
functions as a third fork member. 
A leg holder assembly 20 is secured to the upper end of the support post 
14. The leg holder assembly 20 includes a stub member 22 which projects 
forwardly from the support post 14. A pair of hook members 24 and 26 are 
secured to the stub member 22 in spaced relation to one another. Hook 
member 24 includes a pair of downwardly facing hooks 24a and 24b which are 
integrally formed from a single piece of wire. Similarly, hook member 26 
includes a pair of upwardly facing hooks 26a and 26b formed from a second 
single piece of wire. Hooks 24a and 26a are adapted to engage one of the 
pig's hind legs while hooks 24b and 26b engage the other hind leg. Hooks 
26a and 26b engage the front side of the pig's hind legs while hooks 24a 
and 24b engage the back side of the pig's hind legs. Thus, the pig is 
retained solely by the force of gravity within the leg holder 20. 
A support plate 28 is mounted to the support post 14 for use in connection 
with the first leg holder assembly 20. The support plate 28 is mounted to 
the end of a support rod 30 extending from the support post 14. The 
support plate 28 has a curved surface which is adapted to engage the pig's 
belly. A retaining cord 32 extends around the pig and has its ends engaged 
with the support plate 28 to hold the pig firmly against the support plate 
28. The support plate 28 has a pair of openings at each end thereof. The 
cord 32 is inserted through the opening and tied into a knot to hold the 
pig against the support plate 28. 
A second leg holder assembly 34 is mounted to the support frame 12. The leg 
holder assembly 34 includes a horizontal support member 36 which extends 
at a right angle from the support post 14. A slide bar 38 is slidably 
received in the horizontal support member 36. A securing screw 40 tightens 
against the slide bar 38 to secure the slide bar 38 in a fixed position 
relative to the horizontal support member 36. 
A pair of L-shaped hook supports 42 and 44 extend downwardly from the 
horizontal support member 36 and slide bar 38 respectively. A first set of 
downwardly facing hooks 46a and 46b are secured to hook supports 44. A 
second set of upwardly facing hooks 48a and 48b are secured to hook 
supports 42 in spaced relation to the first set of hooks 46a and 46b. The 
hooks 46a and 48a are adapted to engage one of the hind legs of the pig. 
Hooks 46b and 48b are adapted to engage the other hind leg. The hind legs 
of the pig are engaged with the hooks in the same manner as previously 
described. Further, by adjusting the slide bar 38, the pig's hind legs can 
be spread apart to permit access to the pig's abdomen. 
A second support plate 50 is pivotally mounted to the support post 14 for 
use in connection with the second leg holder assembly 34. Support plate 50 
is adapted to engage the back of the pig in a manner similar to the way 
the first support plate 28 engages the belly of the pig. The support plate 
50 is mounted on a support rod 52 which is attached to a sleeve 54. The 
sleeve 54 has a pair of notches 56 which engage a peg 58 on the support 
post 14 to retain the support plate in either of two positions. 
Prior to inserting a pig into the leg holder assembly 34, the support plate 
50 is moved to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1 while the pig 
is inserted into the leg holder assembly 34. Once the pig's hind legs are 
engaged in the leg holder assembly 34, the support plate 50 is swung to a 
use position in which the plate 50 engages the back of the pig. A cord 60 
extends around the belly of the pig and has its ends engaged with the 
support plate 50 to hold the back of the pig against the support plate 50. 
To use the pig holder of the present invention, it is first mounted to 
ferring crate 100 by inserting the rails of the ferring crate between the 
support posts 14 and fork members 18. It will be apparent that the pig 
holder can be mounted in one of two ways, depending on which leg holder 
assembly it is desired to use. If it is desired to use the first leg 
holder assembly 20, the pig holder 10 is mounted to the ferring crate 100 
with the support plate 28 pointed toward the aisle. Conversely, if it is 
desired to use the second leg holder assembly 34, the pig holder 10 is 
mounted to the ferring crate 100 with the support plate 28 pointed away 
from the aisle. In either case, the pig holder 10 is mounted to the 
ferring crate by holding it above the ferring crate 100 and then lowering 
it onto the rails of the ferring crate 100. 
Once the pig holder 10 is mounted to the ferring crate 100, the hind legs 
of the pig are inserted into the leg holder assembly 20 or 34. If the 
first leg holder assembly 20 is used, the hind legs of the pig are 
inserted into the hook members 24 and 26 as shown in FIG. 2. The belly of 
the pig should bear against the support plate 28. Once the pig's hind legs 
are inserted into the holder 10, the castration or other operation is 
performed. It is not necessary that the retaining cord 32 be used, 
although the retaining cord 32 is offered as an additional safety measure 
to assure that the pig does not slip out of the holder. 
The second leg holder assembly is used essentially in the same manner as 
the first leg holder assembly 20. The pig's hind legs are inserted through 
the hooks 46a, 46b, 48a and 48b as shown in FIG. 3. After the pig's hind 
legs are inserted, the support plate 50 is swung into position against the 
back of the pig and the retaining cord 60 is tied. After the pig is 
inserted into the holder, the pig's hind legs can be spread by loosening 
the tightening screw 40 and sliding the slide bar 38 outwardly. 
The pig holder 10 of the present invention provides a relatively easy and 
convenient method of holding a pig while performing operations. Since the 
pig holder 10 mounts directly to the ferring crate 100, it can be used 
even in hog houses having relatively narrow aisles. Further, the pig 
holder is relatively small in size so they can be easily stored in a small 
space. 
An additional advantage of pig holder 10 is that it enables a single person 
to perform the job which is normally performed by two individuals. The 
person performing the operation on or giving the treatment to the pig can 
easily and quickly place the pig within the holder and then perform the 
procedure. The pig can then be easily and quickly removed. Thus, the pig 
holder 10 can result in a significant decrease in labor costs associated 
with such operations. 
The present invention may, of course, be carried out in other specific ways 
than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and 
essential characteristics of the invention. The present embodiments are, 
therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not 
restrictive and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency 
range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.