METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING

Abstract: Method and apparatus for feeding animals. The animal is coming up to a manger containing fodder where the animal is identified. The fodder intake by the animal in the manger is registered in the control unit which on basis of this information calculates the weight of the fodder intake.

Description: Method and apparatus for feeding This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for feeding animals especially cows. The animals are freely walking in a shed and have a free entrance to at least one manger containing fodder, and the animals wear a means which cooperates with a detecting means which is in contact with a control unit and is positioned in the manger or in close proximity to the manger. It is previously known to arrange a manger for loosehousing cows to which the cow can go for eating concentrated fodder. When the cow, having a so called transponder, comes up to the manger it is identified by means of an antenna positioned in the manger which antenna gives a signal to a control unit, usually a com- puter. This computer is so programmed that it knows exactly how much concentrate each cow shall get and how much each cow has already eaten. That means that when a certain cow is coming up to the manger, the computer knows exactly how much that cow shall get at this certain occasion. Thus, the computer gives a signal to a dis¬ penser in the apparatus which dispenses a certain quantity of concentrate into the manger. This feeding equipment is rather complicated and expensive. Moreover, it is not sure that the cow being at the manger eats the fodder that is dispensed into the manger. Instead another cow coming after the former one could eat that portion besides its own portion. That means that the fodder intake of each cow cannot be controlled. This known system cannot without modifications be used for dis¬ pensing rough fodder. When feeding cows, the concentrate portion to each cow is determined on basis of a certain quantity of roughage intake of each cow. Since the roughage intakes of the cows are not equal, this means that some of the cows get too much concentrate while others get too little. The milk yield of the cow is optimized if the concentrate and the roughage intake of the cow is optimized. Thus, the above mentioned fact means that the milk production is not quite effective. In order to optimize the milk yield of each cow it is necessary to know the roughage intake of each cow which in its turn determines the quantity of concentrate to the cow. Thus, it is necessary to know the weight of the roughage intake of each cow. There is previously known a system for dispensing roughage to loosehousing cows. This system is based on about the same tech¬ nics as that system mentioned previously for dispensing concen¬ trate. That means that the roughage consumption of each cow is determined in advance and programmed into the computer. Thus, when the cow is coming up to the manger, the cow is identified by the computer which then decides if this cow shall get any more roughage. This system is expensive and complicated, since the number of cows per feed station is limited and since there is an automatic conveyor in the system for moving the fodder from a silo to the manger. This known feeding equipment does not give information to the farmer about the roughage need and by that the concentrate need of the cows. Thus, this system will not optimize the milk yield of the cow. The object of this invention is to give a solution of the men¬ tioned problem. This is brought about by a method of the kind mentioned by way of introduction according to which each animal is identified at the manger, and that the fodder intake by the animal in the manger is registered in the control unit, which on basis of this information calculates the weight of the fodder intake. By so doing the weight of the fodder intake of each animal can be determined each time the animal visits the manger. In this connection it should be pointed out that the computer also registers the number of visits of each animal and thus can cal¬ culate the total fodder intake of each animal. This is a great advantage because, if the weight of the roughage eaten by the cow can be determined, then the farmer knows how much concen¬ trate he shall give the cow. The result will be an optimized milk production. The invention also relates to an apparatus for carrying out the method. A preferred embodiment of the invention shall be described more closely in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a part of the manger with the frame in which it ' is suspended (the other end of the manger has the same design as that end shown), Fig. 2 is a cross section along the line II-II of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a schematic view of several mangers arranged one after the other. When the animal is coming up to the place where to eat, it is identified by means of an antenna 13 which sends a signal to a control unit, usually a computer. Then the animal puts its head Into a manger, which comprises an elastic container 9, through an opening 12. The container 9 is suspended in a container frame 10, which in its turn is suspended in manger holders 1. The holder 1 looks like an upside-down box and has a plane roof la with side walls lb, lc, Id, directed downwards. The container frame 10 is suspended by means of shafts 8 and 18, one end of these shafts being inserted into the corners of the frame 10, the other end of the shafts 8 and 18 being connected with one end of a wire 6. The other end of the wire 6 is fastened to one end of a bar 3. About at the middle of this bar there is made a hole 5a in which one end of another wire 5 is fastened. The other end of the wire 5 is fastened to a pin 5b projecting out from the side wall lb of the holder 1 above the bar 3. The other end of the bar 3 is fastened to a conical pin 4, one end of which is fastened to a free end of a weighing bar 2 pro¬ vided with strain gauges. The other end of this weighing bar 2 is fastened to the underside of the roof la. The manger is also provided with a supporting bar 14 which holds the container 9 in the correct position. This suspension system Is used for weighing the container 9 and the contents in it. Thus, the weight of the container 9 is registered by the strain gauges which are in contact with a co - puter and send a signal to the same. The computer translates this signal into a weight value. A change of the weight of the container 9 gives a change of the strain in the weighing bar which is registered by the strain gauges and the computer. When the container is filled with fodder, the container strives to move downwards against the resistance from the wires 6. This motion is via the bars 3 creating an increased tensile stress in the weighing bar 2 so that the strain gauges will send a new signal to the computer which translates this signal into a value of the weight of the container 9. When the animal starts eating the fodder from the container 9, the weight of the same will be less. This leads to a reduced tensile stress in .the weighing bar so that the strain gauges send new signals to the computer which, as previously mentioned, translates these signals to weight values. That means that the computer is able to directly calculate the weight of the fodder eaten by the animal. Thus, this apparatus described functions as a weighing device for the fodder intake of the animal. Sometimes it is necessary to clean the container 9. In order to facilitate this cleaning procedure, the container 9 can be pivoted round the shafts 18 so that it can take a position shown by the dotted line A in Fig. 2. When the container is in this position, it can be easily emptied and cleaned. The movement of the container 9 to this cleaning position is possible to make either by loosing the wire 6 from the shafts 8 or from the bars 3 and then pivot the container 9 on the shafts 18 to the position A. In Fig. 3 the mangers are seen from the side that is opposite to that from which the animals are entering the mangers. The figure shows that several mangers ca .be arranged one after the other and that each manger Is suspended in both of its ends. The sus¬ pension of each manger is schematically shown in the figure from which it is apparent that one end of one manger and one end of an adjacent manger are suspended in the same holder 1. Moreover, the holder 1 comprises a roof la that overlaps these two ends so that when filling fodder into the containers 9 nothing will fall between the mangers. When filling the containers, a wagon with fodder is driven parallel with the longitudinal direction of the mangers and close to the same, the fodder being fed out from the wagon into the containers 9. Due to the fact that there is an overlapping roof between the mangers, the wagon can move forwards and-feed out fodder all the • time. In a further developed version of the system it is sufficient only to measure the duration of the visit of the animal to the manger in order to determine the weight of the fodder intake of the animal during this single visit. Since the computer regis¬ ters all visits to the manger of each animal, the total fodder intake of each animal can be calculated. Since the fodder consumption of the animals is different, it is necessary to change the time measured with some corrections factors which preferably have been programmed into the computer so that this one directly calculates the weight of the fodder intake on basis of the duration of the visit to the manger of the animal. These correction factors are: 1) The type of feed stuff 2) The time between last filling and the visit of the animal 3) The daytime for the visit of the animal 4) The duration of a single visit 5) The age of the animal 6) The lactation stadium of the animal 7) The body weight of the animal 8) The actual milk yield and the type of the animal. With this further developed embodiment of the invention the manger could be made very simple. Thus, it is not necessary to arrange the manger as a weighing device, since it is the time that is measured. It is, however, necessary to have some form of a detecting means that gives a signal to the computer when the animal arrives at and leaves the manger. Moreover, the same com¬ puter as is used for the identification of the animal is also used for the calculation of the weight of the fodder intake of the animal. Thus, this invention will offer the farmer an inexpensive way to increase the milk production of his cows. The apparatus can also be provided with a blocking means that under certain circumstances blocks the entrance for the animal into the manger. This could be done if the computer after having identified the animal finds that this animal has received enough with fodder. In this situation the computer will give a signal to a blocking means so that it closes the opening 12 of the manger. Such a blocking means could be a tube that is pushed in front of the opening 12. This invention will preferably be used for roughage but can, of course, be used for other types of fodder.

Claims: Claims 1. Method of feeding animals, especially cows, the animals walking freely in a shed and having a free entrance to at least one manger containing fodder, and the animals wearing a means which cooperates with a detecting means which is in contact with a control unitand is positioned in the manger or in close proxi¬ mity to the manger, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that each animal is identified at the manger, and that the fodder intake by the animal in the manger is registered in the control unit, which on basis of this information calculates the weight of the fodder intake. 2. Method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the tensile stresses are measured and translated into weight values in the control unit, and that all visits to the manger of each animal are registered in the control unit so that the control unit is able to calculate the total fodder intake of each animal. 3. Method of feeding animals, especially cows, the animals walking freely in a shed and having a free entrance to at least one manger containing fodder, and the animals wearing a means which cooperates with a detecting means which is in contact with a control unit and is positioned in the manger or in close proximity to the manger, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that each animal is identified at the manger, and that the time each animal spends in the manger is registered in the control unit, which on basis of this information calculates the weight of the fodder intake by the animal. 4. Method according to claim 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the control unit calculates the weight under consideration of a number of correction factors. 5. Apparatus for feeding animals, especially cows, the animals walking freely in a shed and having a free entrance to at least one manger containing fodder and the animals wearing a means which co¬ operates with a detecting means which is in contact with a control unit, preferably a computer, and is positioned in the manger or in close proximity to 'the manger, c h a r a c t e r i z e d I n that the manger comprises a container (9) suspended in a container frame (10) which in its turn is suspended in holders (1) in that way that the weight of the container will be registered in the computer. 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the ' suspension of the container frame (10) in the holders (1) is made by shafts (8, 18), bars (2, 3), wires (5, 6) and pins (4, 5). 7. Apparatus according to claim 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the container frame (10) is suspended in wires (6), one end of which is fastened to the container frame and the other end of which is fastened to one end of the bars (3), and that the bars (3) are so suspended that they create tensile stresses in a weighing bar (2), which tensile stresses are registered by strain gauges positioned In the weighing bar (2) and being in contact with the computer. 8. Apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the container (9) and its frame (10) is pivotable round the shafts (18). 9. Apparatus for feeding animals, especially cows, the animals walking freely in a shed and having a free entrance to at least one manger containing fodder and the animals wearing a means which co- operates with a detecting means which is in contact with a control unit, preferably a computer, and is positioned in the manger or in close proximity to the manger, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the apparatus is provided with a detecting means which gives a signal to the computer when the animal arrives at and leaves the manger. 10. Apparatus according to anyone of the claims 3 - 6 and 9, wherein a plurality of mangers are provided, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i α that each holder (1) is provided with a roof (la) overlapping one end of one manger and one end of an adjacent manger.

Inventors: BOETTGER FRANK, CLAUS JUERGEN, KALM ERNST, BOETTGER, FRANK, CLAUS, JUERGEN, KALM, ERNST
Applicants: ALFA LAVAL AGRI INT, ALFA-LAVAL AGRI INTERNATIONAL AB
Application year: 1985
Main classification: A01K5
IPC codes: A01K5