ANIMAL HOUSING ACCESSORY

Abstract: A stable for horses has walls (1) and a floor (2) on which there is a layer of rubber crumbs (3), the crumb size being 10-18 mm, the crumbs preferably being derived from rubber waste products such as old/waste vehicle tyres and other vehicle rubber parts. Liquid contamination sinks quickly through the layer and drains via a drain (4), leaving the bulk of the layer dry; solid contamination can readily be separated by forking with a fork with a suitable tine spacing. The layer may be periodically washed with disinfectant. For domestic use, e.g. for cats and dogs, a smaller crumb size may be preferable.

Description: Animal Housing This invention relates to the housing of animals. The primary application is to non-domestic animals such as, for example, horses and ponies, but it also finds application to domestic animals such as cats and dogs. It is the usual practice to place a layer of wood shavings or straw on the floors of stables and the like, to promote the comfort of the animals concerned and to absorb the inevitable liquid contamination that occurs. Unfortunately, most of the shavings or straw must be discarded and replaced each time the stable is "mucked out", and this must be done frequently if the health of the animals is to be maintained. A considerable cost is thus incurred annually in merely keepiag a stable or the like in reasonably comfortable and hygienic con¬ dition. We have realized that a significant saving in expense would be made if the wood shavings or straw could be replaced by a non-absorbent material which would otherwise serve the same purpose and be re-usable. We have found that rubber, if crumbled to an appropriate size, serves this purpose extremely well. The rubber crumb may conveniently be obtained from waste rubber products such as old vehicle tyres or other vehicle rubber parts such as door and window seals, depending on the precise nature of the r ubber parts and the application. Such rubber crumb material is resilient, thermally insulating and parti¬ cularly non-absorbent as regards both liquid and solid contamination. Further, solid contamination can be largely separated from such rubber crumb material quickly and easily, by using a fork or the like whose tines are sufficiently far apart to allow the rubber crumbs to pass through them; also, the material can readily be washed with a suitable disinfectant. Accordingly one aspect of the present invention provides an animal housing accessory comprising a layer of rubber crumbs in which the crumb size is 4 - 18 mm, the crumbs preferably being derived from rubber waste products such as old/waste vehicle tyres and other vehicle rubber parts. (Most plastics materials are unsuitable, as they are too hard and would therefore be liable to cause discomfort or even injury to the animals.) For horses and the like, the crumb _ O — size is preferably biased towards the upper end of this range, ie 10 - 18 mm. We have found that small crumbs are relatively disadvantageous, as they tend to stick to the animals, and tend to become clogged with liquid and/or solid conta¬ mination. However, a smaller size will often be preferable for small animals. Other aspects of the invention relate to the use of such rubber crumbs for animal housing, and to its disinfecting. For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the drawing, which is a diagrammatic elevation of a lower portion of a stable wall whose floor is provided with a layer of the present rubber crumbs. Referring to the drawing, a stable 1 has a floor 2 upon which is provided a layer 3 of rubber crumbs, the layer 3 being preferably about 100 mm in depth. The floor 2 is constructed with a central drainage channel 4 covered by a grid 5, and slopes slightly downwards to this channel on both sides, as shown. The size of the crumbs which forms the layer 3 is 4 - 18 rn Inclusive, preferably 10 - 18 mm, and the size of the apertures in the grid 5 is chosen to be less than the smallest crumb size. The crumbs are derived from rubber waste pro¬ ducts such as vehicle rubber parts (of which there is an ever — growing supply). The stable is shown with the floor level roughly 100 mm below the ground level outside, so that the crumbs of the layer 3 are automatically confined to the stable. If necessary, a raised step can be provided across the door of the stable to confine the crumb layer. Rubber crumbs of substantially 2 mm crumb size are commercially available, produced from old/waste rubber tyres. These small crumbs are not suitable for use as the present animal housing accessory, since they are almost always somewhat powdery in nature and are so small and light that an animal, such as a horse or pony, could easily breathe them in if in close proximity thereto. The significantly larger crumb size that is required for the present crumbs can how¬ ever easily be produced merely by adjustment of the machines which are employed to produce crumbs of the known smaller size just mentioned. (It will be appre¬ ciated that the crumbs will in general be of highly irregular shape; the size is taken as a kind of mean diameter, which can be determined eg by a sieve with a suitable hole size. ) The vast majority of rubber waste products, including in particular old/ waste vehicle * tyres and other vehicle rubber parts, are formed predominantly from natural vulcanized rubber but, very occasionally, some artificial rubber, such as neoprene, is employed. The use of artificial rubber (including eg silicone compounds) does not in any way reduce the advantages of using the pre¬ sent crumbs (of 4 - 18 mm size). It is however desirable for the present crumbs to be resilient, ie rubbery. Crumb material derived from hard (non-resilient J plastics material is substantially inferior for the present purposes of providing bedding material for stabling. It is desirable for the crumbs to be substantially metal-free. This may limit the extent to which old/waste tyres can be used, since it may be difficult to avoid significant metal content in crumbs of the larger sizes (eg 12 - 18 mm) produced from such tyres. Hence the use of other rubber waste products, con¬ veniently from cars and other vehicles, may be preferred for such larger sizes. It is also desirable for the present crumb mixture to be substantially powder-free, as "powder" (ie very small crumbs) in the mixture may be breathed in by the animals. The present larger crumbs are sufficiently heavy not to pre¬ sent any danger of being inhaled. The material of the crumbs should also have sufficient strength to withstand normal wear without breaking up significantly. Some stables and other animal houses have an apertured false floor, beneath which there is an open collecting area for liquid to be drained off. Other stables have floors with a slight slope; this, in conjunction with the present rubber crumbs, results in relatively rapid and complete drainage of liquid. Yet other stables have floors which are permeable, eg earth floors, or brick floors in which the bricks are laid directly on underlying earth and allow passage of liquid through to the earth. The present layer of rubber crumb material allows liquid to drain downwardly through it with considerable rapidity. With such stable constructions, the present crumb layer thus remains effectively dry. Some stables are however constructed with non-permeable and level floors. When wood shavings or straw are used in such a stable, they absorb liquid con¬ tamination, which is therefore disposed of when the stable is "mucked out". If the present rubber crumbs are used in such a stable, they will not absorb such liquid contamination. The present rubber crumbs can however be used with advantage in such a stable. Although the crumbs may become wet, they will not absorb any liquid. Such liquid will drain down through them and, provided that there is some form of drainage, the liquid will be largely confined to the bottom of crumb layer and, generally speaking, at least the upper parts of the layer will remain dry for most of the time. The efficiency of this drainage through the present crumb mixture would be reduced if the mixture contained a substantial amount of "powder", since that would hold liquid by capillary action. This is thus a second reason for the present crumb mixture to be substantially powdei — free. Similarly, the material of the present crumbs should be substantially inert and non-absorbent, eg not spongy. We have found that the present crumbs result generally in reduced odour compared to wood shavings or straw; the reason for this may be that there is no absorption of liquid by the present crumbs, and therefore less opportunity for chemical and/or bacterial action. But when "mucking out" becomes necessary, the fact that the present crumbs are non-absorbent means that they can, when required, be washed so as to reduce odour and maintain them in a hygienic condition. The washing is preferably with a suitable disinfectant (one which will not cause adverse reaction from the animals housed on the crumbs). It will be appreciated that the rubber crumbs can have solid contamination removed from them quite easily by employing a fork or the like whose tines are sufficiently far apart from one another to allow the crumbs readily to fall between them whilst retaining the solid contamination for hygienic disposal. The need for reasonably effective separation between the crumbs and solid con¬ tamination sets an upper limit to the size of the crumbs. Although some rubber crumbs will inevitably be lost at each "mucking out" operation, the amount of replacement that is necessary at each such event is generally extremely small. The present rubber crumbs are very long-lasting indeed, so that the only significant losses are those small losses just mentioned which occur during "mucking out". So far as stabling is concerned, a signifi¬ cant saving in cost may therefore be expected over a ten-year period as compared with the use of conventional straw or wood shavings all or most of which need replacement at each "mucking out" operation. A layer of the present rubber crumbs is resilient, thermally insulating, and non-powdery. Further, generally speaking, at least the upper parts of the layer remains dry for most of the time, as discussed above. In addition, the present rubber crumb layer is largely free of dust (spores, &c), compared to the conventional bedding material of wood shavings or straw. The layer may there¬ fore be considered to be therapeutically beneficial to any horses, ponies or other animals which use it. The invention furnishes another use for rubber waste products such as old/waste vehicle tyres and other vehicle rubber parts, and is therefore of significant benefit to the environment inasmuch as it greatly reduces the pollution of the atmosphere that occurs when such material is burnt in the open air, as often takes place. The invention finds its chief utility in regard to animal housing in the form of stables for horse and ponies, but it will be evident that it is not limited to this purpose and that it can equally well be employed for other animals in cages and other housing in public and private zoos and so on. It may further be used as litter material for domestic animals such as cats and dogs. For such smaller animals, a smaller crumb size may be preferable. For such applications, it may also be desirable to select the source rubber to be of a suitable colour. In such use, the present rubber crumb material retains the advantages of allowing liquid contamination to sink down to the bottom of the litter tray and being separable from solid contamination for re-use. As with stabling, the material may be washed with disinfectant at suitable intervals, both to reduce possible odours and to assist in the separation of solid contamination.

Claims: Claims 1. An animal housing accessory comprising a layer of rubber crumbs in which the crumb size is 4 - 18 mm. 2. An animal housing accessory according to claim 1 , in which the rubber crumbs are obtained from old or waste rubber parts from vehicles. 3. A building for animal housing comprising a floor covered by a layer of rubber crumbs according to either previous claim. 4. A building according to claim 3, in which the doorway has a step up or bar to the outside of height at least equal to the thickness of the layer of rubber crumbs. 5. A building according to either of claims 3 and 4, in which the layer of rubber crumbs is approximately 100 mm deep. 6. A building according to any of claims 3 to 5, in which the crumb size is 10 - 18 mm. 7. A building according to any of claims 3 to 6, having permanent floor drainage. 8. A method of housing an animal comprising providing a layer of rubber crumbs as defined in claim 1 or 2. 9. A method according to claim 8, including periodically forking the layer to separate solid contamination. 10. A method according to claim 9, including periodically draining the layer of liquid contamination. 11. A method according to claim 10, including periodically washing the layer with disinfectant. 12. The use of rubber crumbs for housing animals. 13. The use of rubber crumbs according to claim 12, in which the crumb size is 4 - 18 mm. 14. The use of rubber crumbs according to claim 12 or 13, in which the rubber crumbs are obtained from old or waste rubber parts from vehicles. 15. Any novel and inventive feature or combination of features specifically disclosed herein within the meaning of Article 4H of the International Conven¬ tion (Paris Convention). *J

Inventors: FOX RICHARD CHARLES, FOX, RICHARD, CHARLES
Applicants: COFO LTD, COFO LTD.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: A01K1
IPC codes: A01K1