SYSTEM AND DEVICE FOR COLLECTING MANURE IN A FUR ANIMAL FARM

Abstract: The invention relates to a system for the collection and removal of manure on a fur farm with breeding cages (1) provided with grated floors (2) and disposed above ground so that the manure can fall down from the cages. According to the invention, the system comprises relatively heavy manure vessels (3) capable of resisting the wind load substantially without moving or overturning and the system comprises a tank vehicle or unloading vehicle (4) for emptying the manure vessels by a vacuum method. The invention also relates to a device for the collection of manure on a fur farm with breeding cages (1) provided with grated floors (2) and disposed above ground. The device consists of a manure vessel (3) placed below a cage (1) and the manure vessel is relatively heavy and capable of resisting the wind load substantially without moving or overturning.

Description: SYSTEM AND DEVICE FOR THE COLLECTION OF MANURE ON A FUR FARM The present invention relates to a system for the collection and removal of manure on a fur farm with breeding cages provided with a grated floor and disposed above the ground so that the manure can fall down from the cages. Moreover, the invention relates to a device for the collection of manure on a fur farm. In 1996, about 2.1 million fox skins and about 2.1 million mink skins were produced on some 2000 fur farms in Finland. On the farms, fur animals are raised in cages. The animals' excrements fall down to the ground under the cages. Each year in the spring, the breeding animals have young, which is why all unnecessary traffic in the farm area is avoided and peace and quiet is maintained in the area as far as possible to avoid disturbing breeding animals wit cubs, because if disturbed they might kill their broods. The chances for cleaning the cages are insufficient, and the manure is generally not cleared from under the cages until July. The manure collected becomes a problem especially because a large part of the growing season has already elapsed at the time of collection and the ma- nure can therefore not be utilised as fertiliser during that growing season. The amounts of nutrients and manure to be used in field husbandry are minutely specified in the conditions for environmental relief allowances for agriculture. Based on the set limits, the areas defined for the spreading of cattle and fox/mink manure are generally so large that the spreading is practically impossible to carry out. For this reason, many municipalities have requested exceptional permission to spread fox/mink manure in the woods. The waste load imposed on the environment is increased in areas with fur farms. The farms are generally located on even ground with an easy soil structure, usually mineral soil. A considerable proportion of the farms have been established in places near water courses, brooks, ditches etc., in some cases even in ground water areas. In this case the amounts of waste washed away with rain water into the water courses are considerable. The total nutrient load resulting from fur farming in Finland is of the order of about 300 t of soluble nitrogen and nearly 1000 t of phosphor per year while the total amount of manure produced is of the order of about 90 000 t a year. In the light of the above-mentioned facts, it can be stated in general that the manure produced by fur farms constitutes a difficult problem and a drawback imposing a heavy load on the environment in countries where fur animals are raised. Stricter environ- mental laws will be enacted, among other things, because of the proposed European Council resolution, which means a roughly 70-% reduction in phosphor emissions over a given period. So far, no solution to these problems has been presented. The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks described above. A specific object of the invention is to disclose a system for the collection and removal of manure from fur farms so that the manure can be treated in an appropriate man- ner to make it usable as fertiliser e.g. in agriculture and forestry and so that it will not be released into the environment unintentionally. Another object of the invention is to disclose a device for the collection of manure on a fur farm. As for the features characteristic of the invention, reference is made to the claims. The invention is based on the fundamental idea of placing below the fur animal cage a relatively heavy manure vessel capable of resisting the wind load so that the manure produced by the fur animal will fall down from the cage directly into the vessel. The manure vessels can be emptied directly into an unloading vehicle, e.g. into a tank lorry via a suction pipe using negative pressure; to fluidise the manure, water can be added into the manure vessel if necessary. The manure vessels can also be emptied by means of a truck or the like directly into a tank lorry or transport vehicle, to be transported to an appropriate place for further treatment. It is also possible to add decay promoting material, such as peat, wood chips or simi- lar organic matter, into the manure vessels. It is particularly important that the manure vessels have a relatively large mass, of the order of over 100 kg, e.g. about 200 kg per 1 m 2 of surface area exposed to wind load. This ensures that even a strong wind will not overturn the vessels. Further, the manure vessels are made of massive material that will not produce much noise when manure falls into the vessels, such as massive plastic raw material, glass-based raw material, ceramic raw material, combination raw material or the like. Particularly usable are various plastic-based raw materials, such as polyester resins, to which it is possible to add weighting material, e.g. stone chips and/or glass cullet, grain size 0-1 mm or larger. There are also other substances that can be used as weighting material, such as minerals, e.g. flocobite. - A manure vessel structure that will not produce much noise is important because in spring time fur animals having young may kill their cubs if disturbing noise occurs on the farm. To achieve a sufficiently massive structure, the manure vessel generally has a wall thickness of over 10 mm preferably over 15 mm. If desirable, the manure vessel may also be provided with an additional weight to ensure a sufficient mass and wind load capacity. The manure vessels can be constructed to dimensions large enough to enable the vessel to hold all the manure produced in the cage e.g. during a whole year as well as the auxiliary material that may be added to the manure, with a capacity of e.g. about 50- 100 1. To alleviate the drawbacks caused by ammonia and other ill-smelling gases generated in the manure, the manure vessels are preferably provided with con- cave smell blocking covers with apertures designed to guide the manure into the vessels and to prevent the gases from getting out of the vessels. Further, the manure vessels may be provided with guide vanes and/or guide plates to guide the ma- nure falling from the cages into the vessels. The manure vessels may also be provided with gripping elements adapted to the lifting clutches or other handling elements of a truck or a similar machine to allow the vessels to be handled by such ma- chines. The system and device of the invention are suited for use on ordinary fur farms where the cages for the fur animals are disposed above ground. The manure vessels of the invention can simply be placed un- der existing cages. Generally no additional equipment is needed. The invention provides a simple and cheap solution for collecting the manure produced on fur farms. The manure vessels can be emptied e.g. once a year, which means low operating costs. The manure collected can be treated and, if desirable, composted and processed further in a desired manner to make it fit for use as fertiliser e.g. in agriculture and/or forestry or eTsewhere, e.g. in parks and yards. The value of the invention is augmented by the fact that, by an apparently simple method, it creates a system for total elimination of the difficult environmental problem caused by fur animal manure; before, no corresponding development result has been produced in spite of the magnitude and significance of the problem. In the following, the invention will be described in detail by the aid of a few examples of its embodiments by referring to the attached drawings, wherein Fig. 1 presents a manure vessel placed under a fox cage, and a system for removal of the manure, and Fig. 2 presents another manure vessel according to the invention. Fig. 1 shows a fur farm where cages 1 provided with grated floors 10 are placed above ground so that the manure can fall down from the cages. Placed below the cage is a relatively heavy manure vessel 3 capable of resisting the wind load without moving or overturning; shown in sectional view. Moreover, in the embodiment presented, the system comprises a special tank vehicle or vacuum vehicle 4 for emptying the tanks by a vacuum method. The required negative pressure is generated by means of a vacuum system 13, and the manure is drawn into the vacuum vehicle 4 via a pipe 14. The manure vessel 3 comprises walls 11 and a bottom 12. The manure vessel 3 has a mass of the order of over 100 kg, e.g. 200 kg per 1 m 2 of wind load surface area. This ensures that even a strong wind will not be able to move or overturn the manure vessel. The manure vessels 3 are made of massive material that will not produce much noise as the manure falls into- the vessels, e.g. from massive plastic raw material, rock or glass based raw material, ceramic raw material or the like. An especially advantageous solution is to manufacture the manure vessels from waste material, e.g. waste plastic, from rock material and/or glass material or the like. To achieve a manure vessel structure of sufficient mass, the manure vessel can be manufactured e.g. from a plastic material, such as polyester resin, to which it is possible to add e.g. crushed rock material as weighting material. If desirable, the manure vessels can also be manufactured from a combination of two or more materials, e.g. an impermeable inner surface joined to a sound damping and insulating outer layer, e.g. an inner surface of plastic or metal and an outer layer of cellular plastic. Disposed below the cage 1 and above the vessel are special guide vanes and/or guide plates 7 designed to guide the manure falling from the cage into the vessel . The system may also comprise a special water supply system 8 and/or a composting material supply system 9 to allow water to be added to the manure to ensure its fluidity and, respectively, to allow composting material to be supplied into the manure vessels to promote the decay and/or composting of the manure . The manure vessel shown in sectional view in Fig. 2 is provided with a special smell blocking cover 5 with an aperture β for guiding the manure into the vessel and for preventing the gases produced in the vessel from rising from the vessel into the cage. The smell blocking cover is of a concave structure as seen from above, and the aperture β is located at the low- est point of the cover so that the edges of the downward sloping cover form a funnel-like collar around the aperture. The manure vessel presented in Fig. 2 is made of polyester resin, using stone dust as weighting material. The side edges of the vessel measure about 120 cm, the height about 50 cm and its mass is about 100 kg. The vessel has a shape that widens towards the top to facilitate piling up of vessels. In addition, the vessel is provided with an edging 8 enabling the vessel to be gripped by the lifting clutches of a truck from both sides of the vessel. The embodiment examples are intended to illustrate the invention without limiting it in any way.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. System for the collection and removal of manure on a fur farm with breeding cages (1) provided with grated floors (2) and disposed above ground so that the manure can fall down from the cages, cha r a ct e r i s ed in that the system comprises relatively heavy manure vessels (3) placed below the cages (1) , said vessels being capable of resisting the wind load substantially without moving or overturning and having a mass of the order of over 100 kg per 1 m 2 of wind load surface area, that the manure vessels (3) are made of massive material that will not produce much noise when manure falls into the vessels, e.g. from massive plastic raw material, rock-based or glass-based raw material, ceramic raw material, or a combination raw material, and that the system comprises a tank or unloading vehicle (4) for emptying the manure vessels. 2. System as defined in claim 1, chara c - t e r i s ed in that the manure vessels (3) are provided with special smell blocking covers (5) with apertures (β) for guiding the manure into the vessels and preventing gases from getting out of the vessel. 3. System as defined in claim 1 or 2, cha ra ct e r i s ed in that the system comprises guide vanes and/or guide plates (7) designed to guide the manure falling from the cages (1) into the vessels (3) . 4. System as defined in any one of claims 1 - 3, cha ra ct e r i s ed in that the system comprises a water supply system (8) to allow water to be added into the manure vessels (3) . 5. System as defined in any one of claims 1 - 4, cha ra ct e r i s e d in that the system com- prises a decay promoting and/or composting material supply system (9) for the supply of decay promoting and/or composting material into the manure vessels (3) . 6. " Device for the collection of manure on a fur farm with breeding cages (1) provided with grated floors (2) and disposed above ground, cha r a c t e r i s e d in that the device consists of a manure vessel (3) placed below a cage (1) and that the manure vessel is relatively heavy and capable of resisting the wind load substantially without moving or over- turning and has a mass of the order of over 100 kg per 1 m 2 of wind load surface area, that the manure vessel (3) is made of massive material that will not produce much noise when manure falls into the vessel, e.g. from plastic raw material, rock-based raw material, glass-based raw material, ceramic raw material, combination raw material. 7. Device as defined in claim 6, cha rac t e r i s ed in that the manure vessel (3) has a wall thickness mainly over 10 mm, preferably over 15 mm. 8. Device as defined in claim 6 or 7, cha ra ct e r i s ed in that the manure vessel (3) is provided with a smell blocking cover (5) with an aperture (β) for guiding the manure into the vessel and preventing gases from getting out of the vessel. 9. Device as defined in any one of claims 6 - 8, cha ra ct e r i s ed in that the manure vessel (3) is provided with guide vanes and/or guide plates (7) designed to guide the manure into the vessel. 10. Device as defined in any one of claims 6 - 9, cha ra ct e r i s ed in that manure the vessel is provided with a gripping element (8) for the lifting clutches of a truck to allow the vessel to be handled by a truck. 11. Device as defined in any one of claims 6 - 10, cha ra ct e r i s ed in that the manure ves- sel extends substantially from one edge of the breeding cage to the opposite edge.

Inventors: VALKEINEN SAULI, VALKEINEN, SAULI
Applicants: EKOMASSAT OY, VALKEINEN SAULI, VALKEINEN, SAULI
Application year: 1998
Main classification: A01K1
IPC codes: A01K1