Abstract:
A feeder for piglets has a flat base tray resting on the floor surface with an outer wall on the base tray surrounding a central feed area of the base tray defined by an upstanding plastic tube. The piglet can step over the outer wall to locate its front feet inside to retain any dropped feed and reaches through holes in the tube. The tube forms a hopper and feed dispensing drop duct mounted on the tray at the central feed area with a mouth of the duct spaced from the tray by a distance to control the deposit of feed onto the tray within the tube. An agitator is operable by the piglets to prevent lodging of the feed in the duct or hopper.

Description:
[0001]     This invention relates to a feeder designed primarily for weanling pigs for close control and low waste of expensive weanling feed.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The raising of hogs is becoming more specialized with attention given to each aspect of the process so as to maximize the efficiency in that aspect. One aspect which requires further attention is that of feeding the piglets immediately after weaning, particularly bearing in mind that there is pressure to wean the piglets as soon as possible so as to commence weight gain from higher productivity feed and to return the sow more quickly from the farrowing area for a new litter.  
         [0003]     Attention has therefore been given to providing specialized feeding devices which can supply initial high cost weaning feed to the weanlings immediately after weaning. Feed of this type is carefully manufactured and thus of higher cost so that waste and losses of the feed should be avoided as much as possible.  
         [0004]     One device designed particularly for feeding weanlings is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,838 (Thomas) assigned to Gromaster Inc. and issued May 17, 1994. This provides a trough with an outer edge converging downwardly and inwardly toward a center conical section which the outer edge surrounds. Feed is dropped onto the top of the conical section and collects with water on the conical surface for taking by the animal.  
         [0005]     Another type of feeder is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,598 (Rother) assigned to Hawkeye Steel products and issued Jun. 2, 1998 which discloses a simple tray with a cylindrical container which can be fastened to a floor.  
         [0006]     However there remains opportunity for an improved feeder which is of simple and economic construction and yet assists in reducing feed loss.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a feeder for piglets comprising:  
         [0008]     a base tray for resting on the floor surface;  
         [0009]     a wall on the base tray surrounding a central feed area of the base tray and extending upwardly to a top edge of the wall at a height at which the piglets can reach over the top edge to the central area to take feed therefrom;  
         [0010]     and a feed dispensing member mounted on the tray at the central feed area and standing upwardly therefrom so as to define a feed containing hopper above the feed area for dropping feed into the feed area;  
         [0011]     the feed dispensing member comprising a tube with a bottom end of the tube fastened to the base tray;  
         [0012]     the tube having a plurality of holes defined therein at spaced positions around its periphery adjacent the tray of a size such that one of the piglets reaching over the top edge of the wall can insert its snout through a selected one of the holes into the interior of the tube to take feed therefrom;  
         [0013]     the tube having an upper hopper portion with a hopper bottom wall mounted in the tube above the holes with a duct extending downwardly in the tube from the hopper bottom wall to the tray for depositing feed onto the tray;  
         [0014]     a mouth of the duct being spaced from the tray by a distance to control the deposit of feed onto the tray within the tube.  
         [0015]     Preferably the duct is coaxial of the tube.  
         [0016]     Preferably the tube is a plastic tube.  
         [0017]     Preferably the tray is fastened to an end face of the tube by screws through the tray into the end face.  
         [0018]     Preferably the hopper bottom wall is frusto-conical and is formed from metal fastened to an inside surface of the tube.  
         [0019]     Preferably there is provided a plastic ring fastened to the inside wall of the tube at the top edge of the hopper bottom wall.  
         [0020]     Preferably there is provided an agitator comprising a member at the tray movable by the piglets with a rod extending from the member through the duct into the hopper with an agitator element at the top of the rod so as to allow the piglets engaging the member at the tray to agitate the feed in the duct and in the hopper to prevent lodging.  
         [0021]     Preferably there is provided a collar on the tube which is manually movable along the tube to change the height of the plurality of holes through which the piglets can reach into the feed area at the bottom of the tube.  
         [0022]     Preferably the wall on the base tray surrounds the tube and the central feed area therein and extends upwardly to a top edge of the wall at a height at which the piglets can step over the top edge to place their front feet over the outer wall and take feed from to the central area.  
         [0023]     According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a feeder for piglets comprising:  
         [0024]     a base tray for resting on the floor surface;  
         [0025]     and a feed dispensing member mounted on the tray at the central feed area and standing upwardly therefrom so as to define a feed containing hopper above the feed area for dropping feed into the feed area;  
         [0026]     the feed dispensing member comprising a plastic tube with a bottom end face of the tube fastened to the base tray by screws through the tray into the end face;  
         [0027]     the tube having a plurality of holes defined therein at spaced positions around its periphery adjacent the tray of a size such that one of the piglets can insert its snout through a selected one of the holes into the interior of the tube to take feed therefrom;  
         [0028]     the tube having an upper hopper portion with a hopper bottom wall mounted in the tube above the holes with a duct extending downwardly in the tube from the hopper bottom wall to the tray for depositing feed onto the tray;  
         [0029]     a mouth of the duct being spaced from the tray by a distance to control the deposit of feed onto the tray within the tube.  
         [0030]     According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a feeder for piglets comprising:  
         [0031]     a base tray for resting on the floor surface defining a generally horizontal surface from which the piglet can take feed;  
         [0032]     a containing wall defining a central feed area of the base tray into which the piglets can reach for taking feed therefrom, the containing wall being shaped and arranged to confine the feed inwardly thereof;  
         [0033]     a feed containing hopper above the feed area for dropping feed into the feed area;  
         [0034]     an outer wall on the base tray surrounding the containing wall and the central feed area therein and extending upwardly to a top edge of the outer wall at a height at which the piglets can step over the top edge to place their front feet over the outer wall and take feed from to the central area. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0035]     One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0036]      FIG. 1  is a cross sectional view through a feeder according to a present invention.  
         [0037]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the feeder of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of the feeder of  FIG. 1 .  
     
    
       [0039]     In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0040]     The feeder shown in the drawings comprises a flat base tray  10  formed of a sheet of metal which is circular in plan. At a position spaced inwardly from an outer edge  11  of the base plate is provided an upstanding cylindrical wall  12 . This is welded to the base plate as a circular ring spaced inwardly from the edge  11  and concentric with the plate itself. The height of the wall  12  is such that it defines a top edge  13  which the piglet can reach over and which the piglet can step over so that&#39;s it front feet are located inwardly of the wall. The top edge  13  thus is low enough so that the belly of the pig is not uncomfortably engaging the top edge to allow the animal to straddle the outer wall  12 .  
         [0041]     A central feed area  28  of the tray contains feed  14  which the animal can reach with its front feet over the wall  12  so that its snout can reach into the central area  28  for taking the feed  14 . The feed  14  is contained within an inner containing wall  15  which is also circular and concentric with the tray and with the outer wall  12 . The inner wall  15  forms part of a plastic tube  16  which is fastened to the tray. The plastic tube is simply commercially available as a cylindrical tube which can be cut to length and cut to provide the arrangements and shaping described hereinafter. A flat bottom face  17  of the tube  16  is fastened to the base plate  10  by screw fasteners  18  which pass through holes in the base plate and extend through the end face  17  of the tube and into the wall of the tube thus engaging the wall of the tube and holding the end face flush against the upper surface  10 A of the plate  10 . The tube  16  defines a hopper section  20  at the upper end and a feeding section  21  at the lower end. The feeding section  21  is defined by a series of holes  22  through the wall of the tube leaving wall sections  23  to provide a structural support between the inner wall portion  15  at the bottom and the hopper section  20  at the top. The inner wall section is thus defined by a band below the bottom edge  24  of the holes  22 . The feed is thus confined within the band forming the wall  15 . The holes  22  are thus arranged so that the piglet can reach with its snout through the respective hole to access the feed in the central feed area  28  inwardly of the wall  15 . Thus the piglet reaches through a hole and primarily feeds with its snout inside the wall  15 . If however the piglet tends to reach back or step back and drop feed from its mouth, there is a tendency for the feed to be retained inside the outer wall  12  and thus be still available to be eaten to avoid waste.  
         [0042]     The hopper section  20  is defined by the wall of the tube together with a hopper bottom  25  which is fastened to the wall of the tube and extends downwardly and inwardly to a bottom opening  29 . The hopper bottom  25  is formed from metal and includes an upper collar  27  which is fastened on the inside surface of the wall of the tube. From that collar  27  the hopper bottom extends downwardly and inwardly to the bottom collar  26  which projects downwardly from the opening  29  at the bottom of the hopper wall. The collar  26  fastens to a pipe or duct  30  which extends downwardly toward the upper surface  10 A of the tray but is spaced from the upper surface so that a bottom edge  31  of the duct  30  is at a fixed distance from the surface  10 A.  
         [0043]     The collar  27  is fastened to the wall of the tube by screws  33  which pass through the collar and the wall. Thus the metal hopper bottom formed by the collar  27 , the frusto conical hopper bottom itself and the collar  26  is simply fastened inside the plastic tube  16  thus supporting the duct  30  at its spaced position from the surface  10 A. Any feed in the hopper section thus falls downwardly to the opening  29  and through the duct  30  to the feed area  28 . Excess feed is prevented from spilling by the cooperation of the repose angle of the particulate material, the surface  10 A and the inside surface of the inner wall  15 . Even though the repose angle of the feed material may therefore vary, a fixed spacing of the bottom of the duct can accommodate different types of feed without any of the feed being lost out of the central feed area  28  over the wall  15 .  
         [0044]     A collar  35  is attached by adhesive onto the inside surface of the tube  16  just above the collar  27  so as to prevent the feed material from entering behind the collar  27  since this is merely screw fastened to the inside surface of the tube  16 .  
         [0045]     An agitator  40  is provided which comprises a rod  41  extending downwardly along the duct  30 . At the bottom of the rod  41  is provided one or more outwardly extending arms  42 ,  43  with an upwardly extending engagement portion  44  at its outer end. Thus the arms  42  and  43  tend to lie across the surface  10 A with the portions  44  just inward of the wall  15 . The animal reaching over the wall  15  can thus engage the arm  42 ,  43  or the upwardly extending portion  44  with its snout and move this back and forth thus tending to twist the rod  41  about its longitudinal axis. At the top of the rod is provided a cross bar  46  which simply extends across the hopper bottom as a loose fit so that twisting movement of the rod tends to twist the cross bar within the feed. This movement is sufficient to prevent the feed from lodging at the mouth of the hopper bottom, within the duct and also at the space between the bottom edge  31  and the surface  10 A. It will be appreciated that the feed can become sticky in some circumstances with a tendency to bridge or lodge. In the circumstance that the animal is receiving no feed, it quickly learns to operate the agitator so that the feed then falls and becomes available for eating.  
         [0046]     The feeder is intended for use by piglets from a very early stage of weaning through its early stages of growth to a maximum weight of the order of 30 pounds. Thus the holes  22  extend from a bottom edge  24  to a top edge  24 A with the height sufficient for the largest animal to reach into the feed area  28  to take the feed. However it is desirable to ensure that smaller animals are prevented from entering fully into the central area  28  by stepping in through the holes. For this purpose a collar  50  is provided which wraps around the outside of the tube at a position partway up the holes  22 . Thus when the animals are small just after weaning, the collar is moved downwardly so as to present to them a lower part only of the holes  22  so that they can reach in with their snout but are prevented from entering by the position of the collar just above their neck. As the animals grow larger, the collar  50  can be moved upwardly by a simple sliding action over the outside surface so that the operator adjusts the size of the hole underneath the collar in accordance with the size of the animals with which the feeder is being used.  
         [0047]     Thus the intention is that the animals eat with their front feet over the outer wall  12  and their snout through the hole  22  at its lower part taking feed from the central area  28  and leaving the feed in that central area  28  until the animal pulls its snout rearwardly. Any material dropping from the snout remains inside the outer wall  12  and thus remains available for eating and is not despoiled by reaching the floor outside of the tray.  
         [0048]     The feeder is of simple economic construction formed by simple cutting of sheet metal, minor welding steps to form the base tray and the hopper bottom and by screw fastening and the components together. The device requires no adjustment apart from the simple movement of the collar and can accommodate feeds of different consistency.  
         [0049]     Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.