Patent GB-671342-A (GB)
Title: Means for assessing the egg-productivity of poultry
IPC: A01K31/16
Filed: 1948-12-06
Abstract: 671,342. Recording - apparatus. HAZELTINE, J. Nov. 30, 1949 [Dec. 6, 1948], No. 31562/48. Class 106 (iv). [Also in Group I] Apparatus for assessing the egg-productivity of birds comprises a device bearing an identification symbol for attachment to a bird and a recording mechanism for mounting on a nesting-box to record the bird's symbol as it enters or leaves the box and including means adapted to co-operate with complementary means provided on the device to constrain the symbol to travel along a predetermined path and maintain operative contact with the recording mechanism while travelling over at least a part of the path. A bird's identity number is repeated round the periphery of a plastic, rubber or rubber-tyred roller 11, Fig. 2, mounted on a spindle 10 in the forked end of a light-weight arm 7 held upright by a spring 8 and pivoted in a bracket 4 secured to a saddle 1 held on the bird's back by loops 2 passing round each wing and secured to the saddle by spring clips 2a. Guide rollers 12 are mounted on the spindle 10 one each side of the roller 11. A recording device is mounted above the entrance to each nesting box and is housed in a casing with a hinged'lid and base provided with a central slot 16, Fig. 4, above which is disposed an inking pad supported by a plate 30, on either side of which is disposed a notched wheel 34 fixed on a spindle 32 which carries a bevel-gear 35 meshing with a bevel-gear 36 for driving a take-up roller 38 for a record paper 39. A roll of paper is mounted on a cranked rod 40 and the strip 39 is drawn therefrom over fixed guides 41, 43 and below a resilient strip 42 and is attached to the roller 38 against which it is pressed by a roller carried on a hair-pin spring. Recording takes place preferably when the bird is leaving a nesting-box, a loop of wire 49 preventing the roller 11 entering the slot 16 as the bird enters, but when it leaves the bent-down plates 15 and wide " V " 48 guide the roller 11 into the slot 16, the rollers 12 running along the upper surface of the base, the roller 11 is inked on the pad, the rollers 12 co-operate with the wheels 34 to advance the paper and the bird's number is printed on the paper. If it is desired to prevent a nest being used again a " T "- shaped wire may be pivoted to the bent-down portions of the base-plates 15 and may be held up horizontally by the loop 49 so that when a bird leaves the box its roller 11 lifts the loop 49 to release the " T " which then hangs down to prevent another bird entering. To record when an egg is laid, the floor of the nest-box slopes downwardly to the entrance thereof so that eggs roll out of the nest and actuate a pivoted flap 53, Fig. 10, which pulls a flexible link 55 against a spring 61 to actuate an arm 57 to lift a pin 59 up through a hole in the guideplate 41 to puncture a record-strip. Alighting boards 62 prevent the bird from actuating the flap 53. To collect the eggs in the order laid in order to correlate them with the birds laying them, a tray 63, Fig. 12, is mounted in front of the nest and has a false bottom comprising a plurality of over-lapping pivoted flaps, the lowermost tripping when the first egg rolls to the end and the rest tripping in sequence. To prevent a second bird from entering an occupied nest U-shaped closing wires 72, Fig. 15, are swung across the entrance when a bird's weight on a tray 66 tilts arms 70 forward against the action of springs 74 which normally holds the parts so that the entrance is open.