A Stand or "Commode" for Confining Young Pigeons and other Birds and Facilitating the Feeding and Tending thereof whilst Fattening for Market.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 13th May, 1899
Complete Specification Loft 28th July 1899-Accented 9th Sept. 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Stand or "Commode" for Confining Young Pigeons and other
Birds and Facilitating the Feeding and Tending thereof whilst
Fattening for Market.
I, HENRY GASPARD FIENT, of 6, Railway Approach, London Bridge, S.E.,
Pigeon and Quail Importer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
<
This invention relates to stands or commodes" for use in feeding and tending
young pigeons and other birds in large numbers for the purpose of fattening
them for market, the special object of the appliance being to facilitate the work
of feeding, counting, cleaning, and tending generally, to be quickly and effi-
ciently performed, to enable the birds to be kept clean and healthy, and to
prevent the attack or spread of disease.
Each stand or "commode" consists of a rectangular frame constructed mainly
of corner posts united by cross braces at the front, back, and sides and adapted to
receive sliding trays superposed in regular order in which the birds are con-
tained and alternated with catch trays for the reception of the excreta from the
birds, a special object of the construction being to render the whole of the trays
readily removable for the above mentioned purposes, and to provide the utmost
freedom of access of air to the birds.
In the
To the inner sides of the corner posts are affixed runner bars extending from
the front to the back corner posts, these runner bars being fixed at alternately
wide and narrow intervals in the direction of the height of the frame.
spaces between the bars lateral guide laths are fixed the runner bars and guide
laths being let into the inner faces of the corner posts or otherwise affixed thereto.
The guide laths do not fill up the broader spaces between the runners but leave
intervals for the access of air to the birds and they serve to guide the trays in
their sliding motion on the runners. The trays containing the birds slide in
the broader spaces between the runners and are constructed of side laths about
six inches deep united at back and front by two or more narrow cross bars with
intervening spaces for access of air, and the bottom of the trays is formed of a
wire work grating composed of parallel main wires laced together by cross wires
forming a large mesh. The catch trays to receive the droppings from the birds
slide in the narrow spaces between the runners and are of galvanized sheet metal
with upturned flanges.
To prevent the harbouring of vermin and enable the stand to be readily washed,
the woodwork is stained with a solution of permanganate of potash or other
innocuous disinfectant and afterwards painted or lime-washed.
The top of the stand is formed of widely spaced cross laths fixed to the cross
braces of the frame. The trays of birds and catch trays are removed from the
stand, for tending and cleaning, and in addition to a number of these stands or
commodes" having all their trays filled with birds, an extra stand is provided
which is empty or contains only catch trays and to which the trays of birds in
86

page_text: course of tending, and the cleaned catch trays, are transferred seriatim as the
work progresses, whereby the work of feeding, tending, counting, and cleaning is
facilitated and liability of error or omission avoided.
Dated this 13th day of May 1899.
i
:
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.
A Stand or Commode" for Confining Young Pigeons and other
Birds and Facilitating the Feeding and Tending thereof whilst
Fattening for Market.
I, HENRY GASPARD FIENT, of 6, Railway Approach, London Bridge, S.E.,
Pigeon and Quail Importer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
―
This invention relates to stands or "commodes" for use in feeding and tending
young pigeons and other birds in confinement in large numbers, for the purpose
of fattening them for market, the special object of the appliance being to facili-
tate the work of feeding, counting, cleaning, and tending generally, to be quickly
and efficiently performed, to enable the birds to be kept clean and healthy, and
to prevent the attack or spread of disease: .
32
"
"
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawing
which represents a perspective view of a stand or commode constructed accord-
ing to my invention, certain of the drawers or trays being represented as wholly
or partially removed in order to illustrate the construction and mode of using the
invention.
Each stand or <<
commode consists of a rectangular wooden frame con-
structed mainly of four corner posts A united by cross braces B at the front,
back, and sides and the frame or stand being entirely open at front and back
and the top being formed of widely spaced cross laths b. The said stand is
adapted to receive sliding drawers in which the birds are contained and the
said drawers being superposed and alternated in regular order with catch trays D
for the reception of the excreta from the birds, a special object of the construc-
tion being to render the whole of the drawers or easily accessible and readily
removable for the above mentioned purposes and to provide, within a stand or
'commode" of compact construction and arrangement, the itmost freedom for
access of air to a large number of birds confined within a small space.
To the inner sides of the corner posts A are affixed runner bars E the said bars
extending from the front to the back corner posts, and being in pairs at corre-
sponding heights at the two sides of the stand so as to be adapted to receive and
support the drawers and catch trays as hereafter described. For this purpose
these runner bars are fixed at alternately wide and narrow intervals in the direc-
tion of the height of the frame, preferably by being let into cross grooves or
notches cut in the inner faces of the corner posts. In the spaces between the
bars lateral guide laths F F¹ are fixed-the said guide laths being also let into
the inner faces of the corner posts or otherwise affixed thereto so as to guide t
drawers and trays in their sliding motion on the runners. The drawers or
trays C to contain the birds slide in the broader spaces between the runners
and are constructed of side bars c about six inches. deep united at back and
front by two or more narrow cross bars c¹, c³, with intervening spaces for access
the

page_text: of air and the bottom of the drawers is formed of a wirework grating of large
mesh which is secured by staples to the under edges of the side and lower cross
bars. The guide laths for these drawers are of about the same depth as the
sides c of the drawers and the runners are so spaced that intervals will be left as
at g between the guide laths F and the runners E of the tray above, for the
lateral access of air to the birds in the drawers, all the trays being however so
closely superposed that the birds, even if fledged, could not escape. The catch
trays D to receive the droppings from the birds slide in the narrow spaces
between the runners and are of galvanized sheet metal with upturned flanges d.
To prevent the harbouring of vermin and enable the stand to be readily cleaned,
the woodwork is stained with a solution of permanganate of potash or other
innocuous disinfectant and afterwards painted or lime-washed.
The drawers C containing the birds and the catch trays D are removed in suc-
cession from the stand for tending and cleaning, and may be replaced in the same
stand. It is however preferred to provide an extra stand which is empty or con-
tains only catch trays and to which the trays of birds after being fed and tended,
and the catch trays after being cleaned, would be transferred seriatim as the
work progresses, whereby the work of feeding, tending, counting, and cleaning
is facilitated and liability of error or omission avoided.
It will be obvious that two or more "commodes" each comprising a set of
drawers and catch trays as above described, may be placed alongside of one
another in a range of any length, the uprights and cross braces of the several
commodes forming one continuous structure and the intermediate uprights
between each two adjacent sets of drawers and catch trays serving to support
two sets of runner bars and guide laths as will be well understood.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The herein described commode" or stand provided with runners and
fitted with sliding drawers or trays for containing live birds and with catch
trays superposed in regular alternation substantially as and for the purpose
specified.
2. A stand or "commode" for the reception of drawers and trays, constructed
of corner posts and cross braces and having runners and guide laths affixed to
the corner posts at alternately wide and narrow intervals corresponding to the
alternately deep and shallow trays they are to receive substantially as specified.
3. In a stand or "commode" for the purpose specified the construction of the
drawers for the reception of the birds, of a wirework bottom fixed to a frame
formed of deep side laths connected by narrow cross bars at front and back with
intervals for the access of air to the interior.
Dated this 28th day of July 1899
A. M. & WM. CLARK,
Chartered Patent Agents, 53, Chancery Lane, London.