The invention relates to a feeding system for feeding poultry. The invention also relates to the use of such a feeding system for poultry and to a poultry barn provided with a feeding system according to the present invention.

In intensive livestock farming, poultry, especially chickens, are often kept in so- called free-range barns, partly because of the greater attention paid to animal welfare. In such barns, poultry can move around freely, and at certain positions in the barn, feed and water are offered. Such barns can, for example, be used for keeping laying hens, including mother animals, in which latter case, there is also a smaller fraction of roosters in the barn for fertilizing the mother animals and for rearing chicks. The supply of the food, usually consisting of granular material, can herein take place automatically by means of an open trough running through the stable, into which the feed is supplied from a central location by means of a movable chain. In practice, such an open feed trough is sometimes screened off such that it is only accessible to smaller animals, such that, for example, hens in a barn have access to the feed in the trough, but (larger) roosters have no access. For these roosters, another feeding system is available that is made accessible so high in the barn that only the roosters have access to it. It thus becomes possible to vary the amount of feed that hens and roosters receive in a controlled manner. The existing height-adjustable feeding systems are complex and therefore relatively expensive and prone to failure.

For example, the American patent US 3,476,087 discloses a feeding device in which a feed hopper connects to a conveyor tube in which a conveyor screw, driven by a motor, is arranged. The transport tube feeds spaced apart feed pans, connected to the transport tube. The entire device is connected to a ceiling by a winch system, making it adjustable in height such that the distance from the feed pans to the bottom is adjustable.

The British patent GB 1 529 540 describes a feeding system comprising a feed transport tube and a height-adjustable feed trough. The feed transport tube is connected to the ceiling and is provided at the bottom with a slot through which the feed can be transferred from the feed transport tube to the feed trough. The feed is forced through the feed transport tube by a feed distributor. The feed trough is movable in height between an upper loading position, in which a feed transport tube rests on the bottom of the feed trough, and a lower feeding position, in which the feed trough is brought closer to the bottom.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved height-adjustable automatic feeding system for poultry which is structurally simpler than the existing systems and with which the feed can be dosed in a controlled manner.

This object is achieved by a feeding system for feeding poultry according to claim 1 . It is conceivable that the trough is located above the poultry in the higher position and is at least level with part of the poultry in the lower position such that at least some of the poultry in the lower position can take feed from the trough. An advantage of such a feeding system is that the feed can be distributed, preferably evenly, over the trough before the feed is accessible to the poultry, such that all animals have access to more or less the same amount of feed as soon as the trough is moved to the lower position. Optionally, the supply is adjustable to the amount of feed per unit length of the trough. It is conceivable that the supply can be automatically adjusted to the amount of feed per unit length of the trough. It is also conceivable that the higher position and the lower position of the trough are interchangeable. An advantage thereof is that the accessibility of the feed in the trough for poultry can be changed, such that the trough is accessible for poultry of different sizes and/or can be adapted to the growth of poultry.

The drive only connects to the trough in the higher position, which means that the trough no longer connects to the motor when it is moved to a lower position. The advantage is that the relatively heavy drive, which must also be connected to a power supply, does not have to be moved. Moreover, the drive thus remains out of reach of the poultry and will become less polluted. Due to the constructional measures according to the present invention, the amount of feed that is offered can be easily and accurately varied, for example, by adjusting the supply speed of the supply (think, for example, of varying the speed of the supply (“dosing unit”)). By way of illustration, and merely as an example, the present invention allows to adjust the feed supply to roosters to the current average weight of the roosters (because roosters that are too heavy become infertile and roosters that are too light are not sufficiently active). The feed supply can also be adjusted to the current number of roosters that have access to the feeding system (there is a relatively high number of roosters dying). Unlike in the prior art, the feeding system according to the invention allows to accurately and centrally regulate the supply of feed in a simple manner.

If the supply for supplying feed only connects to the trough in the higher position, it need not be movably arranged, which considerably simplifies the construction. Another advantage is that it also makes it even easier to move the trough in height (because it is lighter) and that it makes the construction less prone to failure.

If the feed distributor is an open feed distributor, it can easily provide poultry with access to feed, located in the feed distributor, for example when the feed distributor is moved to the lower position while access to feed for the poultry can be denied by moving the feed distributor to the higher position. The open feed distributor makes additional control mechanisms for screening or making the feed accessible superfluous.

In an exemplary embodiment, the feed distributor comprises a screw, a spindle or a dosing auger. With such a rotatable conveyor, also referred to as a screw conveyor, the trough can be simply and evenly filled with feed by allowing it to rotate until the trough is (desirably) filled with feed over its entire length. Subsequently, the rotatable conveyor is stopped and the poultry can be granted access to the trough. Moreover, a rotatable conveyor of the type mentioned can be made so robust at a reasonable cost that it is extremely reliable in use and has a long life span.

It is conceivable that the feed distributor is inseparably connected to the trough, such that both in a higher supply position (when the feed distributor is desirably linked to the drive for distributing feed over the trough) and in the lower position (when the trough is desirably accessible to poultry) the feed distributor is always in the trough. During the removal from the trough by the poultry, the conveyor can then desirably halt such that the feed can be removed between the turns of the conveyor without the risk of injury to the poultry. Furthermore, the trough is desirably connected to a support structure, which support structure can comprise a suspension system. If the suspension system can be moved in a vertical direction, the height of the trough can be varied. Optionally, not only the trough, but more or less of the other parts of the feeding system can be moved in vertical direction. Optionally, it is also possible that the support structure additionally also allows for movement in a horizontal direction, for example in order to make optimal use of scarce available space, such as a locally lowered roof construction.

It is desirable that the supply comprises a storage container and a dosing unit. Thus, at any desired moment (preferably when the feed distributor is in a higher position), feed can be distributed over the trough from a central location in a simple manner. In practice, a storage container as a feed buffer often takes the form of a silo, but other shaped storage containers are also conceivable.

It is possible that the dosing unit is provided with a conveyor belt or a dosing spindle which is adapted to move feed from the storage container over the trough. The conveyor belt or dosing spindle can only be driven in the higher position by the drive (motor) because it can then make contact with the conveyor belt/spindle. In the lower position, the conveyor belt or transport spindle is not driven and is stationary. This means that in the higher position the feed must be distributed over the length of the trough and when the trough has been filled with the correct amount of feed (also adjustable by the speed and duration of activating the drive) it can be moved to the lower position, in which position the poultry can take (peck) the feed from the trough.

In a further embodiment variant, the supply can be provided with a control which is adapted to control the supply of a certain amount of feed per unit of time. In this way, the feed delivery can be controlled and optimised. Alternatively, the control can also be connected to the drive or to both the dosing unit and the drive.

In an embodiment variant, the trough can be provided with a screen, which screen can, for example, be provided with openings of a specific maximum size which restrict access to the trough for undesirable users, such as, for example, birds other than the poultry for which the feed is intended. In practice, the present feeding system is particularly intended for roosters in a free-range barn that are not allowed access to a (lower-lying) feeding system for smaller hens. However, a screen can also prevent unwanted other animals, such as vermin, from gaining access to the feed. It is also possible with the screen to control the (eating) behaviour of the poultry such that the eating animals are at a minimum distance from each other. It is also conceivable that the screen is designed as a roll or tube placed at some distance above the trough. Poultry can thus be prevented from sitting on the trough and such a construction can prevent the trough from being soiled with manure or other material carried along by the poultry.

In yet another embodiment variant, a plurality of openings are present in at least one upright side wall of the trough. It is conceivable that the openings are arranged in the side wall of the trough such that they also serve to provide access for poultry in order to prevent undesirable "crowding" among the poultry. In this context, the term "opening" also refers to a notch in the top of an upright wall of the trough.

If the drive is an adjustable drive, preferably an adjustable (electric) motor, the operating time and/or the speed of the feed distributor can be controlled such that it meets the feed needs of the poultry. An electric drive requires little maintenance and it is easy to regulate the speed of the feed distributor with an electric drive.

The invention further relates to the use of a feeding system, in particular a feeding system according to the present invention, wherein, in the higher position, the adjustable trough is located above the poultry, the supply is connected to the trough for supplying feed, and the feed distributor is linked to the drive for at least partially distributing feed over the trough, in the lower position, the adjustable trough is located at least at the level of a part of the poultry. With the use of such a feeding system, the advantages can be realized as already described above, which are also incorporated herein by reference in relation to the use of the feeding system. The feeding system is easy to use because it can be provided with feed in an upper position and the feed can be offered to the poultry in a lower position. Thus, the use in both positions can be optimized according to the specific use. The invention furthermore relates to a poultry barn, provided with at least one feeding system according to the present invention. By installing one or more feeding systems according to the present invention, the advantages can be realized as already described above in connection with the feeding system according to the present invention, which are also included herein by reference in relation with the poultry barn provided with at least one such feeding system. Depending on the size of the barn and the number of animals fed with the relevant feeding system, the size and number of the required capacity and the number of feeding systems can be determined. An additional advantage of a poultry barn according to the present invention is that the one or more feeding systems can be removed from the working area of the person(s) present in the barn by moving it to a higher position (optionally even a position that is above the elevated position during regular use).

The invention will be further elucidated on the basis of the non-limitative exemplary embodiments shown in the following figures. Herein shows: figure 1 a side view of an embodiment variant of a feeding system according to the present invention; and figure 2 a side view of the feeding system as shown in figure 1 in two different positions; a higher position and a lower position.

Figure 1 shows a side view of a feeding system 1 according to the present invention. The feeding system 1 has a supply 3 which is adapted to supply feed to a trough 2. The supply 3 has a storage container 3a which forms a buffer for holding feed. The storage container 3a connects to a dosing unit 3b. The dosing unit 3b is provided with a dosing spindle 10 which is controllably driven by a dosing drive 9. The dosing drive 9 can drive the dosing spindle 10 at a controllable speed during a controllable time interval. The dosing spindle 10 thus controls the movement of feed from the storage container 3a to the trough 2. The dosing spindle 10 may optionally also be provided with a grinder for grinding the feed coming from the storage container 3a before it is supplied to the trough 2. In the trough 2 a feed distributor 4 is located which is arranged for distributing the feed, supplied by the dosing spindle 10, over the length of the trough 2. The feed distributor 4 is spiral-shaped and is linked to an adjustable drive 5. Due to the rotation of the drive 5, the spiral feed distributor 4 also rotates, such that feed, supplied to the trough 2, is distributed over the trough 2. The figure also shows a screen 6 connecting to the top of trough 2, with which the access to trough 2 can be regulated. The screen 6 can be designed as a so-called anti-perching grille which prevents the poultry from sitting on the trough such that the trough is not soiled with manure. The trough 2 is adjustable in height because it is connected to a support construction 7 in the form of a suspension system with which a distance 8 with which the trough 2 is located under a support construction 11 can be set. The trough 2 is adjustable between a higher position and a lower position, as will be illustrated with reference to Figure 2. The drive 5 is stationary, via a support 13, connected to the support construction 11 such that it does not moves with the trough 2, but only connects to trough 2 in an upper - as shown here - position of trough 2.

Figure 2 shows the feeding system 1 as shown in Figure 1 in two different positions. The trough 2 is shown in a higher position Z and in a lower position Y. In the higher position Z, the supply 3 is connected to the trough 2, such that the feed can be supplied to the trough 2 through the supply 3. In this position, the drive 5 is also linked to the trough 2. The feed distributor 4, in cooperation with the drive 5, will distribute the feed, originating from the supply 3, over the entire length of the trough 2. The support construction 7 is in the form of a suspension system and arranged such that the trough 2 can be adjusted in height. In another exemplary embodiment, the support construction 7 can engage on the underside of the trough 2. In this exemplary embodiment, the support construction 7 comprises a winch system. The height adjustment of the trough 2 can be regulated by means of the support structure 7, with which the distance 8 with which the trough 2 extends below a support structure 11 (or above the bottom 12) can be adjusted between a higher position Z and a lower position Y.

After feed has been placed in the trough 2 in the higher position Z, it can be moved to a lower position Y. In the lower position Y, the supply 3 and the drive 5 are disconnected from the trough 2; these remain in the higher position, such that the trough 2 will have to be moved back to the higher position Z in order to be filled with feed again. In another exemplary embodiment, it is possible that in the lower position Y only a part of the supply 3 is disconnected from the trough 2, in particular that only the storage container 3a is disconnected from the trough 2. In the higher position Z, the trough 2 are located above the poultry and in the lower position Y, the trough 2 will be accessible to (part of) the poultry.