Description

Turkey Inseminating Bench Background This invention relates to a portable Turkey Inseminating Bench.

Commercial Turkey strains due to their large size require the use of artificial insemination in order to obtain fertile eggs.

This is generally carried out by one or other of the following methods.

1. A team of 2 or 3 people catch the birds off the floor and place the birds between their legs in order to exert pressure on the abdomen and at the same time push back the hens tail so that the hen can be inseminated by a 3 ^r or 4 ^th person.In some cases the birds may be caught off a ramp or platform to reduce the bending and lifting, however this still involves considerable back bending and physical effort.

2. A team of 3 people catch birds from a ramp and slide the bird along a table where pressure is exerted on each side of the bird by the hands of the two catchers and the third person carries out the insemination. A fourth person is required to drive birds up the ramp. This system eliminates the lifting and bending but still requires considerable physical effort and the productivity is low.

3. A third method is with the use of an 'AJ. chair'. With this system 1 person catches the bird from a ramp and a second person sits in a chair fitted with a pneumatic clamp to hold the birds legs. This system requires the catcher to lift the bird into the chair and the person inseminating has to squeeze the hen with his legs. Due to the effort required this can cause lower back problems for the person working in the chair. Generally the leg clamps supplied with these chairs consist of flat rubber pads bolted to a metal plate and do not fit around the birds legs.

Statement of Invention

To overcome these problems the present invention proposes a poπable bench, the bench having clamps designed to fit round the birds legs to restrain it. When held in the leg clamps the bird is positioned between two rollers or cushions. One or both of these rollers being pivoted to provide the compressing force required on the birds abdomen. The actuating force being applied pneumatically.

Advantages

The bench when positioned against a catching ramp will eliminate the need to lift the Turkey.

As the leg clamps are designed to fit around the birds legs the reliability of holding the birds legs will be improved.

Preferably the leg clamps will have adjustable pressure control. -

The 'rollers' or 'cushions' will eliminate the physical effort required to compress the abdomen of the Turkey for artificial insemination.

An example of the invention will now be described by referring to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a complete assembly according to the invention. A top leg clamp 1 that opens and closes by means of a pneumatic cylinder 3 acts upon two lower leg clamps 2.

The bench has a fiat surface 7 that allows the ^' birds to be placed without lifting into the leg clamps 1 and 2 with its body between the rollers4. Cylinder 5 provides the force required to close rollers 4 and squeeze the Turkey abdomen.

Figure 2 shows in more detail the leg clamp assembly with the upper 1 and lower leg clamps 2 actuated by pneumatic cylinder 3.

Figure 3 shows the rollers 4 to squeeze the abdomen activated by pneumatic cylinder 5.