The present invention relates to the field of equipments and devices to transport animals, more specifically, to transport livestock to the abattoir and refers particularly to a system that allows the confined animals to have access to water during the trip.

The present invention was conceived for the transport of poultry (chickens and others), but the principles displayed in this report are valid and can be applied to another animals, as swines for example.

In the particular case of poultry, the animals are created in poultry raising facilities that are usually far from the abattoirs. The chickens are conditioned in boxes to the transportation. Those boxes are endowed with perforated walls to maximize the air flow and to facilitate the animal breathing. The shape and size of each box is calculated to receive the biggest number of animals possible and to minimize the animal movement by lacking of space so they cannot hurt themselves during the trip. The trip to the abattoirs is usually long and the animals tend to dehydrate and to loose weight. These losses decrease their commercial value.

Other animals that are created for commercial purposes, as hogs, also suffer the dehydration and weight lost due the conditions during the transportation. The problem is exactly the same and can be solved with the present invention.

Background of the invention

The state of art related to the present invention is composed for a multiplicity of poultry and hog drinkers, as well as to another animals created in captivity, that were developed exclusively for use in the raising facilities. The inventor is not aware of any device developed for use in the transportation of the animals. The only relevant patent application known by the inventor is the BRM U8700812-2 that aims to improve the environmental conditions to the animal by providing cooled or warm air to the live load inside the transportation truck. It is not known, however, any device or system conceived specifically to address the problem of dehydration of the livestock during the transport.

Novelty and objectives of the invention

The present invention was created to eliminate the drawbacks of the state of art by solving completely the dehydration problem during the transport, supplying to the animals a water source during the trip and preventing the dehydration and the loss of weight in the same.

An additional advantage obtained for the invention is that the supplied water in the transport facilitates the elimination of any food residue existing in the digestive tract of the animals - what is necessary before poultry slaughter. The water can also be used to supply nutrient to the animals.

Brief description of the drawings

The present invention will be described bellow in detail with respect to the several preferred exemplary embodiments in the following drawings:

Figure 1 shows a side view of a poultry transportation truck with the present invention installed. Figure 2 shows a front view of the water reservoir of the present invention.

Figure 3 shows a schematic cross sectional view illustrating the connection of the water reservoir to the animal transport boxes as well as the connection of the water distribution pipes from a box to the next.

Figure 4 shows a cross sectional view of a transport poultry box.

Figure 5 shows a cross sectional view of two layers of poultry boxes.

Figure 6 shows in detail, on an enlarged scale, a water nipple disposed in the distribution pipe inside the box.

Detailed description of the invention

As we can see in the drawings, the animal watering system for transport comprises of a water reservoir (1 ) cooled by conventional means, as a compressor in the engine of the vehicle (2) connected to a refrigeration system (not represented). The water reservoir (1) is installed in a upper position in the vehicle and is connected to a multiplicity of vertical water distribution pipes (3), each one provided with a set of fast connections (4) disposed in different levels, each level corresponding to a row of animal boxes (5). Each box (5) is provided with a water pipe (6) that crosses through and is equipped in its ends with fast connections (7), so each box (5) can be connected to the next forming a canalization of water distribution (6). This canalization (6) is connected in its extremity to the vertical pipes (3) by the connection (4), in order to provide water to all the connected boxes (5). Inside each box (5) the pipe (6) is provided with one or more water nipples (8) that allow the animals to have access to the cool water.

It will be appreciated that the above descriptions are intended only to serve as examples and that many other embodiments are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention.