CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/552,228 filed March 11, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an apparatus for maintaining claws of a bird by providing a permanent metallic file against which the bird can abrade its claws.

2. Background Art

Bird cages for chickens, turkeys, quail and other farm raised birds are normally manufactured from stainless steel or galvanized steel to minimize corrosion. The cages include a sheet metal floor and cage walls formed by rods connected to form a mesh.

A problem with metal floored cages is that the birds do not have an opportunity to scratch their claws on the ground as they are feeding. When a chicken or other bird scratches the ground while feeding, their claws are naturally abraded and maintained at a normal length. Birds that are raised in metal cages tend to grow extraordinarily long sharp claws. Long sharp claws can be dangerous to other birds in the same cage that may be injured if attacked by a bird having long sharp claws. Injured birds may die as a result of injuries inflicted by other birds.

Prior attempts to address this problem include fitting 8 mm strips of abrasive tape on the egg guard of a cage as proposed by Tauson in 1986. Another approach has been proposed wherein stick-on sandpaper strips are applied to the egg guard. Such sandpaper strips were found to have a lifetime of about 2 years. However, if the birds are fed with a chain feeder, they may be more active and may cause more wear and more rapid loss of effectiveness of the strips. The angle and size of the egg guard also plays an important role in claw length reduction as well as the type of cage wherein abrasive tapes are used. One example of an abrasive tape used for this purpose is known as Safety Tape General Purpose Black available from 3M Company. While abrasive tapes have been found to be effective in reducing claw length, the effectiveness of abrasive tape is diminished with wear. The abrasive tape may fall off and wear out and may require replacement every 2 to 3 years.

Another proposed approach is the use of abrasive paint in which fine sand is mixed with paint and applied in a band on the egg baffle. The paint and sand mixture creates a thick paste that may be applied to the deflector using a spatula and has been reported to be effective for as many as three batches of birds. Applying a paint and sand combination is labor intensive and must be applied again when it is worn off of the surface.

Another approach that has been proposed is to stamp, emboss, coin, or press a tread into plates that are attached to the egg baffle with screws to shorten the claws. In a similar proposal, holes were formed in the egg baffle having a diameter of between 3 and 5 mm; however, it is believed that these holes failed to provide sufficient abrasive action to maintain acceptable claw lengths. Another approach proposed by Van Niekerk in 2000 was to use a metal plate with abrasive metal filings attached to it. This was found to be an effective claw shortener and very durable and has been determined to have an effective abrasion action on the claws. The abrasive metal filings used were tungsten carbide. This approach, while effective and long lasting, is believed to be relatively expensive to produce.

The above problem is addressed by applicant's invention as summarized below. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is provided for maintaining the claws of birds that are raised in cages at a safe length. The apparatus comprises a supporting member having a rough permanent metal surface coating located in the cage where birds in the cage will scratch instinctively and abrade their claws. The coating may be applied to plates that are fastened to an angled or facing surface of a feeding trough. The plate may also be fastened to all or part of the floor of the cage to abrade claws as birds walk around the cage. Alternatively, the coating may be applied directly to a facing surface or floor surface of the cage either prior to fabricating the cage or after the cage is fabricated by a metalizing spray process.

According to the present invention, a nail file for abrading claws of birds raised in captivity in an enclosure is disclosed. The nail file comprises a substrate disposed at a location in the enclosure where the birds ordinarily walk or scratch. A hard metalized coating is applied to the substrate that defines a rough filing surface that abrades the claws of birds in the enclosure.

According to other aspects of the invention as it relates to a nail file comprise providing the substrate as a plate that is secured to the floor of the enclosure. The substrate may also comprise a portion of the floor of the enclosure. The substrate may also be a plate that is secured to a facing surface of the feeding trough from which the birds feed while in the enclosure, or may be integrally provided on the facing surface of the feeding trough. The metalized coating may be a coating formed an electric arc spray, such as an electric arc spray formed of steel, aluminum, nickel/chromium/aluminum, stainless steel or galvanized steel.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing an enclosure for one or more birds is provided. The method comprises assembling an enclosure having walls, a floor and a feeding trough. A metalized coating is provided that comprises a file-like surface on a portion of at least one of the floor and feeding trough. According to other aspects of the invention relating to the method of manufacturing an enclosure, the method may comprise providing a metalized coating by electric arc spraying the surface. The surface may be provided by assembling a plate to the enclosure or by directly spraying either the floor or feeding trough surface with the metalized coating.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to providing a feeding trough for an animal that is raised in captivity and has toenails that must be maintained at a safe length. The feeding trough comprises a recessed area that contains feed to be consumed by the animal. A wall facing the animal is disposed to be contacted by the toenails of the animal. A rough metalized surface coating is provided on the wall that abrades the toenails of the animal when they contact the rough surface. The rough metalized surface coating may be selected from a group of coatings consisting essentially of steel, aluminum, nickel/chromium/aluminum, stainless steel or galvanized steel. The rough metalized surface coating of the feeding trough may be provided on a plate that is secured to a wall of the feeding trough, or may be provided directly on an angularly oriented portion of the wall of the feeding trough. Alternatively, the rough metalized surface coating may be provided directly on a wall of the feeding trough that is a horizontal floor surface provided adjacent to a front area of the feeding trough.

The cage surface to be coated or plate to be applied to the cage may be steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or the like. The metalized coating may be steel, aluminum, nickel/chromium/aluminum, or similar alloys that are provided in the form of a welding wire or rod and metalized with electric arc or gas welding equipment. A rough metalized surface may also be applied using plasma or laser deposition processes.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be better understood in view of the attached drawings and detailed description of several embodiments of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a poultry cage provided with file attachments in two different mounting locations;

FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view showing a file attachment secured to a surface of a poultry cage by a fastener; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a file surface integrally formed on an angled or facing surface of a feeding trough.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring to Figure 1, a poultry cage 10 is shown that has a feeding trough assembly 12 along one side. The poultry cage 10 has mesh walls 14 formed of metal wire, rod, or strips that keep the birds, such as chickens, turkeys, quail, and other cage raised birds, within their cages. A floor 16 is provided on the bottom of the poultry cage 10.

The trough assembly 12 includes a trough 20 that is partially defined by a facing wall 22 comprising a surface that is disposed at an oblique angle relative to a vertical interior wall 24. A plate 28 is attached to the facing wall 22 by means of a plurality of fasteners 30.

Alternatively, a floor file plate 32 may be mounted or secured to the floor 16 of the poultry cage 10. The floor file plate 32 may be in place of, or in addition to, a file plate 28 that is mounted on the facing wall 22.

Referring now to Figure 2, one way of attaching the file plate 28 to the facing wall 22 is illustrated. A fastener 30, such as a bolt as illustrated or a sheet metal screw, may be used to secure the file plate 28 to the facing wall 22 with the rough metal coating 36 on the side of the plate 28 opposite the facing wall 22. Other fastening devices may be used such as rivets, flanges, or mounting tabs. Alternatively, the plates could be secured by welding or bonding with a glue or cement between the file plate 28 and facing wall 22 or floor 16.

Referring now to Figure 3 , another alternative embodiment is shown wherein an integral coating 40 is applied directly to the facing wall 22 of the trough 20. The integral coating 40, as shown, is limited to the facing wall 22 and does not cover the interior wall 24. This approach could also be used to apply an integral coating 40 to all or part of the floor 16 of a poultry cage 10. The size of the area having the coating 40 can be enlarged or reduced to provide the desired extent of claw abrading. In addition, the roughness of the metal coating 36 on a file plate or integral coating 40 applied to the facing wall 22 or floor 16 may be varied from a fine grade to a medium grade or a coarse grade, as required.

The coating can be manufactured in accordance with applicant's prior patents (for example: U.S. Patent Nos. 5,077,137; 4,961,973; and 4,618,511). The above patents principally relate to applying an anti-slip surface on plates or grating having substantial thickness. Application of a metalized anti-slip coating to thin sheets of steel, aluminum, stainless steel, or galvanized steel of between .020 to .125 inches may result in manufacturing problems. To adapt the coating process to coat a thin substrate, the surface preparation method may be modified to include abrading the surface with a rasp or stiff wire brush. The surface may then be either coated immediately or could also be sandblasted. If the surface to be coated is a stainless steel or aluminum surface, it should be blasted with virgin aluminum oxide. Steel sheets may be sandblasted with steel grit.

The thin metal strips should be prepared in such a way that distortion of the strips that could lead to assembly problems or scrap is avoided. The coating process should also be modified to reduce heat distortion. Air flow through a welding gun may be increased to cool the surface and current flow to the welding gun may be reduced. If possible, the coating may also be applied in one pass to minimize distortion. It is envisioned that a new method of making the thin metal strips may be developed for continuously applying the coating to a coil of thin metal. The metal could be drawn over a roughening element such as a rasp and then passed through an electric arc spray or plasma deposition apparatus. The strip could then be passed through a galvanizing tank and recoiled as a finished product. The coated coil could then be cut to length and either fabricated as part of or attached to a poultry cage 10.

An aluminum file could be manufactured on an aluminum substrate having a thickness of between .020 and .125 inches. A coating of NiCrAl grade 1 or 2 could be applied in a random hatch matrix. Alternatively, an anti-slip surface made from 5053 aluminum wire electrode could be used to apply the anti-slip coating to the aluminum substrate.

The product may be provided as a steel coating on a steel substrate, with or without galvanizing, or may also be provided as a stainless steel alloy applied to aluminum, steel, or stainless steel. If a steel coating or a NiCrAl coating is applied to a steel, aluminum, or stainless steel substrate, the hardness of the coating can be controlled to exceed 55 Rc. The hardness may also range between 40 and 65 Rc, if desired.

While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.