A gate for separating a first space suitable for receiving a mother animal from a second space suitable for receiving nursing young, as well as a farrowing pen

The invention relates to a gate for separating a first space suitable for receiving a mother animal from a second space suitable for receiving nursing young, which gate is provided with at least one substantially horizontally extending bar, which bar forms a boundary of a passage located under said bar between the first space and the second space, and which bar is provided with pins positioned in the passage. The invention further relates to a farrowing pen for nursing young in a safe manner.

Such a farrowing pen comprising a gate as described above is known per se from US-4,502,414. The farrowing pen, which screens off a first space from a second space, comprises two identical, pivotally interconnected gates which are arranged parallel to each other. Each gate comprises at least one substantially horizontally extending bar, which bar forms a boundary of a passage located under said bar, which provides nursing young access to the teats of a mother animal which is present in said first space. The bar is provided with pins that are positioned at an angle to the vertical in the passage. A drawback of the known gate is that the passage located under the bar is continuously bounded by the pins that are rigidly connected to the bar, which pins may be positioned in front of the mother animal's teats. This is very disadvantageous in the case of newborn animals, because these animals are not strong enough yet to pull the teat from behind a pin. Since the number of teats is frequently scarce in relation to the number of newborn animals, such a teat lying behind the pin may lead to malnutrition of the newborn animals, which is not beneficial for the development of these young animals.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gate that gives newborn animals better access to the mother animal's teats. This object is accomplished with the gate according to the invention in that the pins can be moved from a position in said passage to a position outside said passage, and vice versa.

To have the development of the young animals take place in an optimum manner, it is advantageous in the case of newborn animals if the pins, also

called iron guides, are not positioned in the passage, so that the mother animal's teats will be freely accessible at all times and cannot lie behind the pins. When the animals grow older and become stronger, the pins can be positioned in the passage in the usual manner at some point, as is for example shown in the above-described US patent. If a teat should lie behind a pin, the young animal is strong enough at this stage of its development to pull the teat from behind the pin.

Furthermore, feeding the young animals will cause the girth of the mother animal to decrease. This will increase the risk of the mother animal moving partially or entirely under the bar, possibly causing injury to itself or to the young animals. By positioning the pins in the passage once the young animals have developed a little further, the risk of the slimmed-down mother animal moving under the bar is eliminated.

An especially preferred embodiment of the invention is characterised in that the pins can be detachably attached to the bar. When the pins are detachably attached, the pins can be arranged on the bar in such a manner during a first period of, for example, two weeks after the birth of the animals, that the pins are not positioned in the passage, whilst during a next period the pins are arranged on the bar in such a manner that they extend into the passage. Another preferred embodiment of the invention is characterised in that the pins are detachably attached to the bar in the situation in which they are positioned in the passage and are separated from the bar in the situation in which they are positioned outside the passage.

By removing the pins from the bar, the passage is released, whilst after a period of for example two weeks after the birth of the animals the pins can be easily mounted in the passage by means of quick-action couplings which are known per se, such as screw or snap connections. In the situation in which the pins are separated from the bar, the pins can be mounted elsewhere on the gate, so that they cannot be lost. Another embodiment of the invention is characterised in that the bar is provided with rotatable pins which can be fixed in a desired orientation.

It is also possible to make the bar with the pins rotatable relative to the gate or to have the pins rotate relative to the bar. This makes it possible to rotate the pins into or out of the passage and fix them in the desired orientation in

dependence on the growth phase of the young animals.

Yet another embodiment of the invention is characterised in that the pins bound the passage by extending in a plane below the bar in the situation in which they are positioned in the passage, whilst the pins extend in a plane above or at the same level as the bar in the situation in which they are positioned outside the passage.

The pins will extend from the bar in a rake-like manner. Pins positioned outside the passage can be rotated through an angle of maximally 180 degrees or be detachably attached to the bar, with 0 degrees and 180 degrees substantially corresponding to pins that extend substantially horizontally relative to the bar. Turning or rotating the pins further from 180 degrees to 360 degrees or detachably attaching the pins within said angular range causes the pins to be positioned in the passage.

Another embodiment of the invention is characterised in that the bar can be detachably or movably attached to the gate.

The height of the passage can be varied in a comparatively simple manner by means of such a bar. By removing the bar from the gate or moving/sliding the bar upwards, the height of the passage is increased. The new upper boundary of the passage upon removal of the bar is in that case formed by a higher, second bar or by another screening element positioned higher than the removed bar. This variation of the height, in combination with the pins that can be moved from a position in the passage to a position outside the passage, can be used for realising an optimally protected development of the young animals. A small opening of the passage, free from pins, is for example desirable in the case of newborn piglets. During the first weeks after their birth, the young animals are very vulnerable to injury by parts of the sow's body that move out under the bar. By disposing the bar that bounds the passage in a first, relatively low position, for example at a height of maximally 40 cm from the ground surface, the young piglets are protected relatively adequately against parts of the sow's body that move out under the bar. During a subsequent phase of the young animals, preferably when the spacing between the bar and the ground surface is relatively large, for example more than 30 cm, the pins ensure that a sow or the sow's body parts cannot move out under the bar.

Furthermore, it is possible to minimise the spacing between the

ground surface and the bar by positioning the pins outside the passage, without putting the young animal's access to the teats at risk, however.

An especially preferred embodiment of the invention is characterised in that the bar can be attached to the gate at different heights, thus making it possible to vary the height of the passage by varying the height of the bar.

By varying the height of the bar within the gate, which height is defined as the spacing between the bar and a floor of a sty or the ground, the growth process of a (newborn) young animal can be followed relatively precisely by raising the lower, horizontally extending bar in steps, in which case the pins are preferably positioned in the passage when said height exceeds a predetermined value.

Furthermore, the height of the passage can thus be varied in a very simple manner by moving the (lower) bar from a first height between two uprights of the gate to a second height between said two uprights and further upwards, or possibly vice versa when the gate is used again with newborn animals. Preferably, the uprights are substantially vertically extending bars which are fixed in the ground surface or which are attached by means of at least one connecting bar to another identical or similar gate or frame connected to the gate and extending parallel thereto. In this way a simple gate having standard dimensions is provided, using a minimum number of components, which gate comprises a passage that can be adapted to the piglet's growth.

It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide a farrowing pen by which the young animals' access to a mother animal's teats is improved in a relatively simple manner.

This object is accomplished with the farrowing pen according to the invention in that the farrowing pen is provided with at least one gate as described above.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the appended figures, in which:

Figures 1 a and 1 b are schematic front views of a first embodiment of the gate according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic front view of a second embodiment of the gate according to the invention.

Like parts are indicated by the same numerals in the various figures.

Figures 1 a and 1 b are two schematic front views of a gate 1 according to the present invention. The gate 1 according to the present invention can form part of a farrowing pen (not shown).

The gate 1 shown in figure 1a comprises two substantially vertically extending uprights 3 and 5. The uprights 3 and 5 comprise feet (not shown), which are placed on a ground surface or a floor 7 of a sty. Disposed between the uprights

3, 5 are at least two substantially horizontally extending bars 9, 11. The lower bar 9 is positioned closer to the floor 7 than the upper bar 11 , whilst the spacing between the lower bar 9 and the ground surface 7 is designated hi . Furthermore, the lower bar 9 is provided with pins 13, which extend from the bar 9 in a rake-like manner.

The pins 13 are also referred to as "iron guides".

A passage 15 is present below the lower bar 9, via which passage 15 access can be gained to a first space, which is located in front of the plane of drawing, from a second space, which is located behind the plane of drawing, and vice versa. The opening of the passage 15 is bounded by the lower parts 17, 19 of the two uprights 3, 5, the bar 9 and the floor 7. The height of the opening of the passage 15 corresponds to the spacing between the lower bar 9 and the ground surface 7, which spacing is designated hi .

Figure 1 b is a view substantially identical to the view of figure 1 a, with this difference that the pins 30 are oriented differently and that the spacing between the lower bar 9 and the floor 7 is greater, which greater spacing is designated h2.

The dimension of the opening of the passage 15 can be varied by moving the lower bar 9. The uprights 3, 5 comprise openings or cavities (not shown), in which the bar 9 can be detachably attached.

The pins 13 can be rotated together with the lower bar 9 in the direction indicated by the arrow p1 or in the opposite direction from the fixed position shown in figure 1 a, in which the pins 13 are not positioned in the passage 15, to the position of the pins 13 shown in figure 1 b, in which the pins 13 are positioned in the passage 15. The pins 13, by way of supplement to the bar 9, prevent body parts of a mother animal from moving out under the lower bar 9.

The gate 1 is used in separating a closed-off first space in which a mother animal (not shown) is present and a second place at least partially surrounding the first space, in which a young animal (not shown) to be nursed by the

mother animal is present. In the description below the mother animal will be referred to as "sow" and a young animal will be referred to as "piglet". The gate 1 according to the present invention can also be used with other animals, however.

Using the gate 1 according to the present invention, the development and the protection of newborn piglets can be optimised by varying the orientation of the pins 13 and/or moving the bar 9 and thus varying the height of the opening 15.

During the first phase just after their birth, the piglets are comparatively vulnerable and weak. A well-known phenomenon is that the newborn piglets are undernourished on account of the fact that the sow's teats are not readily accessible through the passage 15 because the pins 13 lie in front of the teats and the piglets are not strong enough yet to pull the teats from behind the pins 13.

For the above reason it is important that the pins 13 be rotated away from the passage 15 in the case of newborn piglets, as is shown in figure 1 a. Once the piglets have grown older and stronger, for example 2 or 3 weeks after their birth, the pins 13 can be positioned in the passage 15 (see figure 1b), because the piglets will be strong enough by then to pull the teats from behind the pins 13. In principle the pins 13 can be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow p1 shown in figure 1 a or in the opposite direction when the piglets are strong enough, until the pins are positioned in the passage, as is for example shown in figure 1 b.

Another well-known phenomenon is the fact that piglets can be injured or even be crushed to death by the sow's body parts moving out under the bar. It is important, therefore, to keep the height of the passage 15 as small as possible in the case of newborn piglets, so that the piglets present in the second space are protected from the sow present in the first space. A safe spacing, designated hi , between the lower bar 9 and the floor 7 without pins 13 extending into the passage 15 is maximally 40 cm, preferably 20-30 cm. Said maximum spacing between the floor 7 and the bar 9 stops the sow's body parts, in such a manner that the risk of a piglet being injured by the sow is minimised.

As the piglets grow older, their size increases, whilst the sow's weight decreases proportionally. This is caused by the fact that the sow is in fact "drained" by the piglets. Because of the increase in the piglets' size it is therefore desirable to increase the height of the passage 15, in which connection it is

desirable for safety reasons to place the pins 13 in . the passage 15 when a predetermined height h2 is exceeded. The pins 13 keep the sow's body parts out of the second space in which the piglets are present, so that the piglets, which are a little older by now, are less likely to be injured. The rotating pins 13 can be fixed in any number of positions. The pins extend in a horizontal plane (transversely to the plane of drawing) at 0 degrees and 180 degrees. In these horizontal positions, and in positions between 0 degrees and 180 degrees, the pins are not positioned in the passage 15. By rotating the pins 13 from 180 degrees to 360 degrees, the pins 13 are positioned in the passage 15, in which position the pins 13 extend below the bar 9. The pins 13 can be fixed in any number of positions that may be desired, a usual position is shown in the aforesaid patent US-4,502,414, for example, in which the plane of the pins and the horizontal bar includes an angle with the vertical plane between the two uprights.

Instead of rotating the pins 13 together with the bar 9 it is also possible to rotate the pins 13 relative to the bar 9 and fix them in a number of positions, using fixing means (not shown).

Figure 2 is a view of a gate which is in principle identical to the gates 1 shown in figures 1 a and 1 b, with this difference that the gate 10 does not comprise any pins 13 and that the height h of the opening of the passage 25 cannot be varied.

Connecting elements (not shown) are mounted to the bar 29 shown in figure 2. Pins can be detachably attached to the bar 29 by means of said connecting elements.

Two variants of the pins to be detachably attached by means of said connecting elements or quick-action couplings are possible.

In the first variant, the bar 29 comprises a number of aligned connecting elements, by means of which the pins can be positioned in one orientation only, viz. in the passage 25 (as shown in figure 1b).

To remove the pins from the passage 25, the pins must be detached from the bar 29 and be stored elsewhere.

In the second variant, the bar 39 comprises a first row of aligned connecting elements for detachably mounting the pins in the passage 25 (figure 1 b), as well as an additional row of aligned connecting elements. The pins may be detachably attached to the bar 29 outside the passage 25 (as is shown in figure 1a,

for example) by means of said additional row of connecting elements.

When detachable pins are used, the bar 29 need not be capable of rotation or the pins need not be capable of rotation relative to the bar 29.

The bar 9, 29 of the gate 1 , 10 according to the invention comprises at least 2 pins. The illustrated variants comprise eight pins 13, which are spaced about 30 cm apart, for example.

Furthermore, a bracket (not shown) to be attached or being attached to the bar 9, 29, extending parallel thereto, may be provided on the pins 13.

It is furthermore possible to provide more than the two bars 9, 11 , 29 that are shown between the uprights 3, 5. Furthermore, more than one bar 9 may be movable in a plane between the two uprights 3, 5, of course, in which case the bars 9 can be mounted at the desired position between the uprights 3, 5.

Instead of being provided with openings, the uprights 3, 5 may also comprise hooks (not shown), by means of which the bar(s) 9 can be detachably attached to the uprights 3, 5.

In another variant, the spacing hi , h2 between the bar 9 and the ground surface 7 may also be changed automatically instead of manually by means of rails attached to the vertical uprights 3, 5, over which rails the bar 9 can be moved by means of an electric motor and be fixed in position at the desired distance from the ground surface.

The bar 9 may be screwed down in a threaded opening in the upright 3, 5 via screw thread provided on the end of said bar. The bar 9 may also extend through the upright 3, 5 and be firmly secured to the upright 3, 5 by means of a nut. Furthermore, support pins may be passed through the openings in the uprights 3, 5, to which support pins the bar 9 can be detachably connected.

The designation "bar" as used herein is to be given a broad interpretation, in fact it may be a plate, a section or a number of bars which is (are) attached to the uprights 3, 5 for bounding the passage 15, 25 as defined in the foregoing.