Livestock animal substance application system

An animal substance application system for applying a substance on a portion of a body of an animal, the system comprising:

• a feeder apparatus comprising:
• a feeder hood having a top and a bottom, the feeder hood defining an interior for holding a quantity of feed toward the bottom of the hood and receiving a portion of the body of the animal consuming the feed, the feeder hood having an opening through which the portion of the body of the animal is movable into the interior of the feeder hood, the opening of the feeder hood being formed by an edge extending continuously about the opening of the hood in a single plane such that the head of the animal passes between portions of the continuous edge when the animal is moved into the interior for feeding, the feeder hood comprising a hood tub having a top wall portion, a bottom wall portion, a pair of side wall portions, and a front wall portion positioned below the opening of the feeder hood, each of the side wall portions extending downwardly from the top wall portion and being united to the top and bottom wall portions, the top wall portion, the front wall portion, and the side wall portions forming a top portion, a bottom portion, and a pair of side portions, respectively, of the continuous edge of the opening;
• and
• a support base for supporting the feeder hood in an elevated condition above a ground surface, the support base including a hub structure on which the feeder hood is mounted, the feeder hood being rotatable with respect to the hub structure of the support base;
• and
• a dispensing apparatus configured to dispense the substance onto areas of the body of the animal when the animal has moved the portion of the body into the interior of the feeder hood through the opening, the dispensing apparatus comprising:
• a sprayer assembly mounted on the feeder hood, the sprayer assembly including:
• a first spray nozzle mounted on the feeder hood above the opening of the feeder hood, the first spray nozzle being oriented to spray the substance downwardly from above the opening toward the body of the animal when the portion of the body of the animal is received in the interior of the feeder hood;
• a second spray nozzle mounted on the feeder hood below the opening of the feeder hood, the second spray nozzle being oriented to spray the substance outwardly from below the opening of the feeder hood toward the body of the animal when the portion of the body of the animal is received in the interior of the feeder hood;
• a holding tank for holding in a tank interior a quantity of the substance to be dispensed, the holding tank being closed to permit pressurization of the tank interior;
• a valve configured to selectively permit and prevent fluid flow from the holding tank to the spray nozzles;
• a valve actuating device configured to actuate the valve from a closed condition to an open condition;
• and
• a controller assembly for operating the valve actuating device of the sprayer assembly, the controller assembly including sensor circuitry with an animal presence sensor configured to detect a presence of a said animal moving the portion of the body of the animal into the interior of the feeder hood, the animal presence sensor being located on an inside of one of the wall portions of the hood tub.