Systems and methods for encouraging movement of poultry within a mobile poultry enclosure
AssigneePerdue Foods LLC
InventorDaniel J. Coady
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for encouraging movement of poultry disposed within a mobile poultry enclosure. The system may include one or more movable visual cues and/or auditory cues. The one or more visual cues may be disposed along a wall of a mobile poultry enclosure. The system may include a movement mechanism coupled to the one or more movable visual cues. The movement mechanism may cause the one or more movable visual cues to move to encourage the poultry within the enclosure to move away from the one or more movable visual cues. The system may include an actuator that initiates the movement mechanism causing the one or more movable visual cues and/or auditory cues to move.
Claims21
A system for encouraging movement of poultry disposed within a mobile poultry enclosure, the system comprising:
- a first set of movable visual cues disposed along a first wall of the mobile poultry enclosure, wherein the mobile poultry enclosure is at least 90 feet in length and the first wall is a back wall of the mobile poultry enclosure relative to a first direction of movement of the mobile poultry enclosure;
- a second set of movable visual cues disposed along a second wall of the mobile poultry enclosure which is an alternative back wall of the mobile poultry enclosure relative to a second direction of movement of the mobile poultry enclosure;
- a first movement mechanism coupled to the first set of movable visual cues, the first movement mechanism causing the first set of movable visual cues to move during movement of the mobile poultry enclosure to encourage the poultry within the mobile poultry enclosure to move away from the back wall and the first set of movable visual cues in the first direction of movement of the mobile poultry enclosure;
- a second movement mechanism coupled to the second set of movable visual cues, the second movement mechanism causing the second set of movable visual cues to move during movement of the mobile poultry enclosure to encourage the poultry within the mobile poultry enclosure to move away from the alternative back wall and the second set of movable visual cues in the second direction of movement of the mobile poultry enclosure;
- and
- an actuator that initiates the first movement mechanism and/or the second movement mechanism causing the first set of movable visual cues or the second set of movable visual cues to move, wherein the actuator is configured to initiate the first movement mechanism and/or the second movement mechanism prior to and/or during movement of the mobile poultry enclosure such that responsive to initiation of the first movement mechanism, the first set of movable visual cues moves while the second set does not causing and the poultry to move away from the back wall of the mobile poultry enclosure, and responsive to initiation of the second movement mechanism, the second set of movable visual cues moves while the first set does not causing the poultry to move away from the alternative back wall of the mobile poultry enclosure.
A method for encouraging movement of poultry disposed within a mobile poultry enclosure, the method comprising:
- causing the mobile poultry enclosure to move in a first direction, wherein the mobile poultry enclosure is at least 90 feet in length;
- prior to and/or during movement of the mobile poultry enclosure, initiating movement of one or more movable visual cues disposed along a back wall of the mobile poultry enclosure relative to a direction of movement of the mobile poultry enclosure while not initiating movement of one or more movable visual cues disposed along a front wall of the mobile poultry enclosure relative to the direction of movement of the mobile poultry enclosure, wherein initiating movement of the one or more movable visual cues causes the one or more movable visual cues along the back wall to move during movement of the mobile poultry enclosure to encourage the poultry within the enclosure to move away from the back wall and in the first direction the mobile poultry enclosure is moving, wherein the movement of the one or more movable visual cues is caused by a movement mechanism coupled to the one or more movable visual cues.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.