System for and method of feeding fowl

In combination for providing for the introduction of particles of feed to fowl,

• chain link means disposed in a closed loop and movable in a particular path defined by the loop,
• means disposed at spaced intervals in the particular path for providing for the movement of the particles of feed in the particular path and for inhibiting the removal of the particles of food by the fowl during the movement of the chain link means in the particular path,
• storage means disposed in particular path for holding the feed particles and for guiding the chain link means in moving in the particular path,
• means for providing for a controlled introduction of the particles of feed to the storage means,
• drive means for providing a controlled movement of the chain link means in the particular path at sufficiently high speeds to prevent the fowl from removing the particles of feed from the storage means during the movement of the chain link means in the particular path, and
• means for discontinuing the operation of the drive means after a limited period of time.

In combination for providing for the introduction of feed to fowl,

• chain link meand disposed in a particular path for providing for a movement of the particles of feed in the particular path where the particular path has straight sides and rounded corners,
• pusher means provided in the particular path at spaced intervals for facilitating the movement of the particles of feed in the particular path and for inhibiting the removal of the particles of feed by the fowl during such movement,
• storage means disposed along the straight sides of the particular path to hold the particles of feed and receive the chain link means and define a cooperative relationship with the pusher means for receiving the particles of feed moved by the pusher means,
• means disposed at the rounded corners of the particular path for facilitating the movement of the chain link means around the rounded corners, and
• the storage means being covered and enlarged at the rounded corners to facilitate the movement of the particles of the feed in the particular path.

In combination for providing for the introduction of particles of feed to fowl disposed in a series of cages,

• storage means having a particular configuration,
• chain link means disposed in the storage means and having a looped configuration and movable in the direction of the closed loop,
• pusher means disposed at spaced intervals along the chain link means and included in the chain link means and having a nested relationship with the storage means for moving the particles of feed along the storage means in accordance with the movements of the chain link means,
• feed control means adjustably disposed relative to the storage means for providing for the introduction of the particles of feed to the storage means at a controlled rate dependent upon the adjustments of the feed control means,
• drive means for driving the chain link means in the direction of the chain link means at a relatively rapid rate greater than that providing an opportunity for fowl to remove particles of feed from the storage means, and
• timer means for discontinuing the operation of the drive means after a limited, but controlled, period of time.

A method of introducing particles of feed to fowl, including the following steps:

• providing chain link means in a closed loop including straight sides and rounded corners,
• providing an open trough along at least some of the sides of the chain link means,
• providing, at spaced intervals in the chain link means, pusher means having a nested relationship with the trough for facilitating the movement of the particles of feed in the trough,
• providing a closed trough enlarged in cross section at the rounded corners, and
• providing for a movement of the chain link means in the closed loop at relatively high speeds greater than that at which the fowl are able to obtain feed particles from the trough and providing for such movement for a limited, but controlled, period of time to obtain an introduction of the particles of feed to the fowl only after the movement of the chain link means at such relatively high speeds.

A method of providing for the introduction of feed to fowl in a series of cages, including the following steps:

• providing in a closed loop a chain link having spaced discs and disposing the chain link in a trough constructed to hold the particles of feed,
• advancing the chain link at a sufficiently high speed to prevent the fowl from removing particles of the feed from the space between the spaced discs,
• providing for the introduction of the particles of feed at a controlled rate to the chain link during the movement of the chain link at the high speed, and
• interrupting the movement of the chain link after a particular time interval to present the particles of feed in the trough to the fowl in the cages for feeding.