Sausage skin storage and feeder apparatus for a sausage stuffing machine

A sausage skin storage and feeder apparatus for a sausage stuffing machine, comprising a storage container for storing a plurality of layers of sausage skins folded bellows-fashion in their longitudinal direction, said storage container having a bottom wall, power-operated conveyor means for slowly advancing the lowermost layer of sausage skins in said container transversely of their length over a distance corresponding to a multiple of their diameter in a first direction along the bottom wall of the storage container toward a withdrawal location at the end of the container, the bottom wall of the container being upwardly inclined in the first direction at an angle to the horizontal at least equal to a flow angle permitting the sausage skins overlying the lowermost layer to roll backwards in said container in a second direction opposite said first direction, a chute extending from said withdrawal location to a location adjacent a stuffer barrel for receiving the lowermost layer of sausage skins from the conveyor means and for storing a plurality of sausage skins, means for dispensing individual sausage skins from the chute and for mounting them one at a time on the stuffer barrel, and means in said container adjacent said withdrawal location for removing surplus sausage skins and causing them to be conveyed in said second direction in said container when said chute is filled with sausage skins.