Poultry euthanasia device

Abstract

A poultry euthanasia device in which hens pass on belts though a gas proof enclosure with increasing concentration levels of toxic gas for more humane euthanasia, and exit the machine deceased. The device has an entry chute which is connectable to a hen house located to either side of the unit, or behind the unit. A number of belts carry the hens through the machine, and they painlessly go to sleep and die due to a high CO2 atmosphere.

Description

PRIORITY / CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 935,228, filed Feb. 3, 2014 the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The presently disclosed technology relates to poultry processing, and more specifically to poultry euthanasia.BACKGROUND[0003]Presently there is a great need for an efficient method to euthanize spent laying hens with an emphasis on concern for the animal's welfare. Historically, spent laying hens had been processed for human consumption, however, there has been a great decline in this practice for the following reasons:[0004]1. Consolidation of poultry meat processing plants has led to their sparse disbursement across America. Therefore, many egg farms are simply too far away to transport the birds, making it cost prohibitive.[0005]2. Transportation of these old hens is complicated by the hens tendency to have brittle bones. This has led to problems with ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The device described in this patent is designed to meet the needs of the industry by being efficient, fast, and humane. It satisfies the guidelines for CO2 euthanasia and is effective in rendering birds unconscious. The composting unit is designed to handle unconscious birds, and the grinder is capable of processing 6 chickens per second, so death would be instantaneous even if the animal were unconscious. The device is designed to prevent any possibility of the bird self-resuscitating later.

Problems solved by technology

1. Consolidation of poultry meat processing plants has led to their sparse disbursement across America. Therefore, many egg farms are simply too far away to transport the birds, making it cost prohibitive.

2. Transportation of these old hens is complicated by the hens tendency to have brittle bones. This has led to problems with animal welfare issues, and problems with bone shards ending up in the chicken soup. Therefore, on-farm euthanasia for delivery to a rendering plant or composting has become much more a necessity.

Animal welfare concerns have become a much larger issue over the years.

Additionally, states are passing animal cruelty laws that are vague at best.

They may have the USDA or CDC forcing them to depopulate their flock on-farm, but lack the tools to do so and satisfy AVMA guidelines.

One such method is Modified Atmospheric Killing (MAK) carts, but it is slow, inconsistent, and archaic and labor intensive.

There is no way to accurately measure the CO2 concentration, and it is all guesswork.

Either way, the doors to the barn are open and the increased light makes the animals more nervous and difficult to catch.

Moreover, many carts are needed.

This is very hard on the birds as they are tossed about and these old hens have brittle bones which break easily.

Lots of CO2 is wasted because the whole volume of the truck is gassed, then the door is opened for the next batch allowing the CO2 to escape, so it is not efficient.

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