Adjustable animal crush

Abstract

The animal crush comprises an entry, an exit and a longitudinal axis between the entry and the exit, the animal crush defined by opposing walls 5, 6 and a floor 7 extending along the longitudinal axis

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Described herein is an adjustable animal crush. More specifically, an animal crush and method of use is described with a moving wall configured to adjust the initial position of the moving wall prior to animal capture. BACKGROUND ART Various animal crush devices exist comprising an animal crush for animal movement defined by opposing walls that the animal must pass by to exit the animal crush, sometimes termed a race, chute or run. Selected devices may have a wall or both walls that move. Wall movement may act to capture an animal within the animal crush temporarily. Wall movement may for example result in one wall moving in a direction generally orthogonal to the direction of travel of the animal through the animal crush. To capture the animal, the moving wall moves across and bears on the animal side trapping the animal between the opposing fixed wall and opposing wall effectively 'squeezing' the animal between the walls. The force imposed on the animal is sufficient to halt animal movement but not enough to injure the animal. Whilst the animal is captured between the walls, an animal handler such as a veterinarian may treat the animal, measure weight and do other actions possible whilst the animal is secured. Once any animal handling actions are completed, the moveable wall may be moved away from the animal sufficient to allow the animal to no longer be captured. The animal's natural instinct after release is to then move forwards out of the animal crush towards an exit from the animal crush. As may be appreciated, the moveable wall or walls may have an open position that allows passage of an animal through the animal crush. The wall or walls may also have a crush position where the moving wall or walls shift to capture position that squeezes and captures the animal between the walls. The capture position is off set from the open position. The capture position may need to vary depending on animal size / width and a fixed capture position for every animal is not suitable to capture all animal species e.g. cattle are very different in size to sheep; all animal ages e.g. lambs, ewe and rams all have different sizes and even among a flock of ewes, the sizes may vary; or all animal health status e.g. pregnant versus not pregnant animals or low to high body condition score animals vary considerably in size / width. A further complication is that of varying the moveable wall fore and aft relative to one another at capture so as to adjust the squeeze position on the animal. It may for example be useful to angle in the forward section of a moveable wall relative to an aft section of the moveable wall (or angle out an aft section relative to a forward section). By making this adjustment, the squeeze position on the animal may be emphasised towards a forward end of the animal e.g. across the animal shoulders and less so across the animal abdomen. This may ne useful when capturing a pregnant animal such as a ewe where less pressure may be desired on the animal abdomen. Important too in animal crush apparatus is accuracy and reliability. To be of greater value, the animal crush should be capable of capturing all animals on a repeatable basis. This should be the case no matter the animal size or shape entering the animal crush (within manufacturing limits). An existing prior art animal crush with a wall that may be adjusted in start position is illustrated in Figures 1-3. The prior art animal crush comprises opposing walls 5, 6, one wall 6 pivoting via a pneumatic ram 12 about a pivot axis defined by a spring loaded pivot pin A at an aft end of the animal crush and a fixed pivot pin C at the fore end of the animal crush. The spring loaded pivot pin A is captured by a hole plate B linked to the animal crush platform E. The fixed pivot pin C is captured by a platform receiver opening D. Adjusting the open position of the wall 6 requires a user to disconnect the pneumatic ram 12 from the wall 6; then retract the spring loaded pivot pin A from a hole in the hole plate B; then lift and pull the wall 6 to pull out the opposing end fixed pin C from an opening in the platform receiver opening D; then move the opposing end fixed pin C to an alternate opening in the platform receiver opening D; then fix wall 6 at the opposing wall 6 end by retracting the sprung loaded locking pin A and releasing the pin A into a home position in the lock plate B. The pneumatic ram 12 is then reconnected to the wall 6. Whist this process of adjustment achieves the desired aim of altering the wall open position, it requires strength on the part of the user to lift and manoeuvre the wall as, once the pin or pins are removed, the wall is prone to tipping and relies on the user to support the wall weight. A further drawback of prior art animal crushes using a lock plate B is that the lock plate B, an alternative prior art example shown in Figure 4, may create a trip hazard for animals 100 leaving the animal crush. This is because, the lock plate B extends above the floor of the animal crush in the path of an animal traversing the animal crush. It may be useful to provide an animal crush and method of use that achieves greater reliability of capture. It may further be useful to provide a way to more easily adjust and set movable wall position so as to cater for varying size animals to be captured by the animal crush. It may be useful to at least provide the public with a choice. Further aspects and advantages of the animal crush and method of use will become apparent from the ensuing description that is given by way of example only. SUMMARY Described herein is an animal crush and method of use with a moving wall or walls. The moving wall or walls may be configured to adjust the position of the moving wall or walls prior to animal capture. The way in which the moving wall or walls may be adjusted minimises any safety issues associated with adjusting the wall position and may speed up wall movement thereby improving reliability of animal capture within the animal crush especially as animal sizes vary. In a first aspect, there is provided an animal crush configured to control movement of an animal therethrough, the animal crush comprising: an entry, an exit and a longitudinal axis between the entry and the exit, the animal crush defined by opposing walls and a floor extending along the longitudinal axis located between the opposing walls, wherein each of the opposing walls comprises a fore end about the entry and an aft end about the exit; wherein one, or both, of the opposing walls move between: an open position configured to allow passage of an animal through the animal crush; and a closed position, offset relative to the open position and configured to capture an animal within the animal crush between the opposing walls; wherein the open position of one, or both, of the opposing walls is configured, when actuated, to slidingly move via at least one slide assembly between a first open position and a further open position, movement in open position configured to adjust a width between at least part of the opposing walls of the animal crush. In a second aspect, there is provided a method of adjusting an open position of a wall of an animal crush by: selecting the animal crush substantially as described above; and actuating movement of the at least one slide assembly to adjust the open position of one or both of the opposing walls from a first open position to a further open position. Advantages of the above animal crush and method of use may comprise: The ability to alter a moving wall initial position without bending over; The ability to alter a moving wall initial position by moving one actuator; The ability to alter to toe in or toe out the fore and aft start position of the moveable wall; Avoidance of the moveable wall rotating during position adjustment; Avoidance of the need for a user to support or partially support the weight of the wall during position adjustment; Completing adjustment using a simple mechanical system with minimal parts and extra expense. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further aspects of the animal crush and method of use will become apparent from the following description that is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a side of a prior art animal crush; Figure 2 shows a detail perspective view of a fore end of the above prior art animal crush wall; Figure 3 shows a detail perspective view of an aft end of the above prior art animal crush wall; Figure 4 shows an end view of an animal captured in the above prior art animal crush; Figure 5 shows a perspective view from above of one example of animal crush described herein; Figure 6 shows a detail perspective view of a fore end of the animal crush; Figure 7 shows a detail perspective view of the floor area of the animal crush partially sectioned to reveal aspects of the slide assembly; Figure 8 shows a perspective view from below of the animal crush with parts removed to show aspects of the slide assembly in further detail; Figure 9 shows a plan elevation view of the animal crush in a first open position; Figure 10 shows a plan elevation view of the animal crush with an aft end of a wall toed in to a further open position; Figure 11 shows a plan elevation view of the animal crush with the wall moved to a maximum narrow width further open position; Figure 12 shows a partially exploded perspective view of the animal crush; Figure 13 shows a photograph of the animal crush in an assembled form with a fore end of the wall in a pivoted position; and Figure 14 shows a photograph of the underside of the animal crush in an assembled form. DETAILED DESCRIPTION As noted above, described herein is an animal crush and method of use with a moving wall or walls. The moving wall or walls may be configured to adjust the position of the moving wall or walls prior to animal capture. The way in which the moving wall or walls may be adjusted minimises any safety issues associated with adjusting the wall position and may speed up wall movement thereby improving reliability of animal capture within the animal crush especially as animal sizes vary. For the purposes of this specification, the term 'about' or 'approximately' and grammatical variations thereof mean a quantity, level, degree, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length that varies by as much as 30, 25, 20,15,10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% to a reference quantity, level, degree, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length. The term 'substantially' or grammatical variations thereof refers to at least about 50%, for example 75%, 85%, 95% or 98%. The term 'comprise1 and grammatical variations thereof shall have an inclusive meaning - i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. An Animal Crush In a first aspect, there is provided an animal crush configured to control movement of an animal therethrough, the animal crush comprising: an entry, an exit and a longitudinal axis between the entry and the exit, the animal crush defined by opposing walls and a floor extending along the longitudinal axis located between the opposing walls, wherein each of the opposing walls comprises a fore end about the entry and an aft end about the exit; wherein one, or both, of the opposing walls move between: an open position configured to allow passage of an animal through the animal crush; and a closed position, offset relative to the open position and configured to capture an animal within the animal crush between the opposing walls; wherein the open position of one, or both, of the opposing walls is configured, when actuated, to slidingly move via at least one slide assembly between a first open position and a further open position, movement in open position configured to adjust a width between at least part of the opposing walls of the animal crush. The inventors have developed an alternative mechanism to adjust the start position of a wall (or both walls) of an animal crush. Typically an animal crush comprises a fixed wall and a pivoting wall. Pivoting acts to narrow the opening between the walls and, if actuated at the right timing, an animal passing through the crush is captured between the walls via a squeezing action on sides of the animal body. As noted above, existing devices either have no ability to alter the start position of the wall or walls and hence the width of the animal crush or passageway between the walls is relatively fixed. This is fine for a group of animals of a common size (primarily height and width). A lack of variability in opening between the walls can be limiting though where variation exists in animal size. Small sized animals may fail to be captured by the crush or larger sized animals simply not fit the animal crush. The described animal crush can be manufactured to have a variable width opening between the opposing walls. A maximum opening may be used for animals at a larger end of a designed for criteria and a minimum opening adjusted to for smaller sized animals. Open positions intermediate the maximum and minimum positions may also be achieved using the described animal crush. Further, in some examples described further below, a wall of the animal crush (or both walls) may be adjusted to have an open position with the fore and aft ends of a wall toed in or toed out so as to bias the squeeze on the animal to the front or rear of the animal body. Animal Movement In the context of an animal moving through the animal crush, the fore end of a wall or the animal crush may be located about the entry where the animal enters the animal crush. Similarly, the aft end of a wall or the animal crush may be located about the exit where the animal exits the animal crush. General Animal Crush Operation The closed position is off set from the open position during normal animal crush operation. In the closed position, the opposing walls squeeze the animal between the walls. Wall movement results in one opposing wall moving in a direction generally orthogonal to the direction of travel of the animal through the animal crush towards the further wall. After animal capture, the wall that moves may be moved away from the animal returning to an open position sufficient to allow the animal to no longer be captured. The animal's natural instinct after release is to then move forwards out of the animal crush towards the exit from the animal crush. A coupling between the at least one slide assembly and one or both of the opposing walls may be configured to pivot during animal capture. Pivot movement drives rotation movement of a top of the wall about the pivot. Pivot movement may be driven by a bias device such as a pneumatic ram connected between the wall the pivots and a platform of the animal crush located on or about the animal crush floor. The pivot axis may be located generally about the floor of the animal crush. The pivot axis may extend in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the animal crush. In one example, one or both of the opposing walls may be configured to pivot about a pivot axis between the open position and the closed position. During sliding movement between the first open position and the further open position via the at least one slide assembly, one or both of the opposing walls may be unable to pivot about the pivot axis. As noted elsewhere, this may be a useful feature of the described animal crush as it avoids an operator having to take the weight of the wall during open position movement. Slide Assembly Sliding movement comprises movement via a sliding action. Sliding action for the purposes of this specification refers to the at least one slide assembly being configured to move one of the opposing walls or a part of one of the opposing walls in a single plane via a smooth action. Movement may be restricted in length in the single plane. The smooth action refers to movement without interference until an end point in movement may be reached. There may be at least some friction between surfaces during sliding movement. Slide Assembly to Wall Coupling One of the opposing walls may be coupled via a coupling to the at least one slide assembly. Coupling may be from one slide assembly to one wall. Coupling may be from two or more slide assemblies to two or more parts of one of the opposing walls. The nature of the coupling and relationship to the wall(s) and animal crush is described further below. Slide Assembly Location The at least one slide assembly may be located in, or about, the floor of the animal crush. The at least one slide assembly may be located about the floor at an entry or an exit of the animal crush. The animal crush may comprise two or more slide assemblies. Each of the two or more slide assemblies may move independently of each other. In this example, the fore end or aft end of one wall may be configured to move independent of the opposing fore or aft end of the first wall. More specifically, one of the opposing walls may be coupled via a first coupling to a first slide assembly, the first slide assembly located at the fore end of a first wall of the opposing walls and, via a second coupling to a second slide assembly, the second slide assembly located at the aft end of the first wall of the opposing walls. Movement between open positions is step wise, one side and then the opposing side. More specifically, wall sliding movement may occur in a step manner between the first open position and the further open position, with the first slide assembly moving whilst the second slide assembly is stationary and, subsequently, the second slide assembly moving whilst the first slide assembly is stationary. The at least one slide assembly may act to prevent or halt pivot movement of one wall when the wall is moved from a first open position to a further open position. One drawback of an existing prior art design of open position movement apparatus is that the wall must be support when moved between open positions otherwise the wall tends to rotate about a pivot axis. As the wall may be heavy, providing sufficient support, usually via the operator taking weight of the wall, may be difficult or impossible. Supporting the wall also makes it harder to then actuate movement of release and engaging mechanisms. The described animal crush does away with the need to support the wall during open position movement. Slide Assembly Construction The at least one slide assembly may comprise a channel. The channel may be hollow and may have a channel opening about part of a longitudinal length of the channel. The channel opening may be configured to provide access to the hollow interior of the channel. The channel may have a generally U-shape cross-section about the channel opening and . The U-shape may have overhanding flanges on either side of the opening. The cross-section of the channel may resemble an inverted T-shape. An inner slide channel may be linked to the coupling described elsewhere and the inner slide channel slidingly engages and slides within the hollow of the channel. The coupling linked to the inner slide channel is configured to slide with the inner slide channel as the inner slide channel telescopes into and out of the channel hollow. The channel opening may be located generally flush with or below an upper face of the floor of the animal crush. The channel opening may face upwards from or about the floor of the animal crush. The channel and channel opening may have an elongated shape with a longitudinal axis. When installed in the animal crush, the longitudinal axis of the channel may extend in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the animal crush. The coupling may comprise a shaft, and a first end opposing a second end. The first end may be linked to an inner slide channel that as noted above may be configured to slide within the channel. The second end of the coupling may extend, via the shaft, through the channel opening. One, or both, of the opposing walls may couple to the second end of the coupling. The channel opening longitudinal length may define the extent of movement of the sliding assembly from the first open position to the further open position (or intermediate positions in-between). An eye may be located generally about the second end of the shaft of the coupling. The eye may be configured to receive and couple to a pin, the pin extending from one, or both, of the opposing walls. The open position of one, or both, of the opposing walls may be locked in place via an interfering mechanism. The interfering mechanism may be configured to halt sliding movement of the coupling within the channel opening. The interfering mechanism may comprise a locking pin. The locking pin may engage with and lock the coupling in a fixed position relative to the channel opening. Locking may occur at a predetermined position. In one example, the predetermined position may be set by a location of an aperture on a side of the channel opening that the locking pin is received through. The coupling or a part thereof may comprise a corresponding aperture in the first end of the coupling and when this aligns with the aperture on the side of the channel opening, the locking pin may be configured to slide through the aperture on the side of the channel opening and the aperture in the coupling. Once fitted, the locking pin then interferes with and halts sliding movement of the coupling in the channel opening. The channel opening may comprise multiple apertures at points along the side of a longitudinal length of the channel opening that define different positions for the locking pin to interfere with and halt sliding movement of the coupling in the channel opening. Where an inner slide channel is present linked to the coupling, the predetermined position may be set by a location of an aperture on a side of the channel opening that the locking pin is received through. When a corresponding aperture on the inner slide channel aligns with the aperture on the side of the channel opening, the locking pin is configured to slide fit through the apertures of the channel opening and inner slide channel. Once fitted, the locking pin then may interfere with, and halt, sliding movement of the inner slide and linked coupling in the channel opening. The channel opening may comprise multiple apertures at points along the side of a longitudinal length of the channel opening and the inner slide channel. The multiple apertures may define different positions for the locking pin to interfere with and halt sliding movement of the inner slide channel and linked coupling in the channel opening at one of the different positions. The locking pin may be biased so as to urge, via a bias, the locking pin to lock the interfering mechanism. The bias may be a spring. Movement of the locking pin may be actuated to engage or disengage the at least one slide assembly. Actuation may be caused by movement of a lever. The lever may be coupled to the locking pin. Disengagement of the locking pin may be actuated by moving the lever against a direction of the bias. The lever may comprise a first end, the first end extending from an outwardly facing side of one of the opposing walls. The lever may extend generally orthogonally from the wall. The first end of the lever may extend from one of the opposing walls about the floor of the animal crush. In this example, the lever may optionally be configured to be actuated by foot movement of an operator of the animal crush. The lever may pivot about a pivot point when actuated. The pivot point may be located about the centre of the lever between a first end and an opposing second end of the lever. The first end of the lever may comprise a handle. The second end of the lever may comprise a coupling that couples the second end of the lever to the lock pin. The handle is accessed by an operator of the animal crush. The lever may be actuated by moving the handle about a generally horizontal plane. The lever may be actuated by moving the handle outwards from a first position towards an entry or an exit of the animal crush about a generally horizontal plane. The channel opening may be located generally flush with or below floor of the animal crush. The at least one slide assembly other than the shaft and the second end of the coupling may be hidden within or flush with the floor of the animal crush. The slide assembly other than the coupling may not extend above the floor level of the animal crush. The coupling may be hidden or at least partially obscured by the wall end or ends. The lock pin and lever if present may be located underneath the floor of the animal crush. Alternative Slide Assembly Construction As noted above, the slide assembly may comprise mating channels, one that slides within the other and movement of the inner slide channel driving coupling movement. One alternative is that the coupling itself comprises a slide member attached to the first end and the slide member moves relative to the channel. A further alternative may be one where the coupling is fixed to a threaded shaft and rotation of the thread shaft urges movement of the coupling relative to the channel (and channel opening that the coupling shaft passes through). Movement of the coupling on the threaded shaft may be driven by hand or by a motor. The motor may be electric or pneumatically powered. An advantage of a threaded shaft may be that the wall open position could be at an almost infinite number of positions along the channel opening. Fixed positions defined by aligning apertures noted in the above embodiments may be eliminated with the thread governing the wall open position. A yet further alternative may use a rod on which the coupling is coupled to and wherein rod movement is driven by a motor. Motor movement may drive coupling position within the channel. This example may also provide for an almost infinite number of coupling positions or may provide for easy positioning that aligns apertures in the channel and rod (equivalent to the inner slide channel in this example). A lock pin may still be used to lock the rod position. Alternatively, the motor itself when halted may be used to lock coupling position. As should be appreciated form the above examples, the way that the slide assembly operates and how movement may be driven of the slide assembly may be varied and reference to one construction should not be seen as limiting. Method of Adjustment of an Animal Crush In a second aspect, there is provided a method of adjusting an open position of a wall of an animal crush by: selecting the animal crush substantially as described above; and actuating movement of the at least one slide assembly to adjust the open position of one or both of the opposing walls from a first open position to a further open position. In the above method, actuation may occur by releasing a locking mechanism which in turn allows sliding movement to occur. The locking mechanism bias may urge the locking mechanism to engage once the wall is moved to a further open position. Advantages Advantages of the above animal crush and method of use may comprise: The ability to alter a moving wall initial position without bending over; The ability to alter a moving wall initial position by moving one actuator; The ability to alter to toe in or toe out the fore and aft start position of the moveable wall; Avoidance of the moveable wall rotating during position adjustment; Avoidance of the need for a user to support or partially support the weight of the wall during position adjustment; Completing adjustment using a simple mechanical system with minimal parts and extra expense. The embodiments described above may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually or collectively, and any or all combinations of any two or more said parts, elements or features. Further, where specific integers are mentioned herein which have known equivalents in the art to which the embodiments relate, such known equivalents are deemed to be incorporated herein as if individually set forth. WORKING EXAMPLES The above described animal crush and method of use are now described by reference to a specific example and the item numbering below: Prior Art (Figures 1-4) A Spring loaded pivot pin B Hole plate C Opposing end fixing pin D Platform receiver opening for opposing end fixing point E Platform 100 Animal 1 Animal crush 2 Entry 3 Exit 4 Crush longitudinal axis 5,6 opposing walls 7 Floor 8 Fore end 9 Aft end 10 Width between the opposing walls 11 Pivot axis between the open position and the closed position 12 Pivot ram 200 Open position 210 Closed position, 220 First open position 230 Further open position 20 Slide assembly 21 Coupling 22 Channel 23 Channel opening 24 Channel longitudinal axis 25 Inner slide channel 26 Coupling shaft 27 Coupling first end 28 Coupling second end 29 Coupling eye 30 Wall pin 31 Locking pin 32 Aperture channel opening side 33 Aperture in inner slide channel 34 Lever 35 Lever first end, 36 Lever pivot point 37 Lever second end 38 Spring bias EXAMPLE 1 As noted in the detailed description, the inventors have developed an alternative mechanism to adjust the start position of a wall (or both walls) of an animal crush. Figures 5 to 14 describe one example of an animal crush 1 comprising an alternative sliding mechanism to adjust open positions of a wall. In this example, one wall 6 pivots and comprises the sliding mechanism and the opposing wall 5 is fixed in position. Both walls could pivot or be mounted on the sliding mechanism and reference to movement of a single wall is not intended to be limiting. Referring to Figures 5 to 14 and the item numbering use on these drawings, the animal crush 1 may comprise an entry 2, an exit 3 and a longitudinal axis 4 between the entry 2 and the exit3. The animal crush 1 has a first fixed wall 5 and a moving wall 6 opposing the fixed wall 5. The animal crush 1 also has a floor 7 extending along the longitudinal axis 4 between the opposing walls 5, 6. The opposing walls 5, 6 comprise a fore end 8 about the entry 2 and an aft end 9 about the exit 3. The moving wall 6 in the Figures is configured to move via a pivot axis from an open position that provides a width 10 between the opposing walls 5, 6 to allows passage of an animal through the animal crush 1; to a closed position, that captures an animal within the animal crush 1 between the opposing walls 5, 6. The open position 200 of the moving wall 6, when actuated, slides via at least one slide assembly 20 between a first open position 220 and a further open position 230. Movement between the first open position 220 and the further open position 230 adjusts a width 10 between the opposing walls 5, 6 of the animal crush 1. Like most prior art animal crush 1 apparatus, in a closed position 210, the walls 5, 6 squeezes an animal (not shown) between the walls 5, 6. Wall movement results in the moving wall 6 moving in a direction generally orthogonal to the direction of travel of the animal through the animal crush 1 along the longitudinal axis 4 towards the opposing wall 5. After animal capture, the wall 6 that moves is moved away from the animal returning to an open position 200 which is sufficiently wide 10 to allow the animal to be released and move forwards out of the animal crush 1 towards the exit 3. The wall 6 pivots during animal capture where pivot movement is driven by a pneumatic ram 12 that drives rotation movement of a top of the wall 6 about the pivot. As shown in the Figures, the animal crush 1 comprises two slide assemblies 20 located at either end of the animal 1 crush floor 7 and which are level with the floor 7. The slide assemblies 20 move independently of each other. The wall 6 is coupled via a first coupling 21 to a first slide assembly 20 at the fore end 8 of the wall 6 and, via a second coupling 21 to a second slide assembly 20, the second slide assembly 20 located at the aft end 9 of the wall 6. The slide assembly 20 may comprise a channel 22, in this example having a generally square shaped cross-section and which is hollow. The channel 22 has a channel opening 23 about part of a longitudinal length of the channel 22. This channel opening 23 faces upwards from the floor 7 level of the animal crush 1. The channel opening 23 gives access to the hollow interior of the channel 22. An inner slide channel 25 is linked to the coupling 21 and the inner slide channel 25 slidingly engages and slides within the hollow of the channel 22. The coupling 21 linked to the inner slide channel 25 thus also moves with the inner slide channel 25 as the inner slide channel 25 moves within the channel 22. The channel opening 23 as shown is located flush with or below an upper face of the floor 7 of the animal crush 1. The channel 22 and channel opening 23 have an elongated shape with a longitudinal axis 24 that extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis 4 of the animal crush 1. The coupling 21 comprises a shaft 26, a first end T1 linked to the inner slide channel 25 and a second end 28 that extends, via the shaft 26, through the channel opening 23. The wall 6 couples to the second end 28 of the coupling 21. The channel opening 23 defines the extent of movement of the sliding assembly 20 from the first open position 220 to a maximum further open position 230 (or intermediate positions in-between). An eye 29 of the coupling 21 receives and couples to a wall pin 30, the wall pin 30 extending from the wall 6. The open position 220, 230 the wall 6 is locked in place via an interfering mechanism comprising a locking pin 31. Locking may occur at a predetermined position set by location of apertures 32, 33 on a side of the channel 22 and inner slide channel 25 that the locking pin 31 is received through. When the apertures 32, 33 align, the locking pin 31 slides through the apertures 32, 33 then interfering with and halting sliding movement of the coupling 21 in the channel opening 23. Multiple apertures 32, 33 may be located along the longitudinal length 24 of the channel opening 23 that may define different positions for the locking pin 31 to interfere with and halt sliding movement of the coupling 21 in the channel opening 23. The locking pin 31 may be biased using a spring 38 to urge the pocking pin 31 to a locked position. Movement of the locking pin 31 against the bias 38 may be actuated to disengage the locking mechanism and allow sliding movement. Actuation may be caused by movement of a lever 34 that is coupled to the locking pin 31. The lever 34 may comprise a first end 35 that extends from the wall 6. The lever 34 pivots about a pivot point 36 when actuated. The first end 35 of the lever 34 comprises a handle and the second end 37 of the lever 34 couples the lever 34 to the lock pin 31. The lever 34 is actuated by moving the handle 35 outwards from a first position towards an entry 2 or an exit 3 of the animal crush 1 about a generally horizontal plane. The slide assembly 20 other than the coupling 21 shaft 26 and the second end 28 are hidden within or flush with the floor 7 of the animal crush 1 thereby removing any potential trip hazard to an animal. Each coupling 21 of a slide assembly is also hidden or at least partially obscured by the wall 6 end. The lock pin 31 and lever 34 are located underneath the floor 7 of the animal crush 1 and hence well away from animal movement. The animal crush 1 wall 6 open position 200 may be adjusted by actuating movement of the slide assembly 20 to adjust the open position 200 of the wall 6 from a first open position 220 to a further open position 230 by releasing the lock pin 31 from a slide assembly 20, moving the wall 6 fore (or aft) end to the further position 230 and then allowing the locking pin 31 to re-engage the apertures 32, 33 in the channel 22 and inner slide channel 25 to lock the wall 6 in the further position 230. The same process may be repeated at the opposing fore (or aft) end of the wall 6. Movement as described may be in a step-wise manner thus, the wall 6 is always supported during movement between open positions 200. Aspects of the animal crush and method of use have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the claims herein.

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