Automated Sow Feeding System with Individualized Ration Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In modern sow husbandry, feeding sows in group pens often leads to competition for food, making it difficult to ensure individual sows receive their calculated nutritional requirements without competition.
Innovation Solution
An automated system that allows individual sows to access a secure, non-competitive feeding environment, using entry and exit gates controlled by actuators and a metered feed dispenser system that calculates and dispenses feed based on factors like age and weight, integrated with swine management software for remote operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If sows are fed in group pens with common feed troughs, then sows can socially interact and display natural behaviours, but competition arises between sows making it difficult to ensure individual nutritional requirements are met
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the group of sows into individuals by providing separate feeding stations with enclosures for each sow. Each sow receives individual portions of feed calculated based on her specific nutritional requirements, while still maintaining social interaction capabilities within the group pen environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an automated feed dispenser system as an intermediary between the feed source and individual sows. This mediator ensures precise portion control and delivery of calculated feed rations to each sow without human intervention, resolving the conflict between individualized feeding and group housing.
2Manufacturing precision
If individual feeding enclosures are provided for each sow, then individual nutritional requirements can be met without competition, but the system complexity increases with gates, actuators, and control mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The feeding system is designed to operate automatically without continuous human intervention. The automated dispenser calculates and delivers individual feed portions based on pre-determined nutritional requirements, and the enclosures open and close autonomously, reducing the need for complex manual control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The feeding station design integrates multiple functions into a single system: the enclosure serves as both a feeding chamber and a control point for feed delivery, the automated dispenser handles both calculation and physical dispensing, and the gate system manages both access control and feed delivery timing, simplifying the overall structure.
3Measurement precision
If automated feed dispensing is implemented with calculation based on age and weight, then individual nutritional needs are precisely met, but the system requires integration with management software and remote operation capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where sow data (age, weight, nutritional status) is continuously collected and fed into the control system. The automated dispenser adjusts feed portions based on this feedback, ensuring precise meeting of individual nutritional requirements while allowing for remote monitoring and adjustment via management software.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for individually feeding sows within a snuggery includes entry, feeder station and exit assemblies. The entry assembly includes an entry gate module for individually admitting a sow therein. The exit assembly includes an exit gate module. The feeder station assembly includes at least one feed dispenser for dispensing a selected amount of feed into a trough and a carrier for supporting said trough. The carrier is displaceable between an extended position wherein the trough is positioned within the snuggery to permit access by a sow and a retracted position wherein the trough is inaccessible to the sow and the trough is positioned for filling by the feed dispenser. Feed may be dispensed in individualized rations to the sow under the control of a computer-driven controller. Movement of the sow within the snuggery may be controlled by sequentially illuminating regions of the snuggery, under the control of the controller.