Animal rearing house

This invention relates to an animal rearing house and more particularly, but not exclusively a pig rearing house.

It is well established that in the rearing of animals for meat, animal growth is maximised under certain environmental conditions. Pigs in particular are extremely sensitive to temperature fluctuation and it is important when rearing pigs to keep them, if possible in conditions where the temperature of their surroundings can be controlled.

The normal way of keeping pigs in a controlled environment is to rear them in a building equipped with temperature control means. The high cost of building and the cost of controlling the environment therein makes it desirable that as many pigs as possible should be kept in a building of the smallest possible volume. The present invention has been made with this consideration in mind.

According to the invention there is provided an animal rearing house having a floor, side walls, end walls and a roof defining an enclosure of generally elongate plan, air intake means located intermediate the ends of the house, means for directing a separate air stream in the house in the elongate direction thereof to each end of the house, a plurality of animal cages disposed transversely in the house so as to be traversed by one or other of said air streams.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :Figure 1 is a side elevation of a pig rearing house;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the house of Figure 1 with the roof omitted to show the interior layout; and

Figure 3 is a plan view similar to that of Figure 2 of another embodiment.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 a rearing house 10 intended for weaner pigs is of rectangular plan. Pig cages 12 are arranged in two groups 14 and 16 with a plurality of cages in each group. Food troughs 18 are provided at each side of each group so that access to the cages is from the ends of the cages that are adjacent the long walls of the house. An additional trough 20 is provided parallel to troughs 18 through the middles of the group of cages to take surplus liquid and effluent. As can be seen in the drawing each group of cages is spaced from the walls of the house so as to allow access thereto and to permit circulation of air therearound.

An air intake and treatment area 22 is defined between the two groups of cages by partitions 24 and 26. The area 22 is itself divided into sub-units 30 and 32 by a partition 28.

The sub-unit 30 provides treated air for the adjacent group of cages 14 and sub-unit 32 does the same for its adjacent group of cages 16.

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Each sub-unit comprises an intake 40 for drawing air therein from outside the house and a heater 42 at the inlet of an air distribution means 44. Air is drawn through the intake, heater and air distribution means of each unit and across its associated group of cages by an exhaust fan mounted in an outlet 46 on each end wail of the house. The temperature in the house can be maintained within desired limits by electronic control means known per se that switches the fans and heaters in response to temperature measurement.

The cages 12 are preferably mounted for example on casters so as to be movable out of the house through doors 50 for cleaning and washing down. A separate door 52 is provided for normal access to the house.

The arrangement just described provides accommodation intended for weaner pigs, i.e. pigs from seven to fourteen days old, up to about eight weeks old. The house can be made larger or smaller depending on requirements although it is preferred not to exceed outer dimensions which can be accommodated on a vehicle if the house is to be transportable. If the house is made larger then obviously more cages can be accommodated, but in accordance with the invention the orientation of the cages should still be transverse to the air flow in the house.

There are, therefore, many arrangements in addition to that of Figures 1 and 2 which fall within the scope of the invention, one such being illustrated diagrammatically by way of example in .

Figure 3.

It is desirable to provide an alarm that will be triggered should a fan or heater fail. For example a thermostat can be provided which, upon fan or heater failure, operates to trigger an alarm. The thermostat can also be used to open a ventilator to permit flow of external unheated air through the house. This is particularly important in the case of fan failure when the temperature within the house can increase rapidly to a level which is harmful to piglets.