FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The disclosed technology relates generally to livestock supply systems and methods and, more particularly, to continuous livestock supply systems and methods.

BACKGROUND

For centuries, humans have been raising livestock for meat and other animal products such as eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. In more recent history, however, raising and processing livestock has become a more large-scale operation and often requires many different entities to produce a final animal product. For example, broilers (or chickens raised for meat) are generally raised in grow houses and freighted to a processing plant to produce chicken meat. Broiler production typically requires at least an integrator, a grower, and a processor. The integrator typically supplies the chicks, the feed, consulting during the growing process, and transportation of the broilers to the processing plant while growers rear the broilers and the processor processes the broiler to obtain usable meat and other byproducts.

Like much of livestock production, broiler production is currently done in a batch-style process where fully-grown broilers are brought to a processing plant in batches. The broilers are generally reared at a site remote from the processing plant and freighted to the processing plant in crates. The process of transporting the broilers from the grow houses to the processing plant often causes unnecessary distress, injury, and even premature death to the broilers resulting in maltreatment of the broilers and lost profits. Furthermore, transporting the boilers to the processing plant increases the risk of injury to workers assisting in the transportation of the broilers to the processing plant because the broilers must be manually placed in crates and loaded on the truck for transport.

Furthermore, one of the biggest challenges currently facing the processing of livestock is the variation in size of livestock of similar age. For example, although a batch of broilers may be of age to be processed, some of the broilers in the batch are likely not of suitable size. This requires workers to manually sort the broilers and remove undersized broilers from the flock leading to further inefficiency and potential injury to the broilers and/or the workers. More commonly, however, manual sorting of the broilers is impractical and therefore non-premium cuts are produced by the undersized broilers. Furthermore, the variation in broiler size limits automation of the evisceration process and often requires manual cutting of the broilers which can be a tedious and dangerous task for the workers.

Processing of livestock is further complicated by many processing plants requiring the livestock to stop feeding or drinking for a certain amount of time prior to processing of the livestock to ensure an effective evisceration process. This can be difficult to manage when the freighting time can vary greatly due to the inefficiencies associated with sorting, collecting, and transporting the livestock. Livestock processed too early results in a poor evisceration process while livestock processed too late experience greater stress and bring less revenue due to unnecessary weight loss.

What is needed, therefore, is a method and system of raising livestock to continuously supply the livestock to a processing plant without the inefficiencies currently associated with rearing, transporting, and processing livestock. These and other problems are addressed by the technology disclosed herein.

SUMMARY

The disclosed technology relates generally to livestock supply systems and methods and, more particularly, to continuous livestock supply systems and methods.

The disclosed technology can include a system for rearing livestock and directing the livestock toward a processing plant. The system can include an enclosure configured to house a plurality of livestock within the enclosure. The enclosure can include an enclosure entrance, an enclosure exit, and a first plurality of moveable walls configured to partition the enclosure into separate pens and automatically direct the plurality of livestock from the enclosure entrance toward the enclosure exit. The first plurality of moveable walls can be configured to move at a predetermined speed wherein the plurality of livestock enter the enclosure as offspring, are reared in the enclosure, and are directed through the enclosure exit into the passageway approximately when the plurality of livestock have reached slaughter weight.

The system can include a passageway connected to the enclosure exit and configured to be connected to a processing plant entrance. The passageway can include a second plurality of moveable walls configured to automatically direct the plurality of livestock from the enclosure exit toward the processing plant entrance.

The enclosure can include a plurality of reception pens proximate the enclosure entrance and configured to receive the plurality of livestock from the enclosure entrance.

The first plurality of moveable walls and the second plurality of moveable walls can each be configured to be moved from an ending position to a starting position. The first plurality of moveable walls and the second plurality of moveable walls can each be configured to be moved from the ending position to the starting position without directing the livestock from the ending position to the starting position. The first plurality of moveable walls and the second plurality of moveable walls can be configured to be lifted above the livestock to be moved from the ending position to the starting position.

The first plurality of moveable walls can be attached to a drive system. The drive system can be configured to move the first plurality of moveable walls at the predetermined speed.

The first plurality of moveable walls and the second plurality of moveable walls can be configured to transition between an extended position and a retracted position. The first plurality of moveable walls can be configured to extend to the extended position to automatically direct the plurality of livestock from the enclosure entrance toward the enclosure exit. The first plurality of moveable walls can be configured to retract to the retracted position to be moved from an ending position to a starting position.

The system can include a sizing wall configured to permit livestock of a first size to pass through an opening of the sizing wall and prevent livestock of a second size to pass through the opening of the sizing wall. The sizing wall can be configured to be adjusted between a first position and a second position to adjust the opening of the sizing wall.

The enclosure can include a sizing passageway and the sizing wall can be configured to permit the livestock of the first size to pass through the opening of the sizing wall from the separate pens into the sizing passageway and prevent the livestock of the second size to pass through the opening of the sizing wall from the separate pens into the sizing passageway. The sizing wall can be further configured to prevent the livestock of the first size from passing from the sizing passageway back to the separate pens.

The system can include at least a second enclosure and the passageway can be configured to be connected to the first enclosure and the second enclosure.

The disclosed technology can include a method of continuously supplying livestock to a processing plant. The method can include providing a first plurality of livestock and a second plurality of livestock. The method can include providing a first enclosure configured to house the first plurality of livestock and a second enclosure configured to house the second plurality of livestock.

The method can include placing the first plurality of livestock in the first enclosure and placing the second plurality of livestock in the second enclosure. The first enclosure can include a first enclosure entrance and a first enclosure exit while the second enclosure can include a second enclosure entrance and a second enclosure exit.

The method can include directing the first plurality of livestock from the first enclosure entrance to the first enclosure exit and directing the second plurality of livestock from the second enclosure entrance to the second enclosure exit. The method can include providing a passageway connected to the first enclosure exit, the second enclosure exit, and a processing plant entrance. The passageway can be configured to receive the first plurality of livestock from the first enclosure exit and the second plurality of livestock from the second enclosure exit.

The method can include directing the first plurality of livestock from the first enclosure exit toward the processing plant entrance and directing the second plurality of livestock from the second enclosure exit toward the processing plant. The first plurality of livestock can be placed in the first enclosure as offspring, reared in the first enclosure, and directed through the first enclosure exit into the passageway approximately when the first plurality of livestock has reached slaughter weight. Similarly, the second plurality of livestock can be placed in the second enclosure as offspring, reared in the second enclosure, and directed through the second enclosure exit into the passageway approximately when the second plurality of livestock has reached slaughter weight. The second plurality of livestock can reach slaughter weight after the first plurality of livestock.

The method can include a first moveable wall configured to automatically direct the plurality of livestock from the first enclosure entrance toward the first enclosure exit, a second moveable wall configured to automatically direct the second plurality of livestock from the second enclosure entrance toward the second enclosure exit, and a third moveable wall configured to automatically direct the first and second plurality of livestock from the first and second enclosure exit toward the processing plant.

The method can include providing a first drive system and a second drive system and connecting the first moveable wall to the first drive system and the second moveable wall to the second drive system. The first drive system can be configured to move the first moveable wall at a first predetermined speed such that the first plurality of livestock enter the first enclosure as offspring, are reared in the first enclosure, and are directed through the first enclosure exit into the passageway approximately when the first plurality of livestock has reached slaughter weight. Similarly, the second drive system can be configured to move the second moveable wall at a second predetermined speed such that the second plurality of livestock enter the second enclosure as offspring, are reared in the second enclosure, and are directed through the second enclosure exit into the passageway approximately when the second plurality of livestock has reached slaughter weight.

The method can include providing a sizing wall. The sizing wall can be configured to permit livestock of a first size to pass through an opening of the sizing wall and prevent livestock of a second size to pass through the opening of the sizing wall. The sizing wall can be configured to be adjusted between a first position and a second position to adjust the opening of the sizing wall.

The method can include proving a sizing passageway. The sizing wall can be configured to permit the livestock of the first size to pass through the opening of the sizing wall from the separate pens into the sizing passageway and prevent the livestock of the second size to pass through the opening of the sizing wall from the separate pens into the sizing passageway.

Additional features, functionalities, and applications of the disclosed technology are discussed herein in more detail.

