US2898884A - Poultry blood testing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Aug. '11, 1959 B. K. MESSERSMITH POULTRY BLOOD TESTING EQUIPMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 13, 1958 FIG.

-INVENTOR 7 Benjamin K. Messersm/fh ATTORNEY Aug. 11, 1959 B. K. MESS ERSMITH 2,898,884

POULTRY BLOOD TESTING EQUIPMENT Filed Jan. 13, 1958 FIG. 2

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Benjamin K. Messersm/Yh ATTORNEY United States Patent" 'Ofiice 2,898,884 Patented Aug. 11, 1959 POULTRY BLOOD TESTING EQUIPMENT Benjamin K. Messersmith, Trenton, NJ.

Application January 13, 1958, Serial No. 708,488

3 Claims. (Cl. 119-17) This invention relates to a device for treating poultry, and it particularly relates to a device for temporarily restraining the fowl until the proper blood tests have been completed.

Heretofore, when it was necessary to test poultry for pullorum disease, fowl typhoid, etc., it was the usual practice for the person conducting the test to grasp a fowl, prick one of its veins wtih a knife to draw blood, open the lid of a crate and thrust the fowl into the crate after which the lid had to be closed and the fowl retained in the crate until the blood had been tested. Then the fowl could either be released or isolated. This required a great deal of handling, much waste motion and was, all in all, a highly ineflicient procedure.

In order to perform the job more efficiently and more quickly and easily, various types of fowl holding means have been developed. These holding devices have taken various forms of which the more popular ones constitute a wheel horizontally rotatable on an upstanding post, the wheel having a series of annularly-arranged fastening means for securing the legs of a fowl thereto; a modification of the wheel structure wherein the wheel is replaced by a rotatable, collapsible framework; and an elongated table having means for securing a series of fowl sideby-side thereon. However, all these devices necessitated a complete testing of all the fowl before any could be released, thereby causing a great waste of time between the treatment of each group of fowl. This waste of time was increased by the fact that each fowl had to be separately secured in place before the treatment and then separately released after the treatment. In addition, the struggles of the fowl during fastening or while dangling from the fastening means often caused breaking of legs, wings, etc.

It is one object of the present invention to overcome the above as well as other disadvantages of the prior developments by providing a device which retains the fowl after blood-letting and during the reaction period without hindrance to freedom of movement of the fowl.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a retaining device for fowl which is capable of receiving and retaining the fowl after blood-letting without the necessity for the operator to put down his knife so that he may perform a continuous operation as long as he so desires.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a retaining device for fowl which can eifect a release of some fowl while others are retained pending completion of the reaction period.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a retaining device for fowl which is portable and adjustable so that it may be packed up and moved from one testing area to another in an easy and effective manner, and so that it can be adjusted to suit the physical requirements of the testers.

' Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improved retaining device, of the character described,

that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly eflicient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a top perspective View of an assembled device embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the type clamp used to fasten the front portion of the device in place.

Fig. 5 is an exploded, perspective view of the support post means. 7

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the separator wall.

Fig. 7 is a perspective viewof the type bracket used to secure the test box in place.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a retaining cage, generally designated 10, which comprises a hardwood board 12 of generally elongated, rectangular shape. At each of the four corners of the board 12 is secured a head 14 of iron, steel or thelike. Each head 14 (best shown in Fig. 5) is generally circular in shape except for one straight, cut-off edge 16. The heads 14 are each placed on the undersurface of the board 12, in their respective corners, with the straight edge 16 corresponding with the adjacent edge of the board so that the head 14 does not project beyond the edge of the board. The heads 14 are then secured to the board by bolts, screws, or the like, which pass through holes 18 in the heads. The heads 14 also each have a depending, internally-threaded socket portion 20 to threadedly receive the externally-threaded end portion 22 of a supporting post 24.

At the rear edge of the board 12 is hinged a separator wall 26 of wire mesh. A chain 28 is connected to the front edge of the separator 26 and this chain is adapted to bepulledthrough an opening 30 at the center of the rear edge of the board 12. When the chain 28 is pulled through opening 30 and a link inserted in spread opened ends of cotter pin 32.,the chain is held in a position wherein it has pulled the separator 26 up into surface-tosurface contact with the underside of board 12 and retains the separator 26 in that position.

Also connected to the rear edge of board 12 is a horizontal wire mesh panel 34; this panel 34 being connected to the rear edge of board 12 by hooks 36' which are screwed into the rear edge of board 12 and releasably and hingedly engage the front wire 38 of panel 34. This front wire 38 is of heavy gauge and extends slightly beyond each end of the panel 34. A similar heavy gauge reinforcing wire 40 isprovided at the rear edge of panel 34 and there are reinforcing heavy gauge wires 42 provided at each end of the panel 34 so that the panel 34 is provided with a complete peripheral frame of heavy gauge reinforcing wire.

Connected to the rear and sides of panel 34 is a rear wire mesh panel (not shown) integral with side wire mesh panels 44. The top panel 34 is hinged to the top edge of the rear panel (not shown) and is releasably connected to the side panels 44 by snap fasteners 45 which snap around the end reinforcing wires 42 of the'top panel 34.

The entire assemblyconsisting of top panel 34, the rear panel (not shown) hinged thereto, and the side panels 44 integral with the rear panel and releasably C0111- nected to. the top panel .34, forms a rear enclosure section generally designated 46. This rear enclosure section ,46 is hingedly movable up and away from the ground around the pivots formed by the books 36 extending from the rear edge of board 12.

When the rear enclosure section 46 is in position on the ground, it may be opened by means of a door 48 hinged to the rear wire 40, byhinge rings 50 and covering a corresponding opening in the top panel 34.

The front portion of the cage is formed by a wire -mesh front panel 52 having an outwardly-bowed portion 54 at one end and integral with side portions 56. The side portions 56 Wrap around the corresponding front and rear posts 24 (as best shown in Fig. l) and are secured in position by clips 58 which encompass the rear posts 24 by means of ring portions 60 and hook around and down through the wire mesh structure of the side portions 56 by means of hook portions 62 on the clips 58.

At the front of the cage 10, adjacent that end of front panel 52 which is opposite the bowed portion 54, there is provided a test box 64. The test box is of a common type used to test the blood of the fowl, and contains the usual scalpel, wire loop for lifting blood from the wing of the bird, Antigen, test plates and so forth, and includes a top working surface for supporting the test plates when Antigen is dropped on a blood sample for testing the reaction of the blood, and has therefore been only generally illustrated. If the tested blood sample clumps or coagulates on the test plate, after stirring, a positive reaction is indicated, and the diseased bird should be removed from the cage and segregated from the flock. The test box 64 is mounted for vertical adjustment by means of a post 66 extending up from the ground and a releasable clamp 68 extending from the front of the box 64. The clamp 68 is provided with a pair of bolts 70 held in clamping positions by wing nuts 72. When the nuts 72 are loosened, the clamp 68 is slidably movable vertically along the post 66 and when it reaches the desired position of adjustment, the nuts 72 are tightened to hold it in place. The rear of the box 64 is adjustably connected to a bracket 74 having a curved end 76 provided with a hole 78 through which is hooked a hook 80 extending from the front edge of board 12. The body of the bracket 74 is provided with an elongated vertical slot 82 through which extends a bolt 84 connected to the box 64. The bolt 84 is movable, with the box 64, longitudinally of slot 82 and is retained in adjusted position by tightening of wing nut 86. Consequently, when the box 64 is to be vertically adjusted, the Wing nuts 72 and 86 are loosened, the box is then slid to the desired position and the nuts 72 and 86 are tightened to retain it in this adjusted position with the clamp 68 and post 66 supporting it at one side and with cage 10 and bracket 74 supporting it at the opposite side.

In operation, two men generally use the device, one being the bleeder who wields the knife to cut the fowl, and the other being the tester who receives the blood from the bleeder and tests it in the test box 64. In the actual operation, the bleeder seated on board 12, adjacent the bowed portion 54, grasps a selected fowl by the two wings, lays the bird on his left knee, and with a knife held in his right hand, sticks the proper wing vein. After the tester, seated adjacent the box 64 on board 12, secures a drop of blood, the bleeder drops the bird through the bleeders legsinto the opening 88 at the top of bowed portion '54. When a certain number of birds have been dropped into the cage 10, the chain 28 is released and the separator 26 is dropped into vertical position. This cuts of a number of treated birds in the rear portion of the cage and leaves the front portion of the cage only available to the next few birds dropped through opening 88. Meanwhile, the tester has tested the previously treated birds now in the rear portion of the cage. If there are no reactors in this group, the rear enclosure section 46 is hingedly pulled up and the fowl are permitted to escape from underneath it. If there are any reactors, they are first pulled up through open doorway 48 before the entire rear unit'is pulled up, and these reactors are placed in a separate coop. The separator 26 is then raised to permit the fowl from the front of the cage to enter the rear and the process is repeated. In this manner, an additional number of birds can be pricked and samples of blood taken while the blood of the other birds is undergoing reaction in the box 64 without stopping the entire process to await completion of the tests on the first group of birds. Considerable time is saved in this manner.

When the testing procedure is 'finished, the apparatus can be disinfected, the various clamps, catches, books, etc. released, and the various parts disassembled and collapsed into a compact unit for movement to another testing site.

The device can be adapted for use by either right or left hand workers merely by reversing the position of the front panel 52 so that the bowed portion 54 is at the right hand side, as viewed in Fig. 1, and the box 64 is at the left.

If labor is in short supply, it is possible for one man instead of two to use the device because the opening 88 and box 64 are sufiiciently close to be reached by one man and because it is easy for one man to manipulate the hinged rear portion 46.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

l. A poultry testing device comprising a flat rectangular board having a front edge and a rear edge, posts at the corners of said board supporting the same in spaced relation to a supporting surface, a horizontal wire grid panel hingedly secured to the rear edge of said board, a wire grid rear panel and wire grid side panels depending from said horizontal panel to form a swingable open bottomed enclosure, wire grid side panels extending from the ends of said board, a front end panel including an outwardly bowed end section having an open top secured to the front edge of said board, an openable hinged grid section in said horizontal panel and a swingable partition dependingly supported adjacent the rear edge of said board.

2. A poultry testing device comprising a fiat rectangular board having a front edge and a rear edge, posts at the corners of said board supporting the same in spaced relation to a supporting surface, a horizontal wire grid panel hingedly secured to the rear edge of said board, a wire grid rear panel and wire grid side panels depending from said horizontal panel to form a swingable open bottomed enclosure, wire grid side panels extending from the ends of said board, a front end panel including an outwardly bowed end section having an open top secured to the front edge of said board, an openable hinged grid section in said horizontal panel, a swingable partition dependingly supported adjacent the rear edge of said board, said rear edge of said board having a slot therein, a chain connected to said partition extending through said slot and means on the top of said board for securing said chain to retain said partition in a desired position of adjustment.

3. A poultry testing device comprising a flat rectangular board having a front edge and a rear edge, posts at the corners of said board supporting the same in spaced relation to a supporting surface, a horizontal wire grid panel hingedly secured to the rear edge of said board, a wire grid rear panel and Wire grid side panels depending from said horizontal panel to form a swingable open bottomed enclosure, wire grid side panels extending from the ends of said board, a front end panel including an outwardly bowed end section having an open top secured to the front edge of said board, an openable hinged grid section in said horizontal panel, a swingable partition dependingly supported adjacent the rear edge of said board, said rear edge of said board having a slot therein, a chain connected to said partition extending through said slot, means on the top of said board for securing said chain to retain said partition in a desired position of adjustment, an additional post adjacent said front edge of said board, a receptacle mounted for vertical adjustment on said last mentioned box, hooks on the front edge of said board, and brackets adjustably carried by said receptacle engaging said hooks to retain said receptacle in juxtaposed relation with said board.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Gehret June 21, 1938 Bate Apr. 4, 1944 Smith Nov. 13, 1951 Kniesteadt June 15, 1954 Hobbs Nov. 19, 1957

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