Abstract: An extraction fan has a housing mounted in a wall with an outlet duct extending through the wall to an outlet opening outside the wall. A damper flap is mounted on the fan suspended by a hinge at an upper edge so as to extend in a closed position across the opening and is movable to an open position under forward air flow from the fan, and tightly closes against a resilient deformable seal when the fan is shut off. A spring biasing cam applies inwards force to the damper flap to bias the damper flap into the closed position, and an outwards force also to bias the damper flap into the fully open position. The mounting plate includes a hood having a top wall extending over the top of the damper flap and a down-turned front flange extending parallel to the damper flap to a bottom edge.

Abstract: The number of piglets dying at birth is reduced by providing a temperature sensor in a farrowing crate at the piglet area thereof on a movable cover so that, when the sow is expected to give birth, the sensor is located in the crate at a location to detect the presence of one or more piglets after birth. On detection by a control unit using the sensor signal of the one or more piglets, the sensor communicates a signal to a pager carried by an operator indicating to the operator that birth of piglets is in progress and activates a heating lamp for the piglets in the pen to attract them away from the area of the sow to reduce crushing. The control unit and the sensor also control the heat output. The cover can slide along the piglet area and can lift to expose the piglet area.

Abstract: An extraction fan has a housing mounted in a wall with an outlet duct extending through the wall to an outlet opening outside the wall. A damper flap is mounted on the fan suspended by a hinge at an upper edge so as to extend in a closed position across the opening and is movable to an open position under forward air flow from the fan, and tightly closes against a resilient deformable seal when the fan is shut off. A spring biasing cam applies inwards force to the damper flap to bias the damper flap into the closed position, and an outwards force also to bias the damper flap into the fully open position. The mounting plate includes a hood having a top wall extending over the top of the damper flap and a down-turned front flange extending parallel to the damper flap to a bottom edge.

Abstract: The number of piglets dying at birth is reduced by providing a temperature sensor in a farrowing crate at the piglet area thereof on a movable cover so that, when the sow is expected to give birth, the sensor is located in the crate at a location to detect the presence of one or more piglets after birth. On detection by a control unit using the sensor signal of the one or more piglets, the sensor communicates a signal to a pager carried by an operator indicating to the operator that birth of piglets is in progress and activates a heating lamp for the piglets in the pen to attract them away from the area of the sow to reduce crushing. The control unit and the sensor also control the heat output. The cover can slide along the piglet area and can lift to expose the piglet area.

Abstract: An extraction fan has a housing mounted in a wall with an outlet duct extending through the wall to an outlet opening outside the wall. A damper flap is mounted on the fan suspended by a hinge at an upper edge so as to extend in a closed position across the opening and is movable to an open position under forward air flow from the fan, and tightly closes against a resilient deformable seal when the fan is shut off. A spring biasing cam applies inwards force to the damper flap to bias the damper flap into the closed position, and an outwards force also to bias the damper flap into the fully open position. The mounting plate includes a hood having a top wall extending over the top of the damper flap and a down-turned front flange extending parallel to the damper flap to a bottom edge.

Abstract: An extraction fan has a housing mounted in a wall with an outlet duct extending through the wall to an outlet opening outside the wall. A damper flap is mounted on the fan suspended by a hinge at an upper edge so as to extend in a closed position across the opening and is movable to an open position under forward air flow from the fan, and tightly closes against a resilient deformable seal when the fan is shut off. A spring biasing cam applies inwards force to the damper flap to bias the damper flap into the closed position, and an outwards force also to bias the damper flap into the fully open position. The mounting plate includes a hood having a top wall extending over the top of the damper flap and a down-turned front flange extending parallel to the damper flap to a bottom edge.

Abstract: An extraction fan has a housing mounted in a wall with an outlet duct extending through the wall to an outlet opening outside the wall. A damper flap is mounted on the fan suspended by a hinge at an upper edge so as to extend in a closed position across the opening and is movable to an open position under forward air flow from the fan, and tightly closes against a resilient deformable seal when the fan is shut off. A spring biasing cam applies inwards force to the damper flap to bias the damper flap into the closed position, and an outwards force also to bias the damper flap into the fully open position. The mounting plate includes a hood having a top wall extending over the top of the damper flap and a down-turned front flange extending parallel to the damper flap to a bottom edge.

Abstract: An extraction fan has a housing mounted in a wall with an outlet duct extending through the wall to an outlet opening outside the wall. A damper flap is mounted on the fan suspended by a hinge at an upper edge so as to extend in a closed position across the opening and is movable to an open position under forward air flow from the fan, and tightly closes against a resilient deformable seal when the fan is shut off. A spring biasing cam applies inwards force to the damper flap to bias the damper flap into the closed position, and an outwards force also to bias the damper flap into the fully open position. The mounting plate includes a hood having a top wall extending over the top of the damper flap and a down-turned front flange extending parallel to the damper flap to a bottom edge.

Abstract: An extraction fan has a housing mounted in a wall with an outlet duct extending through the wall to an outlet opening outside the wall. A damper flap is mounted on the fan suspended by a hinge at an upper edge so as to extend in a closed position across the opening and is movable to an open position under forward air flow from the fan, and tightly closes against a resilient deformable seal when the fan is shut off. A spring biasing cam applies inwards force to the damper flap to bias the damper flap into the closed position, and an outwards force also to bias the damper flap into the fully open position. The mounting plate includes a hood having a top wall extending over the top of the damper flap and a down-turned front flange extending parallel to the damper flap to a bottom edge.

Abstract: An animal barn includes air inlets which are filtered to extract pathogens and a plurality of extraction fans for generating an air stream so as to draw replacement air into the containment area through the air inlets. Each fan has a housing mounted in a wall with an outlet duct extending through the wall to an outlet opening outside the wall. A damper flap is mounted on the fan suspended by a hinge at an upper edge so as to extend in a closed position across the opening in a mounting plate. The damper flap is movable to an open position under forward air flow from the fan and closes against a resilient deformable seal to seal the damper flap to prevent reverse flow of pathogen contaminated air through the fan housing when the fan is shut off. An adjustable abutment member can act to hold the flap partly open against opposing wind forces during low fan operation.

Abstract: The number of piglets dying at birth is reduced by providing a temperature sensor in a farrowing crate at the piglet area thereof on a movable cover so that, when the sow is expected to give birth, the sensor is located in the crate at a location to detect the presence of one or more piglets after birth. On detection by a control unit using the sensor signal of the one or more piglets, the sensor communicates a signal to a pager carried by an operator indicating to the operator that birth of piglets is in progress and activates a heating lamp for the piglets in the pen to attract them away from the area of the sow to reduce crushing. The control unit and the sensor also control the heat output. The cover can slide along the piglet area and can lift to expose the piglet area.

Abstract: The number of piglets dying at birth is reduced by providing a temperature sensor in a farrowing crate at the piglet area thereof on a movable cover so that, when the sow is expected to give birth, the sensor is located in the crate at a location to detect the presence of one or more piglets after birth. On detection by a control unit using the sensor signal of the one or more piglets, the sensor communicates a signal to a pager carried by an operator indicating to the operator that birth of piglets is in progress and activates a heating lamp for the piglets in the pen to attract them away from the area of the sow to reduce crushing. The control unit and the sensor also control the heat output. The cover can slide along the piglet area and can lift to expose the piglet area.

Abstract: The number of piglets dying at birth is reduced by providing a temperature sensor in a farrowing crate at the piglet area thereof on a movable cover so that, when the sow is expected to give birth, the sensor is located in the crate at a location to detect the presence of one or more piglets after birth. On detection by a control unit using the sensor signal of the one or more piglets, the sensor communicates a signal to a pager carried by an operator indicating to the operator that birth of piglets is in progress and activates a heating lamp for the piglets in the pen to attract them away from the area of the sow to reduce crushing. The control unit and the sensor also control the heat output. The cover can slide along the piglet area and can lift to expose the piglet area.

Abstract: A transportation cart primarily for transporting deceased animals through the alleyways of a barn has a swivelling mast and boom mounted on the front section of a frame driven by powered wheels with a slide panel attached to the mast below the boom over which the object can slide as it is pulled by actuating a winch to be carried. A coupling is provided between the front frame section and a rear frame section with castor wheels for providing side to side movement of the rear frame section relative to the front frame section transverse to a longitudinal center line to provide ballast when the lifting is to one side and to provide manoeuvrability. The boom has an inner end mounted on the mast for pivotal movement about a transverse axis such that an outer end of the boom can be raised and lowered and the slide panel is movable from its inclined slide position below the boom to a raised stored position attached to an underside of the boom.

Abstract: A transportation cart primarily for transporting deceased animals through the alleyways of a barn has a swivelling mast and boom mounted on the front section of a frame driven by powered wheels with a slide panel attached to the mast below the boom over which the object can slide as it is pulled by actuating a winch to be carried. A coupling is provided between the front frame section and a rear frame section with castor wheels for providing side to side movement of the rear frame section relative to the front frame section transverse to a longitudinal center line to provide ballast when the lifting is to one side and to provide manoeuvrability. The boom has an inner end mounted on the mast for pivotal movement about a transverse axis such that an outer end of the boom can be raised and lowered and the slide panel is movable from its inclined slide position below the boom to a raised stored position attached to an underside of the boom.

Abstract: A boar cart for carrying a boar through alleyways of a sow insemination area for interaction with the sows during insemination is formed by a cage for containing the boar which includes a cage floor on which the boar stands, two sides each defined by vertical bars on a respective side of a longitudinal center line of the cage assembly for confining the boar so that the boar is maintained extending longitudinally of the cage, a cage front and a cage rear. The cage may be rigid or may be defined by a front portion and a rear portion connected together for pivotal articulated movement about a pivot coupling defining a vertical pivot axis arranged substantially at the center line such that the cage can articulate to the left and to the right for navigating left and right corners in the alleyways while the boar is retained in the cage.

Abstract: A boar cart for carrying a boar through alleyways of a sow insemination area for interaction with the sows during insemination is formed by a cage for containing the boar which includes a cage floor on which the boar stands, two sides each defined by vertical bars on a respective side of a longitudinal center line of the cage assembly for confining the boar so that the boar is maintained extending longitudinally of the cage, a cage front and a cage rear. The cage may be rigid or may be defined by a front portion and a rear portion connected together for pivotal articulated movement about a pivot coupling defining a vertical pivot axis arranged substantially at the center line such that the cage can articulate to the left and to the right for navigating left and right corners in the alleyways while the boar is retained in the cage.

Abstract: There is provided a moveable cart for use in transporting an animal, as a male hog, past one or more rows of cages containing sows to permit the determination of estrus in the sows and also to increase the success rate during artificial insemination by permitting snout to snout contact between the sow and male hog, the cart having a base with wheels mounted thereon, at least one wall extending upwardly from the base, and at least one panel for blocking visual access in at least one direction between the interior and exterior of the cart and at least one opening in the wall sized to permit the head of an animal to least partially extend therethrough.

Abstract: There is provided a moveable cart for use in transporting an animal, as a male hog, past one or more rows of cages containing sows to permit the determination of estrus in the sows and also to increase the success rate during artificial insemination by permitting snout to snout contact between the sow and male hog, the cart having a base with wheels mounted thereon, at least one wall extending upwardly from the base, and at least one panel for blocking visual access in at least one direction between the interior and exterior of the cart and at least one opening in the wall sized to permit the head of an animal to least partially extend therethrough.

Abstract: There is provided a moveable cart for use in transporting a male hog past one or more rows of cages containing sows to permit the determination of estrus in the sows and also to increase the success rate during artificial insemination by permitting snout to snout contact between the sow and male hog, the cart having a base with wheels mounted thereon, at least one wall extending upwardly from the base, and at least one panel for blocking visual access in at least one direction between the interior and exterior of the cart and at least one opening in the wall sized to permit the snout of the male hog to at least partially extend therethrough.