Abstract: A cart-handler for mobile carts within narrow confines is provided. The cart-handler is constructed from an elongate frame having at least one upright support rail and opposite ends supported on wheels. A pair of stabilizers is connected to the frame with each stabilizer being movable into a retracted position on the frame and into a laterally-extended position in which the stabilizer directly engages an underlying floor surface to aid in supporting the cart-handler on the floor. When the stabilizers are placed in the laterally-extended position, each stabilizer extends outward from a common side of the elongate frame. A cart-lifter is mounted on the support rail of the frame and is movable vertically along the support rail so that the cart-lifter can engage, elevate, and support a separate mobile cart above the underlying floor surface. The cart-handler can be interconnected to a pair of elevated mobile work platforms.

Abstract: A cart-handler for mobile carts within narrow confines is provided. The cart-handler is constructed from an elongate frame having at least one upright support rail and opposite ends supported on wheels. A pair of stabilizers is connected to the frame with each stabilizer being movable into a retracted position on the frame and into a laterally-extended position in which the stabilizer directly engages an underlying floor surface to aid in supporting the cart-handler on the floor. When the stabilizers are placed in the laterally-extended position, each stabilizer extends outward from a common side of the elongate frame. A cart-lifter is mounted on the support rail of the frame and is movable vertically along the support rail so that the cart-lifter can engage, elevate, and support a separate mobile cart above the underlying floor surface. The cart-handler can be interconnected to a pair of elevated mobile work platforms.

Abstract: A self-propelled vehicle is provided for use in transporting poultry loaded in a wheeled multi-tier cage from a first location to a second location, such as through the tight confines of a poultry house. The apparatus has a gripper assembly for releasably laterally engaging and disengaging one end of the cage above its fixed wheels and a lifter assembly disposed below the gripper assembly for selectively raising and lowering the cage adjacent its fixed wheels. The apparatus also has self-propelled drive wheels enabling linear and pivotal translation of the apparatus and cage along a support surface, such as the floor of the poultry house. Accordingly, the cage can be coupled to the apparatus and decoupled therefrom for efficient transportation of live poultry within a poultry house. A method of moving live poultry within a poultry house is also provided.

Abstract: An easily transportable poultry or animal cart is constructed of a plurality of individual cages, each cage equipped with a horizontally bifolding door at one end and a horizontally sliding door along an adjacent side. The cages may be either permanently joined during construction or temporarily joined if a smaller cart or greater versatility is desired. The cart is wheeled for mobility. The carts may be constructed as "mirror images," so that two carts may be joined together with their respective bifold doors at opposite ends of the assembly, and their respective sliding doors along a common side.