Abstract: A drive mechanism for an air circulating system for a battery of poultry cages for housing poultry, with the air circulating system including air ventilator flaps pivotally suspended in chambers. The drive mechanism includes traction members driven in a reciprocating fashion, with the traction members including compression springs surrounding the respective traction members.

Abstract: The apparatus travels along a multi-tier arrangement of poultry cages, each tier comprising two rows of cages, the cages in these two rows adjoining back-to-back. The apparatus has transversely spaced, depending side units travelling along the cage-fronts and each including a feed container and a lift conveyor lifting feed from the container up to levels associated with the different tiers. At each such level a respective outflow chute on each side unit receives feed, continuously, from the lift conveyor and discharges the same into a feed trough that extends horizontally along the cage-fronts at the respective long side of the multi-tier cage arrangement, so that during dispensing-apparatus travel each longitudinally successive portion of the feed trough receives feed directly from the travelling outflow chute's discharge end. Each chute has an internal feed-flow passage formed by an inclined bottom wall, down along which the feed slides, as well as side walls and a top wall.