Patent Application
20230413787
The invention relates to a rearing system for keeping farm animals, in particular poultry animals. The invention further relates to a farm animal shed, a use, as well as a method.
Rearing systems of the type described at the beginning are known from the prior art. They are used, for example, for keeping laying hens for the purpose of egg production and often have grid floors which are designed, for example, as wire floors, and are coarsely meshed and often inclined. Due to the inclination of the grid floor, system eggs roll off so that they can be collected by hand. Such rearing systems are often located in an at least partially closed shed building so that the poultry animals have no or only limited contact with natural sunlight. In this context, it has been observed that the meat quality or the shells of the eggs produced from poultry animals can experience quality degradation due to the lack of sunlight exposure.
Against this background, it was the object of the invention to further develop a rearing system of the type mentioned above in such a manner that the disadvantages found in the prior art are eliminated as far as possible. In particular, a rearing system was to be proposed which has a positive influence on the health of the poultry animals as well as the meat quality and the quality of the eggshells of the eggs produced.
According to the invention, the object is achieved with a rearing system of the type mentioned at the beginning in that the rearing system has at least one light source for illuminating the bodies of the farm animals with light, wherein the at least one light source is designed as a UV-B light source which is configured to emit UV-B light onto the animal body.
The invention is based on the finding that by arranging a UV-B light source in the rearing system, which specifically illuminates the animal bodies with UV-B light, a production of vitamin D in the animal bodies can be stimulated. As a result, the quality of the meat as well as the texture of the egg shell can be improved. Surprisingly, it has also been shown that illumination with UV-B light can further reduce the probability of occurrence of sternum damage in poultry animals. Thus, illuminating the animals with UV-B light has a positive effect on animal welfare and animal health. Preferably, the light source is arranged in the rearing system in such a manner that the UV-B light is emitted to sparsely covered portions of the animal body, for example to the skin or legs of the poultry animals, which are referred to as shanks.
According to one embodiment, the UV-B light source emits light in a wavelength range of 280 nanometers to 315 nanometers. UV-B light of the aforementioned wavelength has been shown to be particularly suitable for stimulating vitamin D production in the animal body. According to one embodiment, the UV-B light source emits light exclusively in the mentioned wavelength range. According to an alternative embodiment, the UV-B light source emits light in a broader spectrum, but also in the UV-B range. According to one embodiment, the rearing system has multiple light sources which are designed as UV-B light sources.
According to one embodiment, the rearing system has at least one floor, in particular a grid floor, for accommodating the poultry animals, wherein at least one UV-B light source is configured to irradiate the poultry animals kept on the floor in the region of the shanks of the poultry animals. This can be done in particular by a targeted arrangement of the UV-B light source in a region adjacent to or directed towards the shank region of the poultry animals. In this manner, the UV light can penetrate the skin at parts of the poultry body with little hair or feathers and, to this extent, stimulate vitamin D production in the animal body.
According to one embodiment, the rearing system has a foot rail, wherein at least one UV-B light source is arranged on the foot rail. The poultry animals often come to a halt on the foot rail in the rearing system. Thus, it is also known in which region the shanks of the animals are typically positioned, so that this region can be illuminated in a targeted manner.
According to one embodiment, the rearing system has an air duct which extends in particular below the floor and wherein at least one UV-B light source is arranged on the air duct and is configured to emit light through openings in the floor in the direction of the poultry animals. In this manner, it can be achieved that an UV-B light source arranged in such a manner is protected from contamination and, at the same time, UV-B light is emitted to an underside of the animal body, in particular the region of the shanks.
According to one embodiment, the rearing system has a separating grid for separating living areas, wherein at least one UV-B light source is arranged on the separating grid. The separating grid has proven to be another particularly suitable installation option for the UV-B light source since the positioning of the UV-B light source on the separating grid also allows targeted irradiation of the desired animal body areas.
According to one embodiment, the rearing system comprises a feed trough, wherein at least one UV-B light source is arranged on the feed trough. The UV-B light source can be designed, for example, as a light strip and emit light, in particular downwards. By such an arrangement of the UV-B light source, in particular the shank region of the animals can be irradiated with UV light, which in turn is advantageous for stimulating a vitamin D production in the animal body.
According to one embodiment, the rearing system comprises a perch in which a cavity is formed in which at least one UV-B light source is arranged, wherein the perch is formed from a material that is at least partially permeable to UV-B light, in particular from a transparent material. The UV-B light source can be designed, for example, as a light tube. Due to the arrangement of the light source in the perch, the shanks of the animals on the perch are illuminated with UV-B light in a particularly targeted manner. Preferably, the perch is made of plastics. According to one embodiment, the perch provided with a UV-B light source is arranged outside the rearing system.
According to one embodiment, at least one UV-B light source is arranged on an outer face of the rearing system, wherein the light source is configured to emit UV-B light in the direction of an adjacent rearing system. In this manner, the UV-B light can be emitted over a large area to an adjacent rearing system and thus rearing systems which themselves do not have a UV-B light source, or animal living areas between adjacent rearing systems, can also be illuminated with the UV-B light in question.
According to one embodiment, the rearing system has a group cage or an aviary or is designed as a group cage or an aviary. Such group cage housing or aviary housing has proved particularly suitable for egg laying of poultry animals.
The invention has been described above with reference to a rearing system. In another aspect, the invention relates to a farm animal shed for keeping farm animals, in particular poultry animals. The invention achieves the object described at the beginning with reference to the farm animal shed in that the farm animal shed comprises a rearing system according to at least one of the above exemplary embodiments. The farm animal shed makes use of the same advantages and preferred embodiments as the rearing system according to the invention and vice versa. In this regard, reference is made to the embodiments above and the contents thereof are hereby incorporated. In particular, the use of a rearing system according to the invention for a farm animal shed of closed construction has been shown to stimulate vitamin D production in the animal body despite the lack of or limited exposure to sunlight.
In another aspect, the invention relates to the use of a rearing system according to at least one of the above examples of keeping farm animals, in particular poultry animals, in a farm animal shed, preferably in a farm animal shed according to the above exemplary embodiment. The use also makes use of the same advantages and preferred embodiments as the rearing system according to the invention, the animal farm shed according to the invention and vice versa. In this regard, reference is made to the embodiments above and the contents thereof are hereby incorporated.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a method for illuminating farm animals, in particular poultry animals, by means of a rearing system according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the steps of: Illuminating the farm animals with UV-B light, in particular in the region of the shanks of the farm animals, wherein the illumination is carried out continuously or discontinuously. The method also makes use of the same advantages and preferred embodiments as the rearing system according to the invention, the animal farm shed according to the invention and the use according to the invention. In this regard, reference is made to the embodiments above and the contents thereof are hereby incorporated. By providing continuous or discontinuous lighting to farm animals, overall animal welfare can be improved. Since some farm animal species can perceive UV light optically, it can be effective, depending on the application, to carry out the illumination with UV-B light not permanently, i.e. continuously, but discontinuously, for example during individual defined periods or, for example, exclusively during the day or the like. In this manner, it can be ensured that the behavior of the farm animals does not change or changes only slightly as a result of the illumination with UV-B light.
Further features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the appended claims and the following description, in which exemplary embodiments are explained in detail with reference to schematic drawings.
In the Figures:
In the exemplary embodiment shown in
Moreover, the rearing system 2 includes perches 24. A cavity 26 is formed in each of the perches 24. At least one UV-B light source 6 is arranged in the cavity 26. The UV-B light source 6 can be formed, for example, as a light strip. The perch 24 is formed from a material that is at least partially permeable to UV-B light, in particular from a transparent material, so that the UV-B light can be emitted from the cavity 26 of the perch 24 in the direction of the poultry animals. The rearing system 2 further comprises an outer face 28. At least one UV-B light source 6 is arranged on the outer face 28 of the rearing system 2, which is in particular configured to emit UV-B light in the direction of an adjacent rearing system 30. In this manner, an adjacent rearing system 30 which does not have any UV-B light sources 6 can also be illuminated with UV-B light. The rearing system 2 further comprises a sheet metal perch 32. At least one UV-B light source 6 is arranged at the sheet metal perch 32 so that a targeted illumination of the shanks of the farm animals is also made possible here. In the exemplary embodiment shown in
Furthermore, the rearing system 2 shown in
The embodiment shown in
