Poultry cage staging and filling method and apparatus

• US 20020072317A1
• Filed: 08/16/2001
• Published: 06/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bright Coop, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Bright Coop, Inc.
• Inventors: Livingston, Bernard, Holladay, John
• Granted Patent: US 6,612,918 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 452/53
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 45/005 Harvesting or transport of poultry

Abstract

This invention is a system and involved components for staging a series of multi-compartmented, multi-tier poultry cages for loading by a poultry loader that moves transversely to the direction of a plurality of side-by-side poultry receiving and batching bins each containing a floor that is a conveyor belt. The bin conveyor belts are parallel with each other and are longitudinally arranged for individual discharge of batches of poultry onto a conveyor belt of the poultry loader. The loader in turn is longitudinally arranged for individual alignment with both the bin conveyor belts and individual front opening compartments of an empty poultry cage frontally presented to the loader by a cage stager. The loader receives a batch of poultry from a bin and discharges the batch as a group at high loading speed into individual compartments, repeating the process for each bin and each compartment on a tier. The bins and loader as a unit shift to another tier and repeat the loading operation on that tier, then adjusts elevation to another tier, and so on, until all tiers are filled. The stager removes the filed cage, relocates it to another position where it frontally faces in the same direction in which as an empty cage it was placed on the stager, for removal by a fork lift, while in the meantime another cage has been placed on the stager and moved into position for filling, in a continuing process, until all poultry are loaded.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

(a) a plurality of bins longitudinally arranged side by side for receiving poultry,

(b) means for each of said bins for longitudinally removing poultry from one of the bins while not removing poultry from the others of the bins,

(c) means transversely alignable with any of said poultry removal means for said bins for directly longitudinally receiving removed poultry from one of said removing means and longitudinally discharging said removed poultry at a high loading speed into an open compartment of a transversely facing front-doored compartment of a multi-compartmented poultry cage.

2. Apparatus for batching and loading poultry into the front door openings of a front-doored, multi-compartmented cage, comprising:

a support,

a plurality of poultry receiving bins carried by said support, each having a longitudinally arranged independently operable conveyor belt floor having a poultry receiving end and poultry discharging end, said bins being arranged side by side such that their conveyor belts are substantially parallel,

poultry receiving bin conveyor belt drivers for driving each of said poultry receiving bin conveyor belts independently and intermittently,

a poultry loader comprising;

a longitudinally arranged conveyor belt floor with a poultry discharging end, and

a carriage supporting said conveyor belt, said carriage being carried by said support and being moveable transversely to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belts of said poultry receiving bins for longitudinal alignment of the loader conveyor belt with the individual conveyor belts of said poultry receiving bins, and

a poultry loader conveyor driver for driving said poultry loading conveyor belt.

3. The poultry batcher of claim 2 wherein said poultry loader conveyor driver drives said poultry loading conveyor belt at a high loading speed.

4. The poultry batcher of claim 3 in which said poultry loader conveyor driver drives said poultry loading conveyor belt at a belt speed of at least about 100 feet per minute per pound of poultry.

5. The poultry batcher of claim 3 in which said poultry loader conveyor driver drives said poultry loading conveyor belt at a belt speed of from about 500 to about 1400 feet per minute.

6. The poultry batcher of claim 3 in which said poultry receiving bin conveyor belts are driven at a belt speed of about 200 to about 450 feet per minute.

7. The poultry batcher of claim 2 further comprising a weight measurer operatively associated with said poultry receiving bins for measuring the weight of poultry received in one or more of said bins.

8. The poultry batcher of claim 7 further comprising a reporter for reporting the weight measured by said weight measurer.

9. The poultry batcher of claim 2 in which said poultry receiving bin is enclosed at the sides and top except atop the conveyor belt floor at the poultry receiving end, with a rear wall adjacent the poultry receiving end and a moveable gate adjacent the poultry discharging end.

10. The poultry batcher of claim 2 in which said poultry loader is enclosed at the sides and top and the poultry loader top tapers towards the discharge end of the loader to a dimension not greater than the vertical dimension of said front door openings.

11. The poultry batcher of claim 2 further comprising a switch for each poultry receiving bin for enabling the driver for the conveyor belt of that bin when the conveyor belt of the poultry batcher is center aligned with the conveyor belt of that bin.

12. The poultry batcher of claim 2 in which said support further comprises:

a fixed first support base having a rear end and a front end and inclined from the rear end to the front end at a selected minor acute angle from horizontal,

a moveable second support base, said second support base supporting said poultry receiving bins and said poultry loader, and

a lift assembly connected to said first and second support bases for lifting or lowering said second support base relative to said first support base such that the angle of the second support base is maintained at the angle of the first support base throughout the course of lifting or lowering.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

(f) after said poultry are discharged in operation (e) into said compartment, repeating operations (b)-(d) with respect to another of said bins containing poultry, and

(g) rotating said loader conveyor belt to discharge said poultry received on said poultry loader conveyor belt floor at a high loading speed into a compartment of said cage different from said facing compartment loaded in operation (e), through a door opening of the different compartment.

16. The method of claim 15 in which the poultry loading conveyor belt is rotated at a belt speed of at least about 100 feet per minute per pound of poultry.

17. The method of claim 16 in which said poultry loader conveyor belt is operated at a belt speed of from about 500 to about 1400 feet per minute.

18. The method of claim 17 in which the bin conveyor belts are rotated at a speed from about 200 to about 450 feet per minute.

19. The method of claim 15 in which said operations (f)-(g) are repeated until all cage compartments in a tier of the cage are loaded with poultry.

20. The method of claim 15 in which said cage is multi-tiered, and further comprising:

(h) adjusting the elevation of the bins and the poultry loading conveyor belt to match the elevation of a tier of the cage containing one or more empty compartments, and

(i) repeating operations (a)-(e) and if necessary also operations (f) and (g) until all empty cage compartments in such empty compartment tier are loaded with poultry.

21. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

(j) lifting poultry from the floor of a chicken house and placing the lifted poultry into one of said bins while determining the amount of poultry placed into such bin,

(k) ceasing placement of poultry into such bin when a predetermined amount of poultry is placed in such bin, and

(l) repeating operations (j) and (k) for any empty bins among said plurality of bins.

13. A method for loading poultry, comprising:

(a) longitudinally removing poultry from one of a plurality of longitudinal bins arranged side by side for receiving poultry while not removing poultry from the others of the bins,

(b) directly longitudinally receiving said removed poultry on a longitudinal belt conveyor and longitudinally discharging said removed poultry at a high loading speed into an open compartment of a transversely facing front-doored compartment of a multi-compartmented poultry cage,

(c) repeating operations (a) and (b) sequentially with respect to the others of said bins.

14. A method of loading a front-doored compartment multi-compartmented poultry cage, comprising:

(a) receiving poultry in a plurality of bins, each bin having a longitudinal independently operable conveyor belt floor having a poultry receiving end and a poultry discharging end, said bins being arranged side by side such that their conveyor belts are substantially parallel,

(b) moving transversely to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belts of said bins a poultry loading conveyor belt floor longitudinally arranged in the same said direction, said poultry loading conveyor belt floor having a poultry discharging end, and positioning said poultry loading conveyor belt floor in longitudinal alignment with the conveyor belt floor of a said bin containing poultry,

(c) rotating said bin conveyor belt, with which said poultry loading conveyor belt is longitudinally aligned, in the direction of the discharge end of such bin conveyor belt while maintaining stationary the conveyor belts of the other of said bins, to selectively discharge the poultry in such bin with which said poultry loading conveyor belt is longitudinally aligned, and

(d) receiving said discharged poultry on said poultry loader conveyor belt floor that is in longitudinal alignment with said bin from which the poultry are discharged, and

(e) rotating said loader conveyor belt in the direction of the discharge end of such loader conveyor belt at a high loading speed to discharge said poultry received on said poultry loader conveyor.

22. A method for catching and loading poultry, comprising:

(a) collecting and lifting poultry from the floor of a poultry house,

(b) placing the lifted poultry into a plurality of bins,

(c) longitudinally removing poultry in one of said bins while not removing poultry from the others of the bins, and

(d) receiving said removed poultry directly from said removing means and longitudinally discharging said removed poultry at a high loading speed into an open compartment of a transversely facing front-doored compartment of a multi-compartmented poultry cage.

(e) repeating operations (c) and (d) sequentially with respect to the others of said bins.

26. The method of claim 25 in which said selected direction of the cage doors is facing away from said centerline, and wherein said cage is first moved directly from said place of origin to said place of destination, thence to said place of filling, and thence to said place of destination, rotating the cage for the first quarter turn between the place of destination and the place of filling, and rotating the cage for the second quarter turn between the place of filling and the place of destination.

27. The method of claim 25 in which said selected direction of the cage doors is facing towards said centerline, and wherein said cage is first moved directly from said place of origin to said place of filling, thence to said place of destination, rotating the cage for the first quarter turn between the place of origin and the place of filling, and rotating the cage for the second quarter turn between the place of filling and the place of destination.

23. A poultry catcher and loader, comprising:

(a) means for collecting and lifting poultry from the floor of a poultry house,

(b) means for placing the lifted poultry into a plurality of longitudinal bins arranged side by side,

(c) means for each of said bins for longitudinally removing poultry from one of the bins while not removing poultry from the others of the bins,

(d) means transversely alignable with any of said poultry removal means for said bins for directly longitudinally receiving removed poultry from one of said removing means and longitudinally discharging said removed poultry at a high loading speed into an open compartment of a transversely facing front-doored compartment of a multi-compartmented poultry cage.

24. A stager for staging front-doored multi-compartment, multi-tiered cages having fork tubes along length of the cage, for frontal filling of the cages, comprising:

(a) a platform having

a front,

a rear,

two sides each longer than the rear,

a centerline,

a place of origin at a first rear portion of the platform to one side of the centerline, for receipt of a first cage placed with the cage fork tubes longitudinal to the sides of the platform and the cage doors facing a selected first direction towards or away from the centerline,

a place of destination at a second rear portion of the stager on the other side of the centerline,

a place of cage filling at the front of the platform between the said sides, and

(b) means for moving said first cage on the platform from the place of origin finally to the place of destination with the doors of the cage remaining facing the same selected direction upon final arrival of said first cage at said place of destination, and between departure from said place of origin and arrival at said place of destination, for rotating said first cage substantially two discrete quarter turns such that at said place of filling, said cage doors face the front of the platform and after leaving said place of filling and upon reaching said place of destination, said cage doors face said selected direction.

25. A method of staging front-doored multi-compartment, multi-tiered cages having fork tubes along length of the cage, for frontal filling of the cages, comprising:

on a platform having

a front,

a rear,

two sides each longer than the rear,

a centerline,

a place of origin at a first rear portion of the stager to one side of the centerline,

a place of destination at a second rear portion of the stager on the other side of the centerline, and

a place of cage filling at a front portion of the platform between the said sides,

placing a first said cage at said place of origin with the cage fork tubes longitudinal to the sides of the platform and the cage doors facing a selected first direction toward or away from the centerline,

moving said first cage on the platform from the place of origin finally to the place of destination with the doors of the cage remaining facing the same selected direction upon arrival of said first cage at said place of destination, and

between departure from said place of origin and arrival at said place of destination, rotating said first cage in substantially two discrete quarter turns such that at said place of filling, said cage doors face the front of the platform and after leaving said place of filling and before reaching said place of destination, said cage doors face said selected direction.

28. A method of staging front-doored multi-compartment, multi-tiered cages having fork tubes along length of the cage, for frontal filling of the cages, comprising:

on a platform having

a front,

a rear,

two sides each longer than the rear,

a centerline,

a place of origin at a first rear portion of the stager to one side of the centerline,

a place of destination at a second rear portion of the stager on the other side of the centerline, and

a place of cage filling at a front portion of the platform between the said sides,

placing a first said cage at said place of origin with the cage fork tubes longitudinal to the sides of the platform and the cage doors facing a away from the centerline,

moving said first cage on the platform from the place of origin to the place of destination and thence to the place of filling, rotating said cage substantially a quarter turn after leaving said place of destination and by the time of arrival at the place of filling, such that at said place of filling, said cage doors face the front of the platform, and

moving said first cage on the platform from the place of filling to the place of destination rotating said cage substantially a quarter turn such that on arrival at said place of destination, said cage doors face the same selected direction as when placed on said place of origin.

29. A method of staging front-doored multi-compartment, multi-tiered cages having fork tubes along length of the cage, for frontal filling of the cages, comprising:

on a platform having

a front,

a rear,

two sides each longer than the rear,

a centerline,

a place of origin at a first rear portion of the stager to one side of the centerline,

a place of destination at a second rear portion of the stager on the other side of the centerline, and

a place of cage filling at a front portion of the platform between the said sides,

placing a first said cage at said place of origin with the cage fork tubes longitudinal to the sides of the platform and the cage doors facing towards said centerline,

moving said first cage on the platform from the place of origin to the place of filling rotating said cage substantially a quarter turn such that at said place of filling, said cage doors face the front of the platform, and

moving said first cage on the platform from the place of filling to the place of destination rotating said cage substantially a quarter turn such that on arrival at said place of destination, said cage doors face the same direction as when placed on said place of origin.

30. A cage platform for staging a front-doored compartment multi-compartmented poultry cage having fork tubes extending along the front and back of the cage at the base of the cage transverse to the direction of front door opening, said platform comprising:

a frame having a longitudinal centerline and longitudinally connected front and rear ends, said frame mounting transversely to said longitudinal centerline at least two wheel axles carrying wheels supporting the frame above ground level,

a supporting surface mounted on said frame,

a tray horizontally pivotally mounted to one side of said frame centerline in a front portion of said frame and supported on said surface, said tray having a front end and a rear end and opposing sides and being pivotable from a home position in which the sides of the tray are transverse to the frame centerline, to an away position in which the sides of the tray are substantially parallel with the frame centerline,

a first cage mover supported by said frame in a rear portion of said frame on the same side of the centerline where said tray is in said away position, said first cage mover having a first engager for engaging a said poultry cage placed on said rear portion with said cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to said longitudinal centerline of said frame and said cage doors facing said centerline, and having a first force transmission drive for moving said engaged cage so aligned toward the front end of the frame and onto said tray in said away position,

a pivot member adjacent said frame centerline between the front and rear ends of such frame, and

a second cage mover on said frame on the side of said centerline opposite said first cage mover, said second cage mover having a second engager for engaging said cage on said tray when said tray is in said home position and having a second force transmission drive carrying said second engager for moving said engaged cage towards a rear portion of the frame on said opposite side of the centerline, in so doing turning the front end of the tray towards the away position to align said cage with its fork tubes substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame when said cage is at said rear portion of the frame on said opposite side, and with the cage doors facing away from said centerline.

31. The cage platform of claim 30 further comprising:

an elevator attached to said frame adjacent the front end of the frame and elevatable above said support surface,

said sides of said tray being an in-side and an out-side, said in-side being closer to said frame centerline than the out-side when the tray is in the away position, said in-side having an opening through which said elevator can elevate above said tray when the tray is in the home position, said out-side comprising an upstanding retainer member.

32. A chassis system for staging a front-doored compartment multi-compartmented poultry cage having fork tubes extending along the front and back of the cage at the base of the cage transverse to the direction of front door opening, comprising:

a leading chassis including

a leading chassis frame having a longitudinal centerline and longitudinally connected front and rear ends, said leading chassis frame mounting transversely to said longitudinal centerline at least one wheel axle carrying wheels supporting the leading chassis frame above ground level,

aligning and connecting members at the rear of the leading chassis frame for aligning and connecting the leading chassis to a trailing chassis,

a rear platform on the rear of said leading chassis frame rear,

a tray horizontally pivotally mounted and supported on said rear platform on one side of centerline, said tray having a front end and a rear end and opposing side and being pivotable from a home position in which the sides of the tray are transverse to the longitudinal centerline of the leading chassis frame, to an away position in which the sides of the tray are substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the leading chassis frame,

said trailing chassis including;

a trailing chassis frame having a longitudinal centerline and longitudinally connected front and rear ends, the front end having mating members for said aligning and connecting members for connecting the trailing chassis in longitudinal alignment with said leading chassis, said trailing chassis frame transversely mounting at least one axle for carrying wheels, the wheels supporting the trailing chassis frame above ground level substantially at the same elevation as the level of the leading chassis,

a supporting surface mounted on said trailing chassis frame,

a first cage mover supported by said trailing chassis frame in a rear portion of said trailing chassis on the same side of the trailing chassis centerline where said tray on said leading chassis is in said away position, said first cage mover having a first engager for engaging a said poultry cage placed on said rear portion of said trailing chassis with said cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to said trailing chassis centerline and said cage doors facing said centerline, and having a first force transmission movement carrying said first engager for moving said engaged cage so aligned toward the front end of the trailing chassis and onto said tray in said away position, and

a second cage mover on said trailing chassis on the side of said trailing chassis centerline opposite said first cage mover, said second cage mover having an second cage engager for engaging said cage on said tray when said tray is in said home position and a second force transmission movement carrying said second engager for moving said engaged cage towards a rear portion of the trailing chassis frame on said opposite side of the centerline, in so doing turning the front of the tray towards the away position to align said cage with its fork tubes substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said trailing chassis when said cage is at said rear portion of the trailing chassis frame on said opposite side, and with the doors facing away from said centerline.

33. The chassis system of claim 32 further comprising:

an elevator attached to said leading chassis frame adjacent the front end of such frame and elevatable above said rear platform,

said sides of said tray being an in-side and an out-side, said in-side being closer to said leading chassis centerline than the out-side when the tray is in the away position, said in-side having an opening through which said elevator can elevate above said tray when the tray is in the home position, said out-side comprising an upstanding retainer member.

34. The chassis system of claim 32 in which said first force transmission drive comprises one or more flexible members of a loop carried on rotating supports for travel in a forward direction toward the front of said trailing chassis above said surface and for travel in a reverse direction toward the rear of said trailing chassis under said surface.

35. The chassis system of claim 34 in which said flexible members of a loop comprise a pair of chains.

36. The chassis system of claim 35 in which said engager is a pair of projections carried by each of the chains at the same points along the length of the chains of height adapted to press against the base of a said poultry cage placed on said rear portion of said trailing chassis with said cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to said trailing chassis centerline when said projections are above said surface.

37. The chassis system of claim 34 in which said first transmission drive comprises:

first spaced chain sprocket wheel pairs on a first sprocket wheel axle affixed to said trailing chassis frame transverse to said centerline,

second spaced chain sprocket wheel pairs on a second sprocket wheel axle affixed to said trailing chassis frame transverse to said centerline, said second sprocket wheel axle being spaced from said first sprocket wheel axle,

a motive driver connected to at least one of said first and second sprocket wheel axles for turning at least one of said sprocket wheel pairs, and

a pair of chains carried on said first and second sprocket wheel pairs parallel to said centerline of said trailing chassis frame with an upper run of the chains above said supporting surface,

and wherein said engager is a pair of projections carried by each of the chains at the same points along the length of the chains of height adapted to press against the base of a said poultry cage placed on said rear portion of said trailing chassis with said cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to said trailing chassis centerline when said projections are above said surface.

38. The chassis system of claim 32 in which said second force transmission drive comprises a flexible member of a loop carried on rotating supports for travel in a forward direction toward the front of said trailing chassis above said surface and for travel in a reverse direction toward the rear of said trailing chassis under said surface.

39. The chassis system of claim 38 in which said flexible member of a loop comprises a chain.

40. The chassis system of claim 39 in which said engager is a projection carried by said chain and adapted to press against a base of said poultry cage when said projection is above said surface.

41. The chassis system of claim 38 in which said second force transmission drive comprises:

third and fourth sprocket wheels on third and fourth spaced sprocket wheel axles, and a chain carried on such third and fourth sprocket wheels with an upper run of the chain proximate the surface of said supporting surface, said third sprocket wheel axle being adjacent said trailing chassis frame rear end and said fourth sprocket wheel axle being adjacent said trailing chassis frame front end, said third sprocket wheel axle being closer to said trailing chassis frame centerline than said fourth sprocket wheel axle,

and wherein said second engager is a projection carried by said chain adapted to press against a base of a said poultry cage when such projection is above said surface.

42. A method of staging a front-doored compartment multi-compartmented poultry cage having fork tubes extending along the front and back of the cage at the base of the cage transverse to the direction of front door opening, comprising:

(a) placing a first said cage on one side of a longitudinal frame centerline in a rear portion of a support surface fixed on a frame having longitudinally connected front and rear ends, with said cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame and said cage doors facing the centerline,

(b) engaging said first cage placed on said rear portion and moving said engaged cage so aligned toward the front end of the frame and onto a tray in an away position of the tray, said tray being horizontally pivotally mounted on the same said one side of said centerline in a front portion of said frame and supported on said surface, said tray having a front end and a rear end and opposing sides and being pivotable from a home position in which the sides of the tray are transverse to the frame centerline, to said away position in which the sides of the tray are substantially parallel with the frame centerline,

(c) moving said tray to said home position where the cage doors face the front of the frame,

(d) engaging said first cage on said tray in said home position and moving said engaged cage in the direction of the rear of the frame on the opposite side of the centerline from said one side, in so doing turning the front of the tray towards the away position to align said cage with its fork tubes substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame when said cage is at said rear portion of the frame on said opposite side, and with the doors facing away from said centerline, and

(e) removing said first cage from said support surface.

43. The method of claim 42 further comprising, after operation (b) with respect to said first cage, placing a second said cage on said one side of the longitudinal frame centerline in said rear portion, with said second cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame and said doors of said second cage facing the centerline, and after commencing operation (d) with respect to said first cage, performing operations (b)-(d) on said second cage.

44. A poultry loader system for loading a series of front-doored multi-compartmented poultry cages, comprising:

(a) a plurality of poultry receiving bins arranged side by side,

(b) means structurally associated with said bins for longitudinally removing poultry in one of said bins while not removing poultry from the others of the bins,

(c) means longitudinally arranged relative to said removing means for receiving said removed poultry directly from said removing means and longitudinally discharging said removed poultry into an open compartment of a transversely facing front-doored compartment of said poultry cage,

(d) means for staging a series of empty said poultry cages on a platform having a front end and a longitudinal centerline, such that the cage doors face in a selected direction towards or away from said centerline when an empty cage is on a rear portion of the platform on one side of said centerline, face the front end of the platform transversely to the centerline at a front portion of the platform for loading with poultry, and face in the same selected direction towards or away from said centerline at a rear portion of the platform on a side of the centerline opposite from said one side for removal of a loaded cage from said platform.

48. The method of claim 47 further comprising, after operation (c) and before operation (e), raising the front of the cage to incline the cage upwardly from the cage rear to the cage front at a predetermined minor acute angle, and after completion of operation (k), lowering the front of the cage to horizontal.

49. The method of claim 45 in which said poultry loading conveyor belt is rotated at a high loading speed.

50. The method of claim 46 in which said poultry loading conveyor belt is rotated at a high loading speed.

51. The method of claim 47 in which said poultry loading conveyor belt is rotated at a high loading speed.

52. The method of claim 49 in which the poultry loading conveyor belt is rotated at a belt speed of at least about 100 feet per minute per poultry.

53. The method of claim 49 in which said poultry loader conveyor belt is operated at a belt speed of from about 500 to about 1400 feet per minute.

54. The method of claim 49 in which the bin conveyor belts are rotated at a speed from about 200 to about 450 feet per minute.

58. The system of claim 52 further comprising a switch for each poultry receiving bin for switching on the driver for the conveyor belt of that bin when the conveyor belt of the poultry batcher is center aligned with the conveyor belt of that bin.

59. The system of claim 52 in which said first force transmission drive comprises one or more flexible members of a loop carried on rotating supports for travel in a forward direction toward the front of said trailing chassis above said surface and for travel in a reverse direction toward the rear of said trailing chassis under said surface.

62. The chassis system of claim 52 in which said second force transmission drive comprises a flexible member of a loop carried on rotating supports for travel in a forward direction toward the front of said trailing chassis above said surface and for travel in a reverse direction toward the rear of said trailing chassis under said surface.

63. The chassis system of claim 62 in which said flexible member of a loop comprises a chain.

64. The chassis system of claim 63 in which said engager is a projection carried by said chain and adapted to press against a base of said poultry cage when said projection is above said surface.

45. A method of loading poultry in a series of front-doored multi-compartmented poultry cages, comprising:

(a) placing a first of a series of empty said poultry cages on a platform having a front end and a longitudinal centerline, initially such that the cage is on one side of the centerline with the cage doors facing said centerline, then

(b) moving the cage to a front portion of the platform transversely to the centerline with the doors facing the front of the platform,

(c) longitudinally delivering poultry directly and serially into open compartments of said transversely front door facing poultry cage,

(d) after the cage is loaded with poultry, moving the loaded cage on said platform to the opposite side of the centerline from where the empty cage was initially placed so that the doors of the cage face away from the centerline,

(e) removing the first cage from the platform,

(f) at anytime after operation (b), placing a second of said series of empty poultry cages on said platform, such that the second cage is on said one side of the centerline with the cage doors facing said centerline, and then

(g) repeating steps (b)-(e) with respect to said second cage.

46. A method of loading poultry in a series of front-doored multi-compartmented poultry cages, comprising:

(a) placing a first of a series of empty said poultry cages on a platform having a front end and a longitudinal centerline, initially such that the cage is on one side of the centerline with the cage doors facing away from said centerline, thence

(b) moving the cage on said platform to the opposite side of the centerline from where the empty cage was initially placed so that the doors of the cage face away from the centerline, thence

(c) moving the cage to a front portion of the platform rotating the cage a quarter turn such that the cage is transverse to the centerline and the doors face the front of the platform,

(d) longitudinally delivering poultry directly and serially into open compartments of said facing poultry cage,

(e) after the cage is loaded with poultry, moving the loaded cage on said platform to said opposite side of the centerline rotating the cage a quarter turn such that the doors of the cage face towards the centerline,

(f) removing the first cage from the platform,

(g) at anytime after operation (b), placing a second of said series of empty poultry cages on said platform, such that the second cage is on said one side of the centerline with the cage doors facing said away from said centerline, and then

(h) repeating steps (b)-(e) with respect to said second cage.

47. A method of loading poultry into a series of front-doored multi-compartmented multi-tier poultry cages having fork tubes extending along the front and back of the cage at the base of the cage transverse to the direction of front door opening, comprising:

(a) placing a first said cage on one side of a longitudinal frame centerline in a rear portion of a support surface fixed on a frame having longitudinally connected front and rear ends, with said cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame and said cage doors facing the centerline,

(b) engaging said first cage placed on said rear portion and moving said engaged cage so aligned toward the front end of the frame and onto a tray in an away position of the tray, said tray being horizontally pivotally mounted on the same said one side of said centerline in a front portion of said frame and supported on said surface, said tray having a front end and a rear end and opposing sides and being pivotable from a home position in which the sides of the tray are transverse to the frame centerline, to said away position in which the sides of the tray are substantially parallel with the frame centerline,

(c) moving said tray to said home position where the cage doors face the front of the frame,

(d) without regard to operations (a)-(c);

(1) receiving poultry in a plurality of bins, each bin having a longitudinal independently operable conveyor belt floor having a poultry receiving end and a poultry discharging end, said bins being arranged side by side such that their conveyor belts are substantially parallel,

(2) moving transversely to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belts of said bins a poultry loading conveyor belt floor longitudinally arranged in the same said direction, said poultry loading conveyor belt floor having a poultry discharging end, and positioning said poultry loading conveyor belt floor in longitudinal alignment with the conveyor belt floor of a said bin containing poultry,

(3) rotating said bin conveyor belt, with which said poultry loading conveyor belt is longitudinally aligned, in the direction of the discharge end of such bin conveyor belt while maintaining stationary the conveyor belts of the other of said bins, to selectively discharge the poultry in such bin with which said poultry loading conveyor belt is longitudinally aligned,

(4) receiving said discharged poultry on said poultry loader conveyor belt floor that is in longitudinal alignment with said bin from which the poultry are discharged,

(e) with operations (a)-(c) and (d)(1)-(d)(4) completed and with the door of a cage compartment facing the discharge end of the loading conveyor opened, rotating said loader conveyor belt in the direction of the discharge end of such loader conveyor belt to discharge said poultry received on said poultry loader conveyor belt floor into said facing compartment of said first cage,

(f) closing the door of said facing compartment,

(g) after said poultry are discharged in operation (e) into said compartment, moving said poultry loading conveyor belt floor transversely to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belts of said bins and positioning said poultry loading conveyor belt floor in longitudinal alignment with the conveyor belt floor of another of said bin containing poultry, and repeating operations (d)(3)-(d)(4) and operation (e) with respect to said another bin containing poultry,

(h) repeating operation (g) until all compartments in a tier are loaded with poultry,

(i) adjusting the elevation of the bins and the poultry loading conveyor belt to match the elevation of a tier of the cage containing one or more empty compartments,

(j) repeating operations (a)-(f) and if necessary also operations (g) and (h) until all empty cage compartments in such empty compartment tier are loaded with poultry,

(k) after completion of operation (j), repeating operations (i) and (j) until all tiers of the cage are loaded with poultry,

(l) with said first cage loaded with poultry, engaging said first cage on said tray in said home position and moving said engaged cage in the direction of the rear of the frame on the opposite side of the centerline from said one side, in so doing turning the front of the tray towards the away to align said cage with its fork tubes substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame when said cage is at said rear portion of the frame on said opposite side, and with the doors facing away from said centerline,

(m) removing said first cage from said support surface, and

(n) after operation (b) with respect to said first cage, placing a second said cage on said one side of the longitudinal frame centerline in said rear portion, with said second cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame and said doors of said second cage facing the centerline, and after commencing operation (l) with respect to said first cage, performing operations (b)-(m) on said second cage.

55. A system for loading poultry into a series of front-doored multi-compartmented multi-tier poultry cages having fork tubes extending along the front and back of the cage at the base of the cage transverse to the direction of front door opening, comprising

a laterally pivotable and longitudinally extendible sweeper boom having longitudinally separated front and rear ends, and including poultry gathering heads at said front end for gathering poultry from the floor of a poultry house and an extendable conveyor for lifting poultry received from the gathering heads to the rear end of the boom, said extendable conveyor being enclosed with side walls and a top,

a vertically and laterally moveable transferring conveyor for receiving poultry from the rear end of the extendable conveyor of the sweeper boom,

a tractor pivotingly mounting said sweeper boom and supporting said discharging conveyor and having a hitch post,

a leading chassis including:

a leading chassis frame having a longitudinal centerline and longitudinally connected front and rear ends, said leading chassis frame mounting transversely to said longitudinal centerline at least one wheel axle carrying wheels supporting the leading chassis frame above ground level,

aligning and connecting members at the rear of the leading chassis frame for aligning and connecting the leading chassis to a trailing chassis,

a rear platform on the rear of said leading chassis frame rear,

a tray horizontally pivotally mounted and supported on said rear platform on one side of centerline, said tray having a front end and a rear end and opposing side and being pivotable from a home position in which the sides of the tray are transverse to the centerline of the leading chassis frame, to an away position in which the sides of the tray are longitudinal to the centerline of the leading chassis frame,

an elevator attached to said leading chassis frame adjacent the front end of such frame and elevatable above said rear platform,

said sides of said tray being an in-side and an out-side, said in-side being closer to said leading chassis centerline than the out-side when the tray is in the away position, said in-side having an opening through which said elevator can elevate above said tray when the tray is in the home position, said out-side comprising an upstanding retainer member,

a first subframe with connected front and rear ends mounted on said leading chassis frame between said leading chassis frame front end and said platform at an angle inclining the front end of the first subframe above said leading chassis frame at selected angle to the leading chassis frame,

a second subframe,

a lift assembly connected to said first and second subframes for lifting or lowering said second subframe relative to said first subframe such the angle of the second subframe is leading chassis maintained at the angle of the first subframe throughout the course of lifting or lowering,

a poultry batcher comprising;

a plurality of poultry receiving bins carried by said second subframe, each having a longitudinal independently operable conveyor belt floor having a poultry receiving end for receipt of poultry from said transferring conveyor and a poultry discharging end, said bins being arranged side by side such that their conveyor belts are substantially parallel,

poultry receiving bin conveyor belt drivers for driving each of said poultry receiving bin conveyor belts independently and intermittently,

a poultry loader comprising;

a longitudinally arranged conveyor belt floor with a poultry discharging end, and

a carriage supporting said conveyor belt, said carriage being carried by said support and being moveable transversely to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belts of said poultry receiving bins for longitudinal alignment of the loader conveyor belt with the individual conveyor belts of said poultry receiving bins, and

a poultry loader conveyor driver for driving said poultry loading conveyor belt,

said trailing chassis comprising;

a trailing chassis frame having a longitudinal centerline and longitudinally connected front and rear ends, the front end having mating members for said aligning and connecting members for connecting the trailing chassis in longitudinal alignment with said leading chassis, said trailing chassis frame transversely mounting at least one axle for carrying wheels, the wheels supporting the trailing chassis frame above ground level substantially at the same elevation as the level of the leading chassis,

a supporting surface mounted on said trailing chassis frame,

a first cage mover supported by said trailing chassis frame in a rear portion of said trailing chassis on the same side of the trailing chassis centerline where said tray on said leading chassis is in said away position, said first cage mover having a first engager for engaging a said poultry cage placed on said rear portion of said trailing chassis with said cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to said trailing chassis centerline and said cage doors facing said centerline, and having a first force transmission movement carrying said first engager for moving said engaged cage so aligned toward the front end of the trailing chassis and onto said tray in said away position, and

a second cage mover on said trailing chassis on the side of said trailing chassis centerline opposite said first cage mover, said second cage mover having an second cage engager for engaging said cage on said tray when said tray is in said home position and a second force transmission movement carrying said second engager for moving said engaged cage towards a rear portion of the trailing chassis frame on said opposite side of the centerline, in so doing turning the front of the tray towards the away position to align said cage with its fork tubes substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said trailing chassis when said cage is at said rear portion of the trailing chassis frame on said opposite side, and with the doors facing away from said centerline.

56. The system of claim 55 further comprising a weight measurer operatively associated with said poultry receiving bins for measuring the weight of poultry received in one or more of said bins.

57. The system of claim 56 further comprising a reporter for reporting the weight measured by said weight measurer.

60. The system of claim 59 in which said flexible members of a loop comprise a pair of chains.

61. The chassis system of claim 60 in which said engager is a pair of projections carried by each of the chains at the same points along the length of the chains of height adapted to press against the base of a said poultry cage placed on said rear portion of said trailing chassis with said cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to said trailing chassis centerline when said projections are above said surface.

65. A method of picking up poultry from the floor of a poultry house and loading the poultry into a series of front-doored multi-compartmented multi-tier poultry cages having fork tubes extending along the front and back of the cage at the base of the cage transverse to the direction of front door opening, comprising

(a) capturing poultry on the floor of the poultry house with gathering heads at the front end of a laterally pivotable and longitudinally extendible sweeper boom having longitudinally separated front and rear ends and an extendable conveyor,

(b) lifting poultry received on said extendible conveyor from the gathering heads to the rear end of the boom,

(c) receiving said lifted poultry on a vertically and laterally pivotable transferring conveyor,

(d) placing a first said cage on one side of a longitudinal frame centerline in a rear portion of a support surface on a frame having longitudinally connected front and rear ends, with said cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame and said cage doors facing the centerline,

(e) engaging said first cage placed on said rear portion and moving said engaged cage so aligned toward the front end of the frame and onto a tray in an away position of the tray, said tray being horizontally pivotally mounted on the same said one side of said centerline in a front portion of said frame and supported on said surface, said tray having a front end and a rear end and opposing sides and being pivotable from a home position in which the sides of the tray are transverse to the frame centerline, to said away position in which the sides of the tray are substantially parallel with the frame centerline,

(f) moving said tray to said home position where the cage doors face the front of the frame,

(g) without regard to operations (d)-(f),

(1) receiving poultry in a plurality of bins, each bin having a longitudinal independently operable conveyor belt floor having a poultry receiving end and a poultry discharging end, said bins being arranged side by side such that their conveyor belts are substantially parallel,

(2) moving transversely to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belts of said bins a poultry loading conveyor belt floor longitudinally arranged in the same said direction, said poultry loading conveyor belt floor having a poultry discharging end, and positioning said poultry loading conveyor belt floor in longitudinal alignment with the conveyor belt floor of a said bin containing poultry,

(3) rotating said bin conveyor belt, with which said poultry loading conveyor belt is longitudinally aligned, in the direction of the discharge end of such bin conveyor belt while maintaining stationary the conveyor belts of the other of said bins, to selectively discharge the poultry in such bin with which said poultry loading conveyor belt is longitudinally aligned,

(4) receiving said discharged poultry on said poultry loader conveyor belt floor that is in longitudinal alignment with said bin from which the poultry are discharged,

(h) with operations ((d)-(f) and (g)(1)-(4) completed and with the door of a cage compartment facing the discharge end of the loading conveyor opened, rotating said loader conveyor belt in the direction of the discharge end of such loader conveyor belt at a high loading speed to discharge said poultry received on said poultry loader conveyor belt floor into said facing compartment of said first cage,

(i) closing the door of said facing compartment,

(j) after said poultry are discharged in operation (h) into said compartment, moving said poultry loading conveyor belt floor transversely to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belts of said bins and positioning said poultry loading conveyor belt floor in longitudinal alignment with the conveyor belt floor of another of said bin containing poultry, and repeating operations (g)(3)-(g)(4) and operation (h) with respect to another of said bins containing poultry,

(k) repeating operation (j) until all compartments in a tier are loaded with poultry,

(l) adjusting the elevation of the bins and the poultry loading conveyor belt to match the elevation of a tier of the cage containing one or more empty compartments,

(m) repeating operations (c)-(f) and if necessary also operations (g) and (h) until all empty cage compartments in such empty compartment tier are loaded with poultry,

(n) after completion of operation (m), repeating operations (l) and (m) until all tiers of the cage are loaded with poultry,

(o) with said first cage loaded with poultry, engaging said first cage on said tray in said home position and moving said engaged cage in the direction of the rear of the frame on the opposite side of the centerline from said one side, in so doing turning the front of the tray towards the away position to align said cage with its fork tubes substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame when said cage is at said rear portion of the frame on said opposite side, and with the doors facing away from said centerline,

(p) removing said first cage from said support surface, and

(q) after operation (e) with respect to said first cage, placing a second said cage on said one side of the longitudinal frame centerline in said rear portion, with said second cage fork tubes longitudinally aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of said frame and said doors of said second cage facing the centerline, and after commencing operation (o) with respect to said first cage, performing operations (e)-(p) on said second cage.

66. The method of claim 65 in which said poultry loading conveyor belt is rotated at a high loading speed.

67. The method of claim 65 in which the poultry loading conveyor belt is rotated at a belt speed of at least about 100 feet per minute per poultry.

68. The method of claim 65 in which said poultry loader conveyor belt is operated at a belt speed of from about 500 to about 1400 feet per minute.

69. The method of claim 659 in which the bin conveyor belts are rotated at a speed from about 200 to about 450 feet per minute.