Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
8.2.3 F
EED
AND
W
ATER
D
ISTRIBUTION
S
YSTEMS
In-house feed distribution systems have largely been automated in commercial
swine and poultry operations, but remain a manually managed operation for most
cattle (Tillie, 1999). Swine and meat poultry feed distribution systems are practi-
cally identical in operation, and differ only in the design of the feed access through
and distribution auger placement. Feed is drawn from on-site feed bins external to
the building (Figure 8.1). Both swine and meat poultry systems use flexible auger
lines with discharge ports spaced evenly down the length of the line that fill feed
troughs/pans (Figure 8.2). These systems are automated through incorporation of
sensors integrated into the filling tube, usually either a paddle-type flow switch or
optical sensor, to operate the auger motor. Laying hen feeding systems use a moving
chain to distribute feed through long continuous troughs, and these are mechanized
by using timer circuitry.
Feed distribution for feeder and dairy cattle is best described as mechanized
rather than automated, as it requires human operators to complete feed delivery
operations. Feed is distributed by trucks with on-board mixing equipment or tractors
pulling a mixer with side discharge augers, and forage is discharged into feed bunks
or onto the floor next to the cattle (Figure 8.3) with rate and quantify delivered con-
trolled by the driver. However, the record-keeping portion of feed management has
been automated with vehicle-mounted or handheld computing devices. Dairy calves
have traditionally been fed milk replacer by hand, but automated feeding stations are
gaining in popularity for ease of use and labor reduction. These systems also allow
for feeding throughout the day and monitoring of consumption rate and frequency
(Jensen and Budde, 2006; Svensson and Liberg, 2006).
FIGURE 8.1
Onsite feed storage. (Courtesy of Purswell.)
