An automatic pet feeder includes a food container, a feeder body, and a bottom shell in sequence from top to bottom. A food-container bottom shell in communication with the food container is arranged at a bottom of the food container, and a bottom of the food-container bottom shell is a food supply passage having a gradually narrowing opening. A food releasing assembly is arranged on a side of the food supply passage, and a sliding passage for reciprocating movement of the food releasing assembly is arranged on a sidewall of the food-container bottom shell. A feeder main shell is arranged below the food supply passage, and a food exit assembly is arranged inside the feeder main shell. The food exit assembly includes a food pushing member matching with a food outlet and configured to move in a reciprocating manner below the food supply passage.

Features are described for a pellet dispenser. The pellet dispenser be implemented as a complex molded unit to fit within the home cage of laboratory animals (e.g., hanging from a wall of the cage or inside a food hopper of the cage). The pellet dispenser may be contained within the cage or otherwise attached to the cage so as not to take up additional floor space in the cage which should be allocated for the small laboratory animal. The pellets may be gravity or screw drive fed towards an ejector port. At prescribed times during the day, a prescribed number of pellets may be ejected into the animal cage. Additional components of the pellet dispenser include an ejector (e.g., a linear actuator) and pellet hopper.

A control system dispenses an optimal amount of feed so that it is substantially evenly distributed along the length of the bunker in a feed lot. The control system can include a feedback loop. The control system controls a dispenser, such as an auger or a door actuator to dispense feed. A method for controlling is also discussed. The method can be formed as an instruction set that causes a processor to implement the method.

The invention relates to a feed dispenser for horses which comprises a main housing (1), having a loading opening (2) and a discharge opening (3), and an actuation element (7) for a horse, wherein an endless screw (4) rotatable in a drive direction about its longitudinal axis is provided in the main housing (1) and is drive-connected via a driver (5), which runs freely counter to the drive direction, to the actuation element, which is movable counter to the force of a return spring (6) between an idle position and an actuation position. In order to design a feed dispenser of the described kind so that chunky animal feed can be used, regardless of its shape or size, without having to be pre-processed in advance, it is proposed that the endless screw (4) has a peripheral screw blade (20) forming cutting faces (19) for comminuting chunky material, and/or that the main housing (1) has an auxiliary cutter.

A feeding station for farm animals (45), as in particular for pigs, provided with a first reservoir (3) for a first animal food component, a first conveyor pipe (15) connected to the first reservoir (3), with a first conveyor screw (17) extending internally of the first conveyor pipe (15), and a mouthpiece (7) for reception in the mouth of an animal (45). A first end of the first conveyor screw (17) is coupled adjacent to the first reservoir (3) to a rotatable first drive (21) and a second end of the first conveyor screw (17) ends shortly before the mouthpiece (7). The feeding station (1) is further provided with at least a second reservoir (5) for a second animal food component, a second conveyor pipe (16) connected to the second reservoir with a second conveyor screw (19) extending internally of the second conveyor pipe (16). A first end of the second conveyor screw (19) is coupled adjacent to the second reservoir (5) to a second drive (23) which is rotatable independently of the first drive (21). The second conveyor pipe (16) is joined together with the first conveyor pipe (15) adjacent to a second end of the second conveyor screw (19). The first and second drives (21, 23) are operable by a control unit (33) in accordance with a desired mixing ratio of the first and second animal food components.

A feeding station for at least one animal, said feeding station comprising: at least one supply hopper having a food product; a food dispensing unit having means for dispensing controlled portions of said food product; a weigh hopper for receiving said food product from said food dispensing unit; a hemi-circular disc-shaped feeding platform for receiving said food product from said weigh hopper; a hemi-frustoconical sweeping member rotatable on a top surface of said hemi-circular disc-shaped feeding platform to remove unconsumed food product off said feeding platform after a feeding event.

An animal interaction device is provided that includes a food access component which allows and disallows access to at least a portion of the food. In various embodiments, the allowing and disallowing of access to at least a portion of the food is dependent upon the animal's condition. A method is also provided such that the device above is provided to an animal, one or more indicators are optionally activated, the animal's first condition is sensed via one or more sensors, and based upon the animal's condition, the previously protected food is made accessible, and subsequently the protected food is made available again based upon the animal's second condition. A system is also provided for automatically interacting with an animal including at least one animal interaction device each of which comprises an initial interaction algorithm to automatically interact with the animal. Other aspects of the invention are provided.

A device, system, and method for autonomously feeding livestock animals includes receiving signals from RFID tag readers, determining animals associated with the signals are eligible for feeding, causing a motor to rotate an auger for dispensing an output feed amount, and updating a feed history of the animal. The animals are determined to be eligible for feeding based on a feed history associated with the RFID tag and a feed schedule or a feed routine.

Disclosed is a drop feed line device for automatically controlling flow of feed through a feed drop. The drop feed line device includes a drop body with an electrical box and a feed tube, as well as two planar circuit boards within respective sleeves removably positioned on opposite sides of the feed tube and in electrical communication with electronic components within the electrical box. In certain embodiments, the planar circuit boards include infrared emitters and receivers to electrically communicate across an interior channel of the feed tube. The electronic components are configured to transmit a signal to cease operation of an auger motor filling a drop feed line upon determining that all of the emitters cease to communicate with all of the receivers. The drop feed line device is cost effective and serviceable through the use of easily removable planar circuit boards, among other features and components.

An automatic pet feeder includes a base, a feed auger, a food container connected to the base, and a food dish connected to the base. The feed auger is disposed for rotating movement within the base. The base is configured to receive food from the food container through an opening and delivery food to the food dish using the feed auger.