An apparatus, systems, and methods of providing enrichment to poultry during raising or maintaining of the poultry. One or more light sources project beams to generate laser spots at and around the poultry. A control regimen moves the light spots relative the poultry in generally random fashion during timed sessions for each given time period (e.g. each day). The spot movement is designed to promote benefits to poultry and producer in correlation to experimental data related to animal welfare, health, and commercial value.

An apparatus, systems, and methods of providing enrichment to poultry during raising or maintaining of the poultry. One or more light sources project beams to generate laser spots at and around the poultry. A control regimen moves the light spots relative the poultry in generally random fashion during timed sessions for each given time period (e.g. each day). The spot movement is designed to promote benefits to poultry and producer in correlation to experimental data related to animal welfare, health, and commercial value.

The disclosed technology includes systems and methods for continuously supplying livestock to a processing plant. The disclosed technology can include an enclosure configured to house livestock. The enclosure can include an enclosure entrance, an enclosure exit, and moveable walls to partition the enclosure into separate pens and automatically direct the livestock from the enclosure entrance toward the enclosure exit. A passageway can be connected to the enclosure exit and include moveable walls to automatically direct the livestock from the enclosure exit toward a processing plant. The moveable walls can be configured to move at a predetermined speed such that the plurality of livestock enter the enclosure as offspring, are reared in the enclosure, and are directed through the enclosure exit into the passageway approximately when the plurality of livestock have reached slaughter weight.

A penning system including partitions and barriers movable from a deployed configuration, in which the partitions partition an area over a floor into spaces and in which the barriers enclose the spaces to define pens for penning animals, to a collapsed configuration, wherein the partitions and barriers are collapsed for cleaning the floor.

A system for urging a farm animal including a connecting lane between a holding pen and a milking parlor. The connecting lane includes a sweep for urging the farm animal along the connecting lane. The sweep includes a movable body configured to move along the connecting lane and a sweep arm connected with the movable body. The sweep arm being configured to raise and/or lower with respect to the movable body.

A hollow polymer stall divider for use in a barn permits lateral flexing when a cow presses against the stall divider while the stall divider asserts a lateral force against the cow to urge the cow to move into a proper position between adjacent stall dividers without causing injury to the cow. The polymer stall divider can be formed of a single polymer material having a unitary density throughout. Alternatively, the polymer stall divider can be formed of multiple sections of different densities of polymer material, and different types of polymer material. The different sections of polymer material can be plastic welded together or connected by plug members inserted into the adjoining ends of the sections and secured with adhesives or other bonding material to form line blanks that can be heated until softened sufficiently to be bent into a proper shape within a pre-formed mold.

An apparatus, systems, and methods of providing enrichment to poultry during raising or maintaining of the poultry. One or more light sources project beams to generate laser spots at and around the poultry. A control regimen moves the light spots relative the poultry in generally random fashion during timed sessions for each given time period (e.g. each day). The spot movement is designed to promote benefits to poultry and producer in correlation to experimental data related to animal welfare, health, and commercial value.

A demountable alley stop for preventing livestock from backing up in process alleys, includes a deflectable triangular arm component hingedly engaged with an alley stop framework wherein the resting position of the triangular arm component extends into the process alley. The triangular arm component comprises a rearward-facing deflection arm component engaged at its distal end to the distal end of a forward-facing backstop arm component. The proximal ends of the deflection arm component and the backstop arm component are engaged with a bracing arm component. The juncture of the deflection arm component and the backstop arm component is provided with a resilient pliable hose for contacting process alley side rails when the triangular arm component is deflected out of the process alley. The alley stop framework is provided with a resilient hose to stop the bracing arm component when the triangular arm component returns to its resting position.

An apparatus for assisting the forward movement of animals in a livestock alleyway includes a pivot structure, an actuator and an arm assembly. The pivot structure is rotatably mounted to the alleyway. The actuator connects between the alleyway and the pivot structure for rotating the pivot structure between first and second positions. The arm assembly is pivotably mounted to the pivot structure for rotation between a first extended position and a second retracted position. The arm assembly is biased toward the first extended position and is able to extend and retract in a telescoping fashion. The pivot structure and the arm assembly are arranged for positioning above livestock animals in the alleyway and yet also for pivoting from such a retracted position to a position for urging the forward movement of a livestock animal without interfering with an animal that may be positioned under the apparatus.

Apparatus for training horses includes a housing including a lower section under an upper section, the lower section configured with a stall for confining a horse and having opposed sides, and the upper section including a tank for loose granular material and configured with a hopper proximate to each of the sides, the hoppers concurrently openable for releasing the loose granular material into the lower section from above the stall along the respective sides for sufficiently filling the stall with the loose granular material for covering at least a portion of the horse.