Poultry Support and Protection Device and Method of Supporting and Protecting Poultry

This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119, of copending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/415,452, filed Nov. 22, 2010, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Not Applicable

The present invention relates generally to the protection of poultry, and, more particularly, relates to a device worn by poultry for the support and protection of the poultry's crop and methods for supporting and protecting the poultry.

As used herein, poultry includes chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, turkeys, parrots, and other birds. Several illnesses cause the crop of poultry, in particular, chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, turkeys, and parrots, to become weakened, distended, slow or sour. When one of these symptoms occurs, it is necessary to support the bird's crop. Without crop support, the bird is unable to process food properly and can perish. A common location of pecking of hens by other hens is on their chests. Once blood is drawn, the pecking can escalate, resulting in infection and even death. For example, parrots often self-mutilate, plucking out all feathers from their chest area until the feathers can no longer regrow.

Prior art poultry protection devices do not protect the chest area of the bird or provide support for a weakened crop. See, e.g., U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0043726A1 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,651,595, 5,218,928, and 3,101,696. In particular, they do not cover the upper portion of the chest, which is the area most likely to be pecked and/or over-plucked. Prior art devices are not flexible nor do they provide a custom, comfortable, and adjustable fit when secured to the bird, regardless of the width and weight of the bird.

Thus, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art devices as discussed above.

The invention provides a poultry crop support and protection device and method of protecting a poultry's crop that overcome the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a poultry support and protection device comprising a body portion shaped to cover a crop of poultry. The body portion has a top edge and an opposing bottom edge separated by first and second opposing side edges, the top and bottom edges each define a body portion width, and the first and second side edges each define a body portion length. A first securing strap is attached to the first side edge and a second securing strap is attached to the second side edge. Each of the first and second securing straps extend longitudinally along an entirety of the body portion length and have a strap length greater than the body portion length such that each securing strap extends beyond at least one of the top and bottom edges. The first and second securing straps are operable to be secured releasably at a back of the poultry to attach the device to the poultry such that the body portion substantially covers the crop and to provide a non-constricting and adjustably secure fit.

With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a method of supporting and protecting a poultry's crop, the method comprising attaching the poultry support and protection device to the poultry, by positioning the body portion over at least a portion of the poultry's crop and securing the first and second securing straps at the back of the poultry

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the body portion includes a main body and at least one of an outer panel and an inner liner attached thereto.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the first and second securing straps are operable to be secured at the back of the poultry to define a single point of attachment including one of a bow and a knot.

In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the first and second securing straps are operable to be secured at the back of the poultry in two points of attachment including one of two separate bows, two separate knots, and a bow and a knot.

In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, each of the first and second securing straps includes a two-part couple assembly including a first part on a first portion of each securing strap and a second part on a second portion of each securing strap, the first and second parts being operable to couple the second portion of each strap to the first portion of the opposing strap to secure the first and second securing straps at the back of the poultry in two points of attachment.

In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, the first part of each securing strap includes a body member defining an aperture operable to receive therethrough the second part of the opposing strap, each second part includes a first sub-part and a second sub-part, and each first sub-part is operable to attach to the respective second sub-part of the same strap after being received through the aperture of the first part of the opposing strap to releasably couple the second portion of each strap to the first portion of the opposing strap.

In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the second part includes one of a hook and loop fastener, a snap fastener, and a button and hole fastener.

In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, the body portion and each of the securing straps are comprised of at least one of elastic, lycra, cotton, denim, canvas duck, leather, nylon, fleece, Kevlar, and rubber.

In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, the body portion includes a main body, an outer panel, and an inner liner and each of the securing straps, the main body, and the outer panel are comprised of elastic and the inner liner is comprised of one of fleece and cotton.

In accordance with again another feature of the invention, the first and second securing straps are attached to the body portion by at least one of sewing, an adhesive, a snap fastener, and a hook and loop fastener.

In accordance with again a further feature of the invention, the main body is attached to the at least one of the outer panel and the inner liner by at least one of sewing, an adhesive, a snap fastener, and a hook and loop fastener.

In accordance with again an added mode of the invention, the step of securing the first and second securing straps at the back of the poultry includes tying the first and second securing straps in one of a bow and a knot to define a single point of attachment at the back of the poultry.

In accordance with again an additional mode of the invention, the step of securing the first and second securing straps at the back of the poultry includes tying the first and second securing straps at the back of the poultry to define two points of attachment including one of two separate bows, two separate knots, and a bow and a knot.

In accordance with still another mode of the invention, the step of securing the first and second securing straps at the back of the poultry includes providing a first part of a two-part couple assembly on a first portion of each securing strap, providing a second part of the two-part couple assembly on a second portion of each securing strap, and releasably coupling the second portion of each strap to the first portion of the opposing strap at the back of the poultry.

In accordance with a concomitant mode of the invention, each first part includes a body member defining an aperture and each second part includes a first sub-part and a second sub-part; and which further comprises releasably coupling the second portion of each strap to the first portion of the opposing strap by receiving each first sub-part through the aperture of the first part of the opposing strap and attaching the first sub-part to the second sub-part of the same strap.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a poultry support and protection device and methods of supporting and protecting poultry, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.

Additional advantages and other features characteristic of the present invention will be set forth in the detailed description that follows and may be apparent from the detailed description or may be learned by practice of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Still other advantages of the invention may be realized by any of the instrumentalities, methods, or combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting; but rather, to provide an understandable description of the invention. While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward.

Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.

Relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

As used herein, the term “about” or “approximately” applies to all numeric values, whether or not explicitly indicated. These terms generally refer to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art would consider equivalent to the recited values (i.e., having the same function or result). In many instances these terms may include numbers that are rounded to the nearest significant figure.

Herein various embodiments of the present invention are described. In many of the different embodiments, features are similar. Therefore, to avoid redundancy, repetitive description of these similar features may not be made in some circumstances. It shall be understood, however, that description of a first-appearing feature applies to the later described similar feature and each respective description, therefore, is to be incorporated therein without such repetition.

Described now are exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a first exemplary embodiment of a poultry support and protection device 100 for protecting and supporting a bird's crop, for example, when the bird suffers from crop stasis, slow crop, sour crop, or has a distended or pendulous crop. As will be described below, the poultry support and protection device 100 can be provided in several shapes and sizes and include various combinations of features and components and varying numbers and functions of the components. As shown in FIG. 1, an exemplary poultry support and protection device 100 is shown in a flattened state and is ready to be attached to a bird. The exemplary poultry support and protection device 100 includes a body portion 102 shaped to cover the crop of the bird. The body portion 102 includes a top edge 104, an opposing bottom edge 106, and opposing side edges 108, 110.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the top and bottom edges 104, 106 define the width W of the body portion 102 and the side edges 108, 110 define the length L₁ of the body portion 102. Attached to the side edges 108, 110 are respective securing straps 120, 122, each of which extends longitudinally along the entire length L₁ of the body portion 102. This provides added support to the body portion 102. Each of the straps 120, 122 has a respective length L₂, L₃, which lengths may or not be equivalent to one another but which are both greater than the length L₁ of the body portion 102. Thus, in the laid-flat, non-use configuration of FIG. 1, each strap 120, 122 includes a free end 128 (i.e., an end unconnected to any other part of the device 100) that extends beyond at least one of the top and bottom edges 104, 106 of the body portion 102. Each strap free end 128 is operable to attach releasably to another one of the strap free ends 128 at the back of the bird to secure the body portion 102 over the crop of the bird in a non-constricting, adjustable, and secure fit. The back of the bird as used herein includes any back region of the bird opposing a front or crop region of the bird. The various methods for attaching the exemplary support and protection device 100 are described below in further detail.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the body portion 102 includes three layers of material: a main body 114, an outer panel 116, and an inner liner 118 (mostly hidden in FIG. 1). The main body 114 is a fabric of material including but not limited to elastic, lycra, cotton, denim, canvas duck, leather, nylon, and/or combinations thereof. The outer panel 116 is a fabric of material including but not limited to elastic, lycra, cotton, denim, canvas duck, leather, nylon, Kevlar®, rubber, and/or combinations thereof. The inner liner 118 is a fabric of material including but not limited to elastic, lycra, cotton, fleece, denim, canvas duck, leather, nylon, and/or combinations thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the main body 114 and outer panel 116 are made of elastic and the inner liner 118, being the layer of material closest to the bird, is made of cotton or fleece to provide added comfort to the bird. The securing straps 120, 122 are made of any of the above materials mentioned with respect to the main body 114 and are attached to the body portion 102 by any suitable means known or contemplated in the art, e.g., through sewing, adhesives, such as glue or tape, and/or mechanical fasteners, such as snap fasteners or hook and loop fasteners. The three layers 114, 116, 118 of material are similarly attached together by any suitable means known or contemplated in art and listed above with respect to the attachment of the straps 120, 122 to the body portion 102.

Although each layer of material is shown in FIG. 1 as having a rectangular shape, other shapes, e.g., circular or ovular, are also within the scope of the present invention as long as the shape of the body portion 102 is configured to cover and protect the bird's crop. It is also within the scope of the present invention for the body portion 102 to include only a single layer of material (the main body 114), two layers of material (the main body 114 and either an outer panel 116 or an inner liner 118), or more than three layers of material.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, another exemplary embodiment of a protection and support device 200 is shown attached to a bird 260. The protection and support device 200 is similar to the device 100 of FIG. 1, wherein similar reference numbers increased by 100 refer to similar parts. As shown in FIG. 2, the body portion 202 of this exemplary embodiment includes only one layer of material, which is placed over the crop 262 of the bird 260 for support and protection thereof. As illustrated as an example in FIG. 3, the securing straps 220, 222 are tied in a bow at the back of the bird 260. The straps 220, 222 may be tied into a bow or a knot using any method of tying bows and/or knots known in the art. For example, the upper portion of one strap 220 can be tied to the lower portion of the opposite strap 222 and the upper portion of the opposite strap 222 can be interlaced through the first tie (made between the upper portion of the strap 220 and the lower portion of the strap 222) and tied to the lower portion of the strap 220 to define a single point of attachment at the back of the bird. Not only does this method of attachment provide for a non-constricting and adjustable fit (as the ties can be loosened or tightened according to the shape and size of the bird), but the single attachment point advantageously and more comfortably imparts only a single pressure point at the back of the bird.

In another exemplary method of securing the straps 220, 222 at the back of the bird, the upper portions of each of the straps 220, 222 are pulled around and behind the bird's neck and tied together in a bow or knot, and the lower portions of each of the straps 220, 222 are pulled around the bird's body, behind its wings, and tied together in a separate bow or knot. Thus, in this exemplary method of attachment, the securing straps are secured at the back of the bird defining two points of attachment (or two points of pressure on the bird's back).

FIG. 4 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of a protection and support device 400 shown in a flattened, non-use configuration. The protection and support device 400 is similar to the device 100 of FIG. 1, wherein similar reference numbers increased by 300 refer to similar parts. Each of the securing straps 420, 422 of the protection and support device 400 includes a two-part couple assembly operable to adjustably couple the securing straps 420, 422 at the back of the bird to releasably attach the device 400 to the bird such that the body portion 402 is positioned to protectively cover the bird's crop. Each two-part couple assembly includes a first couple part 430 at the upper portion 427 of each strap 420, 422 and a second couple part 432 disposed at the lower portion 428 of each strap 420, 422 (upper and lower being with regard to the orientation of FIG. 4). The first and second couple parts 430, 432 are operable to couple the lower portion 428 of each strap 420, 422 to the upper portion 427 of the opposing strap 420, 422. As shown in FIG. 4, each first couple part 430 includes a body member defining an aperture (e.g., a d-ring) operable to receive therethrough the second couple part 432 of the opposite strap.

Each second couple part 432 includes first and second sub-parts 434a, 434b operable to attach to one another. In an exemplary embodiment, the first sub-part 434a is a first fastener member (e.g., a hook of a hook and loop fastener, a first half of a snap fastener, or a hole of a button and hole fastener) disposed on the strap inner surface (as denoted by the dashed outline in FIG. 4) and the second sub-part 434b is a second fastener member (e.g., a loop of a hook and loop fastener, a second half of a snap fastener, or a button of a button and hole fastener) disposed on the strap outer surface (shown in the front plan view of FIG. 4).

To attach the exemplary protection and support device 400 to a bird, the body portion 402 is positioned over the crop and each lower strap portion 428 is pulled around the bird's body, underneath its wings in a first direction toward the upper strap portion 427 of the opposite strap 420, 422 (i.e., in a cross-wise or diagonal direction, toward the front of the bird). The first sub-part 434a of each second couple part 432 is passed through the aperture in the first couple part 430 of the opposing strap 420, 422 and pulled backward in a second direction opposite from the first direction (i.e., in a cross-wise or diagonal direction, away from the front of the bird) to attach the first sub-part 434a to the second sub-part 434b of the same second couple part 432. Thus, in this exemplary embodiment, the securing straps 420, 422 cross at the back of the bird, the lower portion 428 of each strap 420, 422 attaching to the upper portion 427 of the opposing strap, thereby defining two points of attachment (or two points of pressure on the bird's back).

In an exemplary embodiment in which the second couple part 432 is a hook and loop fastener, the second sub-part 434b is sufficient in length so as to provide an adjustably secure fit. That is, if the second sub-part 434b has a greater length along which the first sub-part 434a can attach, the strap 420, 422 can be pulled tighter or left looser and the first sub-part 434a is still capable of attaching to the second sub-part 434b. Similarly, in exemplary embodiments where the second couple part 432 is either a snap fastener or a button and hole fastener, the second sub-part 434b may include a plurality of sub-parts 434b (e.g., a plurality of snap fastener halves or a plurality of buttons or holes) disposed along the lower strap portions 428 to provide for an adjustably secure fit.

In another exemplary embodiment, any one of the protection and support devices 100, 200, 400 discussed above can be used in combination with the protective bird apron disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/954,242, filed on Nov. 24, 2010, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, as a chest protector to protect the chest of the bird from pecking and plucking. When used in combination with the protective bird apron, the device 100, 200, 400 can be attached to the protective bird apron by various measures, for example, sewing, adhesives, snap fasteners, hook and loop fasteners, and other suitable attachments means known in the art.

Any of the devices 100, 200, 400 disclosed above are reversible with respect to both the top and bottom and inside and outside. For example, the device 400 of FIG. 4 can be positioned on the bird such that the first couple parts 430 are near the bird's shoulders (i.e., the first couple parts 430 are considered to be at the top of the device 400). Alternatively, the device 400 can be positioned such that the second couple parts 432 cross over the bird behind the bird's neck (i.e., the second couple parts 432 are considered to be at the top of the device 400).

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings illustrate the principles, exemplary embodiments, and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.