FR2475358A1 - Commercial snail-rearing unit - has rot-proof housing with food trough and shelter on sloping bottom with drain trough - Google Patents

Abstract

THE PRESENT INVENTION CONCERNS A BLOCK FOR THE BREEDING OF SNAILS. THIS BLOCK CONSISTS OF AN ISOTHERMAL BOX 2, WITH A 2A INCLINED BOTTOM, WHICH INCLUDES SHELTERS 3 WITH A LIFT-UP ROOF, A DRINKER 7 WITH A REGULATED WATER CONTAINER, A FEEDER AND A WATER DRAINAGE RIGOL 13. SPRAYING MEANS OF WATER, ABOVE BLOCK, ARE EXPECTED. SUCH BLOCKS CAN BE STACKED AND SUPPORTED BY VERTICAL COLUMNS AROUND WHICH THEY CAN ROTATE INDEPENDENTLY OF ONE OF THE OTHER. THE INVENTION ALLOWS GOOD BREEDING YIELDS TO BE OBTAINED AND EASILY ENSURE THE SUBSISTENCE OF THE SNAILS AND THE MAINTENANCE OF THE BLOCKS.

Description

 The present invention relates to an industrial breeding block of snails and facilities comprising such breeding blocks.

 We know that snail farming must be carried out under fairly precise conditions of temperature and humidity if we want to obtain good yields. Adequate moisture is usually obtained by sprinkling water over breeding areas usually covered with soil. In addition, the food periodically given to snails, usually dehy dratésessne flours must not ferment or deteriorate in any way, especially due to wetting by water spray. In addition, the water required for feeding snails must be able to be taken by them at any time. In addition, the elephant areas should be easily cleaned as often as necessary without unduly disturbing the animals.

 The current farms do not simultaneously satisfy these various requirements: in particular they are subjected to excessive temperature variations and / or inadequate hygrometric conditions, the sprinkling water is poorly eliminated, the food is easily altered, Feeding is not always properly dosed and cleaning of breeding areas is often difficult or overly disturbs snails.

 The breeding block according to the invention makes it possible to remedy these various disadvantages and to achieve the aims indicated above.

The industrial breeding block of snails according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises
an impotent and insulated casing, in particular made of polysty
expanded or expanded polyvinyl chloride, open
its upper part and having an inclined bottom
- one or more shelters located on the upper part of the said bottom
and whose roof is preferably liftable or removable, the
said shelters being rotproof and isothermal, in particular
expanded polystyrene or expanded polyvinylchloride
a drinking trough, preferably formed by a channel or groove
stored in said bottom and in which is arranged a band
of spongy material, for example a synthetic foam
- a manger, preferably consisting of a dry trough
concave cross-section, flattened U-shape, this
manger being associated with means of protection against
humidity; and
- a water drainage ditch located at the end of the
bottom of said bottom, the trough and the feeder being located between said shelters and said drainage channel.

 In a manner known per se breeding block comprises a mesh cover, preferably removable, and means for spraying water through it, inside the aforementioned housing and to supply the trough and to humidify the atmosphere in which the snails live, the hygrometric degree possibly being adjusted by means of appropriate adjustment and / or control means.

 According to one characteristic of the invention, the roof of the abovementioned shelter is a single roof pivotally liftable around its lower edge, the ends of said lower edge preferably forming pivots which pivot in the walls of the housing.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, the protective means of the aforementioned feeder comprise a roof consisting of one or more elements of substantially semi-cylindrical or otherwise convex shape which rest on the bottom of the aforementioned housing and cover said feeder, these elements being equipped with porches or access openings to the manger; these protection means also comprise raising means of the feeder relative to the bottom of the casing, said raising means for the passage of the trickling water on the inclined bottom of the casing and going into the said drainage channel.

 It will be readily understood that the above-mentioned means make it possible to obtain an adequate, relatively constant temperature by using an isothermal material such as polystyrene and that the water is suitably used for feeding the drinking trough. and moistening the casing, any excess water on the floor of the housing being avoided by the inclined bottom of the latter and the collection of water in the drainage channel; we note that the waterer is constantly full of water, regardless of the sampling done by snails, thanks to its sprinkler feed mode and that excess water flows out of overflow or overflow.

Moreover, because of the structure of the feeder, the dehydrated flours generally placed in it as the main food of the snails, are protected from any contact with water and are not chemically or physically impaired or degraded by mold.

 According to another characteristic of the invention, the breeding block is mounted, removably, on or in a support element, in particular forming a support box open at its upper part, the breeding block being mounted at least partially embedded in this box; it is conceivable that this provision makes it easy to remove the breeding block from its support, and for any suitable purpose.

 The aforesaid breeding block is advantageously rotatably mounted about a vertical axis, preferably via the aforementioned support box; to this end, it is this support box itself which is rotatably mounted about said vertical axis, which allows to bring said block from a breeding position or working position to a cleaning position by simple rotation of the block assembly - support box, without removing said breeding block from its support box.

 The invention also relates, as indicated above, any installation for breeding snails, using a plurality of breeding blocks as defined above.

 In these installations, the livestock blocks are generally arranged in several rows inside a shed or other closed shelter, provided for example with ventilation windows, this shed being illuminated by natural light, thanks to walls. and / or roof made of transparent or translucent material; according to another embodiment, this shed can other artificially illuminated at least a part of the time. In order to obtain the best possible performance for a given volume or height of the shed, the aforementioned livestock blocks are arranged one above the other so as to form vertical stacks.

A preferred plant according to the invention for rearing snails preferably comprises inside a shed or similar shelter, naturally and / or artificially lit.
at least one vertical stack of the above-mentioned breeding blocks
placed at a certain distance from each other,
pests being preferably divided into one or more
parallel rows
a hollow vertical column, for each stack, on
which are pivotally mounted open support boxes
at their upper part and in each of which is recessed
one of the above-mentioned breeding blocks, this hollow column also serving to drain the water from the rearing blocks of the corresponding stack and this, via small sau collectors mounted on this column, to because of a collection tray below each farm block assembly - support box
- means for collecting water from the drainage ditch
each farm block to each associated collector tank; and
- substantially horizontal water spray ramps
above each farm block, the said ramps being
preferably on the one hand supported by horizontal bars
interconnecting the columns of two adjacent stacks
and on the other hand fed by risers.

 It is conceivable that this arrangement allows rational collection of water from all livestock blocks, as well as a rational supply of spray water by a system of horizontal ramps that can be fed by vertical supply lines; in addition, the rotary assembly of the block-rearing assemblies-support box allows, by rotation of 90, to bring any of said sets in the aisles separating the rows or in those determined between said rows and the walls of the shed , which facilitates its cleaning and the establishment and / or sampling of snails in said breeding block.

Other characteristics, objects, objects or advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, given in a non-limiting manner, with reference to the appended drawings in which:
- Figure 1 shows a top view of a breeding block
of snails, lid ote, according to the pre embodiment
of the invention
FIG. 2 represents a perspective view, with a lid removed,
of this same breeding block, on which it is assumed that one of the
end walls was cut out and removed
FIG. 3 represents a perspective view of the box of
support of the breeding block of FIGS. 1 and 2, on a scale of
in relation to these figures;
FIG. 4 represents a partial view, in perspective, of
the setting up of a snail farming
to the invention, using the breeding blocks of FIGS.
2 and the support boxes of Figure 3
FIG. 5 represents a partial vertical sectional view
a detail of the installation of Figure 4, namely a
whole farm block - support and part box
next to the hollow vertical column on which is fixed
this set
FIG. 6 represents a view from above of two pairs adja
stacks of stacks of breeding blocks - box of
support of a double row of the installation of figure 4
and
FIG. 7 represents a cross-sectional view of two
possible ways of fixing the foot of the vertical columns
hollow of the installation of figure 4 in the floor of the shed
of said installation.

 The breeding block of FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a casing, of perallelepipedal external shape, of a rotproof and isothermal material, for example of expanded polystyrene; this box is open & its upper part on which fits a lid grilla ge (shown in Figure 4); the bottom 2a of this box is inclined, the slope is generally between 3 and 9 * preferably close to 6 *. Several shelters such as 3, of which there are six in the example shown are situated on the upper part of the sheltered two-sided bottom, being separated by vertical partitions such as 4, also made of expanded polystyrene; these shelters having an expanded polystyrene roof 5 whose ends of the lower edge 5a are provided with pivots 5b and 5c which can be journalled in appropriately reinforced recesses of the end walls of the casing 1. This roof 5 can be raised by pivoting around its lower edge 5a, this maneuver being facilitated by the gripping button 6.

 The central portion of the bottom 2a comprises, in a thickened zone of the bottom, a groove or channel 7 in which is disposed a strip of spongy material 8, for example a synthetic foam.

 The pupil block 1 comprises a feeder constituted by a trough 9 (not shown in FIG. 1) of convave cross-section which is associated with means of protection against moisture; these means comprise a roof 10 (not shown in FIG. 1) which here consists of two elements 10e and 10b, of substantially semicylindrical shape, which rest on the bottom 2a of the casing 2 by covering the trough 9.Design Porches such as 11 are provided in these elements to allow access of the snails to the manger the food contained in the trough 9 is further protected from moisture through the presence of elevation means constituted by bosses or projections, of adequate shape, 12a, 12b and 12c, which preferably come from material with the bottom 2a; thus, the water that flows on the bottom 2a can flow under the trough 9.

 A drainage channel 13 is formed in the lower part of the bottom 2a of the casing, this channel being covered with a removable grid 14; the bottom of the drainage channel 13 has a water outlet 13a which can be connected to a water discharge pipe (as shown in Figure 5), which can itself be connected to means for general drainage of a breeding facility consisting of a greater or lesser number of such blocks.

FIG. 3 shows the support box 15 in which the breeding block 1 is embedded in the working position, that is to say for rearing; this support box is preferably metallic and has a recessed bottom limited to an inner peripheral rim 15a on which the base of the breeding block 1 is based
Note that the face 15c of this box has an upper orifice 16 for the passage of a fixing screw to a vertical column which will be described later- and a lower slot 17 in the shape of a circular arc for the passage of another fixing screw to said column (possibility of adjusting the orientation of the support box due to this slot).

 We see in the figure> which represents a portion of the installation of breeding of snails under shed, stacks of blocks sets of breeding - caissons of support which are distributed in several rows such as rows A and B, which determine between them aisles C; these stacks are supported, by means of vertical hollow columns 18, with a concrete floor 19 cast on the natural ground 20; in the example shown, the rows A and a are double rows which each comprise, in the width direction, a pair of adjacent stacks of breeding blocks provided with their support boxes and their meshed covers such as that 21.

 This installation comprises means of water spraying, horizontal ramps, above each farm block; as shown in FIG. 4 and more particularly in FIG. 6, this water spraying is done by means of horizontal ramps such as 22 which are located in the median plane of each double row such as A; it can be seen that the ramp 22 can feed, thanks to orientable and interchangeable foggers, which are represented, the farm blocks such as 23 and 24, located on the left, and the farm blocks such as 25 and 26, located on the right. at the level considered, the same arrangement is repeated for each stage of the stack horizontal water spray ramps such as 22 are fed by risers 27 and they are supported by horizontal support bars 28 which extend in the transverse direction of the double rows and which are fixed at their ends by cockers or any other suitable fastening means to the vertical hollow columns 18.The hollow vertical columns 18 are intended both for the support of the sets. livestock blocks - support boxes g water drainage collected in the drainage ditches 13 of the blocks 1.

 Each vertical column 18 is constituted by a tube 29, which, on each floor, comprises an outer sleeve 30, rotatable about the tube 25, the sleeve being held by two collars 31 and 32 (see Figures 4 and 5); the tube 29 is furthermore associated, on each floor, with a small cylindrical collecting pan 33, mounted eccentrically with respect to the column 18, each collecting pan 33 serves for the collection of the drainage water coming from the block of water. corresponding farm (such as 23, associated with the support chamber 34-) through the angled water discharge pipe 35 connected at one of its ends to the discharge opening 13e (Figure 1) the breeding block and opening, at its other end, in the collecting tank 33; FIG. 5 shows that the tube 29 has small orifices such as 36 through which the collecting bins such as 33 flow inside the hollow columns 18.

 Fixing the support boxes such as 34 on the columns 18 is made through the sleeves 30 each having two bosses or the like, the lower one 36 and the other upper, not referenced; the support boxes are attached to these bosses at the openings 16 and 17 which cooperate, respectively, with the aforementioned bosses, respectively upper and lower (see Figures 3 and 4).

 Each vertical column 18 is fixed at both ends by means known per se; in addition, the lower portions of the various vertical columns 18 are connected to a network of water drainage collectors; these collectors may have been embedded in the concrete sole 19 of the hangard, during the construction of the shed (embodiment shown on the left part of Figure 7) or be placed above this sole, as shown on the part right of Figure 7; in the latter case, these drainage collectors 37 are placed at a level higher than that of the concrete sole 19, preferably with the interposition of a small mass of mortar 39, the fixing of the lower parts of the columns 18 on the floor s then performing with 4D booster casings, instead of using insert pads 41 (Figure 4 and left part of Figure 7).

 The use of the breeding block described above and the breeding facility of Figure 4 is obvious. It should be noted that each block assembly - support box is s.cepceptible to be brought, by a rotation of 90 around the axis of the associated column, from its working position, as illustrated by the figure 4, while said assembly is aligned with the other similar units within the double row A, to a position of cleaning and service (placing food, setting up and removing animals) for which said In the case of a farm block, the support box is located at least in large part in the adjacent aisle C, which considerably facilitates the aforementioned operations.

 Note also that the roof lift 5 (Figures 1 and 2) allows very good access to shelters 3, without any risk of crushing snails; moreover, given the removability of the roof of the feeder and the profile of the trough of this manger, maintenance of the latter is very easy.

 In addition, the grid placed on the drainage channels of livestock blocks prevents drowning animals.

 The invention makes it possible to raise snails under extremely easy conditions with a very good yield; for example, a breeding block according to the invention and having dimensions of approximately 10 x 65 x 30 cm can raise 100 to 200 small gray.

 Of course, the aforementioned examples have been given for illustrative and non-limiting purposes and all other embodiments, variants or equivalent means within the scope of the art, are also part of the present invention.

Claims (10)

 1. Block of industrial breeding of snails, characterized in that it comprises  a rotproof and isothermal case, in particular made of polysty  rene expanded, open to part superior and having a  inclined bottom  - one or more shelters located on the upper part of said bottom and  whose roof is preferably liftable or removable, the  said shelters being rotproof and isothermal, in particular  expanded polystyrene  a drinking trough preferably formed by a channel or groove  swam in said bottom and in which is arranged a band  of spongy material, for example a synthetic foam  - a manger, preferably constituted by a trough & dry  concave transverse section, this feeder being associated with  means of protection against moisture; and  - a water drainage ditch located at the end of the  bottom of said bottom, the trough and the feeder being located between said shelters and said drainage channel.  2. Breeding block according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a wire cover, preferably removable, and means for spraying water therethrough, within said limp.  3. Breeding block according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the above shelter roof is a single roof pivotally liftable around its lower edge whose ends, preferably, form pivots journalled in the walls of the casing supra.  4. Breeding block according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the protection means of the aforementioned feeder comprises on the one hand a roof consisting of one or more elements of substantially cheek-cyclindrical shape or otherwise convex that rest on the bottom of said boot and cover said feeder, these elements being provided with porches or access openings to this feeder and secondly means for overelavation of the feeder relative to said bottom, said elevating means allowing the passage of runoff water to the aforementioned drainage channel.  5. Breeding block according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is mounted recessed in a support box open at its upper part, said block being removable relative to said box.  6. Breeding block according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is rotatably mounted about a vertical axis, preferably through the support box according to claim 5, rotatably mounted about said axis which makes it possible to bring said block from a rearing position to a cleaning position.  7. Installation for rearing snails using a plurality of breeding blocks according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises, preferably, inside a shed or similar shelter naturally or artificially lit  at least one vertical stack of the above-mentioned breeding blocks,  placed at a distance from each other,  stacks preferably being distributed in one or more  parallel rows  - a vertical column dug, for each stack, on  which are pivotally mounted support boxes or  in their upper part and in each of which is  recessed one of the aforementioned breeding blocks, this column creu  also used to drain water from the blocks  rearing of the corresponding stack by the interb  medium of small water collecting bins, mounted on this  column, with one collection tray below each  livestock block assembly - support box  - means for collecting water from the drainage ditch  each farm block to each associated collector  and  - substantially horizontal water spray ramps  above each farm block, said ramps being  preferably on the one hand supported by horizontal bars  tales interconnecting the columns of two stacks  adjacent and on the other hand fed by pipelines  vertical.  8. livestock facility according to claim 7, charac terized in that the aforementioned stacks form double rows delimiting, between them and with the walls of the abovementioned shelter, aisles, each row comprising, in the direction of its width , a pair of adjacent stacks of breeding blocks, in that the aforementioned columns are arranged in pairs of columns placed in the same transverse plane with respect to the double row considered, at the rate of one pair of columns per pair of pairs. adjacent stacks, the support bars of the water spray booms being fixed on and interconnecting the two columns of each of said pairs of columns, and in that said water spray booms are arranged perpendicularly said support bars and extend longitudinally in the median plane of each double row so that each of said spray bars can supply water, at the level considered, Breeding blocks disposed on either side of this median plane, the aforementioned supply lines being located at at least one end of each double row.  9. Breeding plant according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the aforementioned columns are connected, at their base, to water drainage collectors which are either embedded in a concrete sole forming the floor of the aforementioned shed , or placed above this sole, the fixation of the feet of said columns on said floor is then effected with the help of risers.  10. Breeding plant according to claim 8, characterized in that each breeding block and its support box are capable of being brought by a rotation of 900 about the axis of the associated column from a working position. , while aligned with the other breeding blocks within said double rows, to a service and cleaning position for which said rearing block and its support box are located, at least in large proportion , in the adjacent one.