Comedouro automatizado para caprinos e ovinos.

Abstract

In order to provide animals with a better quality of life, both in the facilities they inhabit and in their supplementation, it is of utmost importance to design artifacts that aid in animal performance as well as in the animal / product and animal / man relationship. The research was based on creating a product aimed at goats and sheep, since often the facilities intended for them are adaptations of existing products of other types of herds, not meeting their real needs. In view of this, the research had as objective to develop a feeder, seeking to offer the animals a product that would adequately make available the supplementation in predetermined quantities and times. In addition, a product was thought to assist the farmer by optimizing his time in offering the feed to the animals, as well as providing information about the herd at the end of the day. In order to develop the product, some studies were carried out on the morphology of the animals in the various stages, as well as analyzes of the feeders of alternative material already available in the breeding facilities of these animals, and from these studies it became possible to develop a product that meet the needs of goats and sheep. Subsequently, formal proposals were made for automated feeders based on the information obtained, followed by the execution of small-scale mockups to perform the volumetric and functional study. After analyzing the formal proposals and volumetric models we came up with a concept to develop and automate the feeder, this one in turn, with two structures for each animal phase, as well as a storage reservoir of the feed. The 1: 1 real-scale prototype and automation were developed in the LaCRA - Laboratory of Rural Constructions and Ambience, UFCG, in parallel some visits were made to a site in the municipality of Puxinanã, located in Paraíba and belonging to the region of Campina Grande to observe the relation of the animals with some instruments used in the development of the feeder. At the end of product development, it was concluded that, when compared to feeders available on the premises, the new model will meet the needs of the animals and facilitate the work of the handler. The product also provides better conditions of supply of the supplementation, at predetermined times and portions.