q1 - semi-automatic handcuff mechanism

[desbromilow]

so I have a few questions playing on my mind, and given the brain power and experience of this team, I thought I'd ask.
first question - I'm in need of a mechanism which could best described as a handcuff on a stick.
the mechanism would need to be able to snap around the leg of a pig and hold tight. The leg dimension varies from pig to pig. ideally it would need to be able to snap around quickly (perhaps spring actuated) and hold until released.
The release needs to be a link-able mechanism which isn't slow or tedious to release. (thinking a button which lifts the ratchet pawl out of engagement)
the "arming" of the capture portion can be manually reset prior to use, but the release will be difficult to arm once in use.

Intended use - several pigs in a pen or race with weld mesh sides. The device would be poked through the weldmesh to grab a pig rear leg and pull it towards the fence so a lifting lanyard can be attached. Once the lanyard is attached, the device needs to be disengaged so it is not pulled through the weldmesh when the pig is lifted be the crane. For safety reasons getting into the pen with live pigs is not desirable.

Does anyone know of a tool or mechanism which can provide the desired characteristics? If such a tool already exists, that would be even better, but searches are coming up dry.

Thanks,
Des

[ductape]

A catch pole may work. It isn't intended to go around a leg, but you can do that with some practice. Probably wouldn't be too difficult to make.

[desbromilow]

A catch pole may work. It isn't intended to go around a leg, but you can do that with some practice. Probably wouldn't be too difficult to make.

Ductape - We've tried loop based solutions, but the pigs don't lift their leg with enough reliability in use. Our target is to come in from the side and capture the leg above the hock so they can't drop the grip by lifting their leg once caught. Loop based solutions mean we need to get it under their foot, then lift up and pull tight. - releasing is something similar.

[BuffaloJohn]

I would think a clamp would need to be variable sized and also not pinch the skin when it closes. In that case, something with a Y shape with the Y arms being more U shaped and then something to reach around the tops to hold the leg. Not this but conceptually...

[BuffaloJohn]

Or another version that is stronger - modify the cutting blade to be a holding arc of a device like this:



You have the advantage of hooling the leg with the fixed part and then swinging the arc around to close the hook. With the hook closed, you have a great deal of control...

[IntheGroove]

I saw some device the police were using to catch people on a post on the site...

[desbromilow]

Or another version that is stronger - modify the cutting blade to be a holding arc of a device like this:



You have the advantage of hooling the leg with the fixed part and then swinging the arc around to close the hook. With the hook closed, you have a great deal of control...

That is a good point, we had been looking at the issue from the perspective of coming straight at the leg, but hooking and closing gives an element of control i'd overlooked. I'll do some CAD (cardboard Aided Design) and see what I can come up with.

@others - pinching we figured wouldn't be an issue if the 2 halves of the cuff overlapped when closing (similar to proper handcuffs where the moving jaw passes between the leaves of the fixed jaw) - adapabilty in the catch size is needed because the size range of the pigs ranges from ~25kg (call it 55lbs) to over 300kg (~680lbs) but most around the 60-150kg range.

ideally we'd redesign the whole process to seperate the pigs and put them in a crush, but portability and size constraints prevent that.

[paul_j]

This does not answer your question but -

I used to raise fat hogs on a small scale - maximum 60 head divided into four pens ranging in size from 40 lbs up to 220 lbs. Concrete pen floors. Each pen had a post standing by itself away from the pen fences. The hog catcher that I had was simply a 1/2" pipe about 3' long with a small diameter cable attached at one end and the length of cable running through the pipe, forming a loop at one end. Homemade. The loop was slipped over the pig's snout and tightened. The pig went into rapid reverse and I would steer him toward the post with him going on one side and me on the other side of the post. One of my legs over his back had him trapped. It was rare for a pig to run forward, but if he did it was easy to circle him around to the post. Without the post it would be an exercise in frustration. This catch method was not used on every hog in the pen. An occasional abscess that needed lanced, or a wound that needed treatment. I was young then. I wouldn't be man enough to do it at my present age.

Years ago our little town had Saturday livestock sales. Livestock cars were waiting on the railroad siding, and winning bidders would load the purchased animals on the rail cars for shipment to the slaughterhouses in and near St. Louis. It was not uncommon to see a farmer heading for town early on a Saturday morning, switch in hand, walking behind a fat sow with a rope tied to one hind leg. The switch made her go and he steered her with the rope.