The humble manure fork has had a technological makeover, powered by lithium ion batteries to enable it to shake itself after every scoop.
The "auto-sifting technology" is the brainchild of Equi-Tee Manufacturing's Joseph Berto, who developed the new tool, known as the Shake'n Fork.
The Shake'n Fork "eases the wearisome task of separating animal bedding from manure in enclosures".
The auto-sifting technology has been patented.
Berto points out that significant waste can occur if clean bedding is accidentally removed from stalls as well as manure.
"Helping improve the quality of life for our animals, while significantly reducing the time and cost associated with doing that, was the objective in developing this tool," said the Oregon-based inventor, who is the company president.
"The Shake'n Fork mimics the action of manually agitating the tynes, yet the operator can separate bedding while standing completely still."
This is accomplished by a tiny reciprocating motor powered by lithium ion batteries.
The operator holds the fork handle in the usual way and by depressing a variable speed trigger switch, moves the electrically powered tynes, which agitate 30 times faster than what can be done manually.
There is no vibration into the hand pole.
"Reducing the labour required to clean stalls results in savings for both the worker and their employers," said Berto.
"The wasted motion of manually agitating a non-powered fork is instead converted into useful productivity. Stalls are cleaner, animals are healthier, and costs associated with bedding replenishment and removal is greatly reduced," he said.
Berto said the tool would quickly pay for itself, particularly with ongoing cost rises for bedding materials.
Keeping bedding in stalls results in cost-savings for the owner.
"Unfortunately, if you try to increase sifting manually with a conventional fork, you simply trade bedding costs for labour expense. The Shake'n Fork is the only way to effectively reduce the cost of both bedding and labour," he said.
Berto and his wife operate a horse breeding and training facility in Oregon and felt there was a need to improve the cleaning tools available.
He used the resources of his company to develop and test the Shake'n Fork.
The tool has already been marketed at venues around the US, but is now available online at http://www.shakenfork.com.
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