An automatic pellet dispenser for precise control of feeding topography in granivorous birds.
A 1987 shop note gives plans for a silent five-pellet-per-second feeder that keeps birds still during brain recordings.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a new pellet machine for bird labs.
It shoots up to five grain pellets each second.
Pigeons and chickens can peck while wires stay clear for brain recordings.
What they found
The paper shows plans, not data.
The rig runs quiet and fast, so birds eat without jerking the wires.
How this fits with other research
Zimmerman (1969) told of an 1840s feeder that already linked a key peck to food.
Meyer et al. (1987) simply tightens the same idea with modern speed and clean cables.
POLIDORNEVIN et al. (1963) built punched-card gear for monkeys.
Both papers share the same spirit: swap hand work for hardware.
Why it matters
If you run bird labs, this rig gives you cleaner data and less jam time.
You can copy the shop drawings and bolt it onto any cage.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Design and construction of an automatic pellet dispenser for granivorous birds are described. The dispenser permits rapid pneumatic delivery of pellets (five pellets per second maximum) to one controlled position and does not interfere with simultaneous electrophysiological recording. In addition, the device continuously indicates presence or absence of a pellet in the delivery position. This automatic dispenser proved very effective in our studies of stereotyped topographies of feeding in granivorous birds, such as pigeons and chickens.
Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 1987 · doi:10.1901/jeab.1987.48-435