Automatic pair-feeding system was developed which immediately dispenses same amount of food to control animal as has been consumed by experimental animal that has free access to food. System consists of: master feeding system; slave feeding station; and control mechanism. Technique performs real time pair-feeding without attendant time lag

Connolly, J. P.

Hitchman, M. J.

Humbert, J. E.

Leon, H. A.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

September 1972	 B72-10298 
NASA TECH BRIEF 
Ames Research Center 	 -4r 
NASA Tech Briefs announce new technology derived from the U.S. space program. They are issued to encourage 
commercial application. Tech Briefs are available on a subscription basis from the National Technical Information 
Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151. Requests for individual copies or questions relating to the Tech Brief program may 
be directed to the Technology Utilization Office, NASA, Code KT, Washington, D.C. 20546. 
Real-Time Pair-Feeding of Animals 
Pair feeding is a biological technique in which the 
same amounts of food are delivered over similar time 
periods to an experimental animal exposed to unusual 
conditions and to a control animal exposed to normal 
conditions. In the past, experiments in pair feeding 
involved determination of the food consumed by an 
experimental animal over a 24-hour period (in a neon-
oxygen atmosphere, for example), and then the offer-
ing of the same amount of food over the next 24 hours 
to a control animal in a normal atmosphere. Obviously, 
conclusions drawn from rates of food consumption 
obtained in such experiments are not strictly correlat-
able because of the 24-hour lag in the pair-feeding 
schedules of the experimental and normal animals; 
moreover, pair-feeding experiments involving periods 
less than 24 hours can not be performed with this 
technique. 
An automatic pair-feeding system has been devel-
oped which immediately dispenses the same amount 
of food to a control animal as has been consumed by 
an experimental animal that has free access to food. 
The automatic system consists of three main units: a 
master feeding system, a slave feeding station, and a 
control mechanism. Each feeding station is designed 
to dispense a single food pellet weighing about 0.1 g; 
the dispensing system is designed to reject fractured 
pellets and deliver whole ones. 
The automatic pair-feeding system represents a 
distinct improvement over prior techniques, for it
performs real-time pair-feeding; there is no lag be-
tween the time when the experimental animal eats 
and an equivalent amount of food is made available 
to the control animal. The automatic system also 
includes an event counter which keeps track of the 
number of food pellets dispensed per hour, and the 
number is periodically recorded to provide a histo-
gram of the feeding pattern. Other aspects of the sys-
tem design permit operation in pure oxygen or at re-
duced pressure. 
Note: 
Requests for additional information may be di-
rected to: 
Technology Utilization Officer 
Ames Research Center 
Moffett Field, California 94035 
Reference: TSP 72-10298 
Patent status: 
Inquiries about obtaining rights for the commercial 
use of this invention may be made to: 
Patent Counsel 
Mail Code 200-1A 
Ames Research Center 
Moffett Field, California 94035 
Source: Henry A. Leon, James P. Connolly,

Maurice J
.
 Hitchman, and John E. Humbert

Ames Research Center

(ARC-10302) 
Category 05 
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Aeronautics and Space Administration. Neither the United States
	 information contained in this document, or warrants that such use 
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Real-time pair-feeding of animals

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