Several embodiments of a novel RFID antenna apparatus that are uniquely structurally integrated with livestock feeder units are disclosed. In one embodiment, a circular antenna apparatus embeds a circular livestock feeder unit by structurally encapsulating or surrounding a perimeter of the circular livestock feeder unit. In another embodiment, a rectangular antenna similarly embeds a rectangular livestock feeder unit by structurally encapsulating or surrounding a perimeter of the rectangular livestock feeder unit. Preferably, the circular or the rectangular antenna apparatus also includes a protective pipe or an outer skin layer that incorporates an RF antenna feed point, an antenna core, an impedance matching circuit, and a coaxial RF connector inside the protective pipe or the outer skin layer. The novel livestock feeder-embedded RFID antenna apparatuses improve accuracy of animal RFID tag reading, while also minimizing tuning time and reinstallation efforts associated with an RFID-based livestock monitoring system.
