10 ms·

"you could learn about animal husbandry and raise chickens for eggs" My grandad, when he retired bought a smaller farm. He kept around 200 chickens in the old

"you could learn about animal husbandry and raise chickens for eggs" My grandad, when he retired bought a smaller farm. He kept around 200 chickens in the old cow shippon. Now if you google "shippon", you'll be told it is a northern (English) term. My grandad was born in Paignton in 1901 and lived in Devon all his life. His working farm was near Dartmouth. I only searched to check the spelling for this comment, it turns out that the internets can spout ... approximations to truth sometimes (fancy!) Anyway, the farm cat was called "Panda". His job was keeping an eye on the chickens. He was fed on top of the meal bin everyday next to the shippon, something/enough that kept him from deciding chicken was food. Panda was quite a vigorous chap and once killed a fox that tried to do a DIY KFC. Any New Zealand readers familiar with Footrot Flats will see "Horse" here. Panda was Horse's British cousin. Murray Ball is a legend in my family. I have no idea why grandad called his farm cat Panda. Murray Ball called his cat Horse, probably for similar odd reasons. The house cat was called Wee White - she was my mum and dad's that was left with her mum because they buggered off, sorry, got posted to West Germany, with me and my brother. Wee White had a white collar. Her sister Big Red had a red collar. She (Big Red) unfortunately was an example of why we ensure that cat's collars can slip off if caught in a tree.

cletus 5y ago
In the US those farm cats are generally called "barn cats". They will live in the barn and their "job" is to kill vermin and protect the livestock that also live there. They seem to do this instinctively. They need to be fed independently as it ties them to the barn. Otherwise they'll leave in search of food. When farms are sold typically the barn cats will stay with the farm as it's the only home they've known and if taken they'll often try and return to the barn. The complexity of all this behaviour is kinda crazy to see. It's likewise the case with dogs that have herding instincts. You'll see them blocking chicks or ducklings from getting out of their pen or just getting stressed when they think some of the animals are where they shouldn't be. Often any tendency to chase other animals is actually the dog trying to get the animal back where it belongs.
- gerdesj 5y ago
  Quite. I think they are in the middle ground between domestic cats and wild cats. I don't think you have what I would call wild cats in the US (you have the bigger felines such as Lynx etc). In Scotland there are a few examples and they are being actively conserved. They look like large domestic cats but are completely wild. The farm cat or barn cat is one that is clearly domesticated but encouraged to do whatever it likes with a few simple rules. It gets fed regularly and apart from a particular species (hens) it can destroy anything else at will. We created these things and we should damn well look after them. Cats are not complex at all. If you "make" a farm/barn cat then it should be left as such. Granny and granddad also had Wee White as a house cat. When the chicks were hatched they were stuffed into a tray and put into the house boiler cupboard to keep warm. This was the "airing cupboard". British housing off of the sixties and beyond often has a hot water boiler that was merged with the formal place that you air fabrics to dry them. Their airing cupboard had a load of chicks in a tray and a cat on another shelf. You walk past a combination of purring and cheeping.

cletus 5y ago

In the US those farm cats are generally called "barn cats". They will live in the barn and their "job" is to kill vermin and protect the livestock that also live there. They seem to do this instinctively. They need to be fed independently as it ties them to the barn. Otherwise they'll leave in search of food. When farms are sold typically the barn cats will stay with the farm as it's the only home they've known and if taken they'll often try and return to the barn. The complexity of all this behaviour is kinda crazy to see. It's likewise the case with dogs that have herding instincts. You'll see them blocking chicks or ducklings from getting out of their pen or just getting stressed when they think some of the animals are where they shouldn't be. Often any tendency to chase other animals is actually the dog trying to get the animal back where it belongs.

gerdesj 5y ago
Quite. I think they are in the middle ground between domestic cats and wild cats. I don't think you have what I would call wild cats in the US (you have the bigger felines such as Lynx etc). In Scotland there are a few examples and they are being actively conserved. They look like large domestic cats but are completely wild. The farm cat or barn cat is one that is clearly domesticated but encouraged to do whatever it likes with a few simple rules. It gets fed regularly and apart from a particular species (hens) it can destroy anything else at will. We created these things and we should damn well look after them. Cats are not complex at all. If you "make" a farm/barn cat then it should be left as such. Granny and granddad also had Wee White as a house cat. When the chicks were hatched they were stuffed into a tray and put into the house boiler cupboard to keep warm. This was the "airing cupboard". British housing off of the sixties and beyond often has a hot water boiler that was merged with the formal place that you air fabrics to dry them. Their airing cupboard had a load of chicks in a tray and a cat on another shelf. You walk past a combination of purring and cheeping.