School: Béal Átha Conaill (2)

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1. Care of Domestic Animals

   

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   The principle animals on my father's farm are milch cows. They live out night and day on the pasture during the Summer and Autumn. Cows are sometimes tied in the byre by means of chains, sometimes they are fastened in ba and sometimes in trammels. There is a "crib" in front of the cows and a "group" behind them. When a cow had a calf, if (it) the calf eats a straw till it is nine days old it will die, and a "gobeen" is put on it for those nine days. It is usually made out of an old tin porringer, with holes punched in the bottom of it and strings fastened each side which are also put round the calf's head.
   When a mare has a foal it cannot put its head to the ground for about fourteen days.
   When a woman wishes to "set" a hen to hatch out chickens, she gets a clucking hen and makes a nest for her with straw or hay. She then puts thirteen eggs under her, and leaves her to sit on the nest for three weeks allowing her to leave the nest at meal times. A woman often marks the eggs she is setting with polish or soot so that should another hen get into the nest

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. economic activities
         1. agriculture (~2,659)
            1. animal husbandry (~2,587)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Mr William Teggart

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Bofealan, Co. Cavan