Without being a country of intensive livestock farming, the countryside of the Périgord in the 19th century was home to a large number of farm animals, often as part of a polyculture sufficient to meet the needs of the farm and the family. Cattle, pigs, poultry or rabbits were traditionally raised on all farms.
Several horse farms in the Double and stud farms in Mussidan and Ribérac in 1853 provided horses as a means of transport for the notables. Donkeys and mules, which were more hardy, were also used for harnessing to a lesser extent.
The numerous local sheep and goats that grazed freely in herds in the moors and coppices of the valley were for a long time a danger to the forest.
Illustrations :
– Photograph of the bull breeding of the Fournils Castle in Saint-Laurent-des-Hommes, 1926. (©Musée André Voulgre)
– lithograph of a sheep, Annales de la société d’agriculture de la Dordogne, 1829 (©Musée André Voulgre)
– Photo of a shepherdess and her sheep in the Isle valley in the 1980’s. (cliché Broussouloux (©Musée André Voulgre) 2014.8.40