A colleague of mine stumbled upon a patent for some spectacles for chicken. She was amused by the idea and emailed me with a link to the patent, which was applied for way back in 1902. It got us thinking about what other wacky and wonderful inventions have come out of the world of farming.

So, we decided to take a look around the web and see just what was out there - it turns out quite a lot. Below are five of our favourite patents that have been applied for in relation to some of our favourite farm animals.

Take a moment to imagine the brilliant minds that conceptualised these fabulous designs. Picture them during their eureka moment before running off to tell their friends and family of their ingenious idea! These images you’re picturing are made all the more humorous when you consider that most of these patents were filed a long long time ago.

Eyeglasses for chicken

Glasses for chickens. What a fantastic design. This patent was filed over 100 years ago by Andrew Jackson JR in an attempt to prevent chickens from pecking each others’ eyes out.

In his patent documents Mr Jackson stated: “This invention relates to eye-protectors, and more particularly to eye-protectors designed for fowls, so that they may be protected from other fowls that might attempt to peck them.”

When this patent was filed in 1902, it was deemed, as you would expect, to have been a rather odd concept. His design was somewhat ridiculed in the press a few years later when one news article poked fun at the invention saying: “A flock of them [chickens] so equipped would present a very intellectual appearance”.

For more on this patent and to see the original designs, click here

Milking cow toy

If you wanted to get your children into farming from an early age then this toy, designed by Martin Shrier in the late 1950s, would have been perfect.

Looking at the other patens Mr Shrier applied for it seems that he was a real toy nut. He designed a wide variety of stuffed animals, one of which was this truly brilliant, yet slightly bizarre, cow.

In his patent application he wrote: “My invention relates to a new and improved toy device in the form of a cow. The principal object of my invention is to provide a toy cow which has an internal liquid summer, and which can be milked in the same manner as a live cow.”

For more on this patent and to see the original designs, click here

Sheep protector

Protecting sheep from predation and other hazards has and always will important for farmers. This design, created by Mr J R Speer, dates way back to 1878 and was intended to prevent sheep from dog attacks.

In his patent application, which is now over 130-years-old, he stated: “I have invented a new and useful improvement in Sheep-Protectors”. He goes on to state that the collar which protects the neck of the sheep has “sharp-pointed projections”, which definitely have a daunting and impressive look to them.

The spiked metallic protectors look pretty menacing, this much is most certainly true. If you were to be charged at by an armoured and pointy sheep then you would, without a doubt, be rather concerned for your welfare. However, when taking a look at the design, it does seem that this protector leaves rather a lot of the sheep unprotected.

For more on this patent and to see the original designs, click here

Portable pig racing

'Horse race tracks, you better look out' wrote Frederick C. Othman in The Tuscaloosa News on June 8th 1945.

'Leo F Buck is about to shut you down on the theory that a horse is good for pulling a milk wagon. Period. If anybody wants a race. Pigs are better'

Mr Othman was, of course, talking about a patent that had been filed by Leo F. Buck, for his pig racing apparatus. Mr Buck was granted his patent two years after it was filed and what an invention it was.

Basically, you have an oval race course, a bunch of pigs, and an automobile that pulls behind it a trough of food. The pigs then chase this trough and the race commences. It's a shame that today - around 70 years after the patent was granted - pig racing is not a global sport or a part of the Olympics for it sure would be a more entertaining spectacle than judo...

For more on this patent and to see the original designs, click here

Stallion shield

Now this one looks terrifying. The Stallion Shield, designed in the 1890s, was to be used to prevent stallions from masturbating...

Wow, now we really have seen everything. But why would you want to stop your horse from doing this? Well, the patent states that masturbation is ‘a habit practiced by many stallions if left without such guard’ and is ‘well known to horse-breeders that the said habit is injurious to the animal’.

That’s fair enough, I guess, but the reason it seems so scary is because of the way it works... A serrated edge is used to prevent the horse from getting an erection. Yes, that’s right, serrated edge... Poor horse.

For more on this patent and to see the original designs, click here