page_title: Ma and Pa Kettle
section_title: Animals on the Kettles' farm
hierarchical_section_title: Ma and Pa Kettle / Animals on the Kettles' farm
caption_attribution_description: Speckled Sussex Hen named Mata Hari.
context_page_description: Ma and Pa Kettle are comic film characters of the successful film series of the same name, produced by Universal Studios, in the late 1940s and 1950s. They are a hillbilly couple with fifteen children whose lives are turned upside-down when they win a model home of the future in a slogan-writing contest. On the verge of getting their farm condemned, the Kettles move into the prize home that is different from their country lifestyle. After that, they are subjected to more unusual situations.
  Originally based on real-life farming neighbors in Washington state, United States, Ma and Pa Kettle were created by Betty MacDonald in whose 1945 best-selling novel, The Egg and I, they appeared. The success of the novel spawned the 1947 film The Egg and I starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray, also co-starring Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride as Ma and Pa Kettle. Main was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role.
  After the audiences' positive reaction to the Kettles in the film, Universal Studios produced nine more films, with Marjorie Main reprising her role in all and Percy Kilbride reprising his in seven.
context_section_description: Bossie: Bossie is the Kettles' red and white milk cow, who provides Ma, Pa, and their family of fifteen children with plenty of milk. Most of the time, it is the older Kettle boys or even Pa's Indian friends, Geoduck and Crowbar, who milk her. In "Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town" (1950), Pa is seen milking Bossie while listening to the music playing on the radio.
  The Chickens: The Kettles keep a flock of nearly a hundred chickens on their broken-down farm, who provide them with many eggs each day. Sometimes, one or two of the hens cause mischief towards the Kettles or other characters in the films. In "Ma and Pa Kettle At Home" (1954), Ma Kettle's prized speckled hen is seen a few times laying eggs on Mannering's head or in his bowler hat.
  Pa Kettle's team: Pa Kettle's team includes an old retired trotting horse, named Emma, and a white donkey wearing a straw hat, who together pull Pa's wagon around the county. In "Ma and Pa Kettle At The Fair" (1952), Pa buys Emma originally to win a horse race at the county fair.
  Nick: Nick is the Kettles' prized black bull. He spends most of his time living on the Kettles' farm, which is his main home, but in "Ma and Pa Kettle At Home" (1954), he sneaks out of the farm and lumbers towards the Maddocks' farm to visit one of John Maddocks' prize cows, Bessie. He is often seen wearing a derby hat on his head, similar to the same type of hat that Pa Kettle wears.
  The Goats: A herd of four white Saanen goats live on the Kettles' farm. In "Ma and Pa Kettle At Home" (1954), their original owner, John Maddocks, sells them to Pa Kettle for $100 (equivalent to $952 in 2019). The goats spend most of their time grazing around the farm, but the largest of them, a large buck with massive curved horns, often causes everyone trouble. In "Ma and Pa Kettle At Home" (1954), he butts Ma, then Mannering, and lastly Pa, after they turn their backs to him. In "Ma and Pa Kettle Back On The Farm" (1951), he starts chewing on several sticks of dynamite that Pa bought to make a new well for Ma, but Pa keeps snatching them from him.
  Agnes: Agnes is the Kettles' family Bluetick Coonhound, who also lives on the farm. She is often seen wearing a sweater that Ma Kettle made for her. In "Ma and Pa Kettle At Home" (1954), she produces a litter of puppies for the Kettles and their friends at their Christmas Eve party.
caption: Speckled Sussex hen.
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