Plural of cratchen; a dialectal or archaic term for mangers or feeding troughs, particularly in British English.
From 'cratch' with the plural suffix '-ens,' an older form of making plurals in English (like 'oxen'). This is a regional or dialectal variant that preserved older English plural patterns.
This plural shows how English used to add '-en' to make plurals (oxen, children)—some rural dialects kept old forms like 'cratchens' for feeding troughs!
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