The court shall make a reasonable allowance to officers for keeping and maintaining horses, cattle, hogs, or sheep, and all other  property taken into their custody under legal process, the keeping of  which is chargeable to them; and this allowance may be retained by the officers out of the sales of the property, in preference to the satisfaction of the process under which the property was seized or sold. The officer must make out his account and, if required, give the debtor or his agent a copy of it, signed by his own hand, and must return the account with the execution or other process, under which the property has been seized or sold, to the court to whom the execution or process is returnable, and shall swear to the correctness of the several items set forth; otherwise he shall not be permitted to retain the allowance. (1807, c. 731, P.R.; R.C., c. 45, ss. 25, 26; Code, ss. 466, 467; Rev., ss. 637, 638; C.S., s. 684; 1971, c. 268, s. 15.)