Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Author Topic: Need Help with Elk Birds  (Read 2509 times)

Xgen

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Need Help with Elk Birds
« on: June 24, 2016, 08:35:03 am »

Elk birds are potentially useful creatures, but being grazers prevent that. When elk birds lays eggs, they stay on it and refuses to eat. They end up starving to death before the eggs could hatch. Is there anyway to stop this (besides modding raws)?
Logged

Derro

  • Bay Watcher
  • Imprisoned Lunatic
    • View Profile
Re: Need Help with Elk Birds
« Reply #1 on: June 24, 2016, 09:46:56 am »

The wiki says an elk bird can survive just long enough for her eggs to hatch if she's well-fed. I suggest creating separate pastures, or one pasture with controllable access to the nest boxes. Unfertillized eggs are still a problem, though.

Hm... will the birds continue to breed if they're undead?
Logged

Pancakes

  • Bay Watcher
  • Cancels drink: Too insane
    • View Profile
Re: Need Help with Elk Birds
« Reply #2 on: June 24, 2016, 10:43:11 am »

The wiki says an elk bird can survive just long enough for her eggs to hatch if she's well-fed. I suggest creating separate pastures, or one pasture with controllable access to the nest boxes. Unfertillized eggs are still a problem, though.

Hm... will the birds continue to breed if they're undead?

One of the traits of being undead is that the afflicted creature is sterilized, so unfortunately that's not a viable solution currently
Logged

Derro

  • Bay Watcher
  • Imprisoned Lunatic
    • View Profile
Re: Need Help with Elk Birds
« Reply #3 on: June 24, 2016, 12:36:21 pm »

The wiki says an elk bird can survive just long enough for her eggs to hatch if she's well-fed. I suggest creating separate pastures, or one pasture with controllable access to the nest boxes. Unfertillized eggs are still a problem, though.

Hm... will the birds continue to breed if they're undead?

One of the traits of being undead is that the afflicted creature is sterilized, so unfortunately that's not a viable solution currently

Oops, meant to say 'brood'. English isn't my first language.
Logged

PatrikLundell

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Need Help with Elk Birds
« Reply #4 on: June 24, 2016, 01:35:21 pm »

Given that undead are hostile to all life I doubt they'll stay. They'd most probably leave at the first sight of a target if not earlier, and would attack the hatchlings immediately if their undead cooling bodies would still function to heat the eggs until hatching...
Logged

Daris

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Need Help with Elk Birds
« Reply #5 on: June 24, 2016, 05:02:05 pm »

Eggs do not have to be brooded nonstop.  The wiki says that if the mother is off the nest for even a moment, the eggs will not hatch.  My experience is that I can butcher the mother an instant after she lays eggs and 3 months later the eggs will still hatch.
Logged

FantasticDorf

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Need Help with Elk Birds
« Reply #6 on: June 27, 2016, 05:26:06 am »

Eggs do not have to be brooded nonstop.  The wiki says that if the mother is off the nest for even a moment, the eggs will not hatch.  My experience is that I can butcher the mother an instant after she lays eggs and 3 months later the eggs will still hatch.

The biggest problem with that is that besides from DFhack applications, there is no way to definitively know if eggs are fertilised in the first place.
Logged

Fleeting Frames

  • Bay Watcher
  • Spooky cart at distance
    • View Profile
Re: Need Help with Elk Birds
« Reply #7 on: June 27, 2016, 05:40:36 am »

Sure, but it is not like your game plan changes too much if they weren't fertilized, only infrastructure will have to be multiplied - better luck next season.

Daris

  • Bay Watcher
    • View Profile
Re: Need Help with Elk Birds
« Reply #8 on: June 27, 2016, 05:25:40 pm »

Eggs do not have to be brooded nonstop.  The wiki says that if the mother is off the nest for even a moment, the eggs will not hatch.  My experience is that I can butcher the mother an instant after she lays eggs and 3 months later the eggs will still hatch.

The biggest problem with that is that besides from DFhack applications, there is no way to definitively know if eggs are fertilised in the first place.

That's less of a problem than juggling starving birds and brooding eggs, and no different from breeding turkeys.
Logged