Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Micro102]

I'll start off by saying that it is not an issue with large animals. I bought 3 cows and a bull from a trader, gave them their own pen so they are not pets and have a ton of space. The problem is they all try to eat on the most NW corner. They just pile up there and start starving. I was thinking that I'm going to have to make multiple pastures and alternate them but that requires constant attention and I don't think it will work with larger groups. How do you guys deal with this?

[fortydayweekend]

Not sure about what's happening with your animals - they do tend to start in the NW corner but mine have always moved if the grass runs out. Are they actually starving or just hungry? Are there enough grass/fungus tiles in the pasture (and not rock & sand)?

I usually have 1 pasture for each type of animal, max 1-2 of the "big eaters" like cows and maybe 5 or 6 donkeys/llamas/alpacas in each one.

You should be able to set something up that doesn't need micromanagement, maybe just more pastures with fewer animals in each.

[Micro102]

Well it seems I was just a bit paranoid. Even though all my cows and bulls seem to enjoy standing on the same grass tile, apparently they are all feeding enough to bring them out of the starving zone. Thanks for attempting to help and easing my paranoia.

[greycat]

Animals all clustering together on the same tile is a known bug.  The only realistic workaround is to have a separate pasture for each animal, which is a massive pain in the ass once they start reproducing.

I usually kill all grazers so I don't have to deal with this.

[PaleBlueHammer]

There's a small mod (called Modest Mod I think) that patches this up, very light and efficient mod that doesn't change gameplay too much.

Also I tend to avoid grazers if I'm able, unless I have a ton of above-ground space, which is usually never.  Pigs are easier as meat animals, they don't graze, they can be milked, and give fairly average resources when slaughtered.  My current fort has a ton of swine products, sprinkled here and there with the occasional Unicorn Roast.

mmmmm, unicorn roast....

[Larix]

To adress the basic question:

yes, the more voracious grazers need to be kept separate. Putting more than two cows or buffalo in one pasture zone just invites trouble. Smaller grazers can get along better, but still love to butt heads over the same patch of grass once there are flocks of five or ten in a single pasture (and for them, larger pastures can take off some of the pressure). The really big grazers are usually too much trouble to bother with, because you'll have to check their grass supply and cramped space troubles at least once per season, which adds up to a lot of micromanagement for something that should run itself.

Smaller grazers like goats and sheep are reasonably docile and can handle cramped conditions somewhat better than the larger animals. They give the same amount of milk and their butchery returns aren't too bad, either. Sheep and alpacas also give wool, a good insurance for wool-requiring moods.

@below - yes, Llamas give wool, too, but they're already so big that i find them troublesome. Alpacas are about the biggest grazers that can be kept in large numbers without massive pasture management.

[krenshala]

Llamas also provide wool if sheared.

[GavJ]

Cows are terrible livestock. You should just not use cows.

Sheep are over 8 times more efficient at amount of meat per tile of grazing required, give as much milk as cows, and also give yarn on top of it all. They are IMO the best all around livestock for versatility.

For food alone, pigs I think are the best, since they only need 1x1 pastures as they do not graze, and they give milk still as well (setting aside exotic options like giant sperm whale farms)

A combo of mostly pigs + a few sheep gives you lots of efficient food and protection against yarn insanity.

Alpacas, etc. have no advantages other than pet value, and there are generally better things available in most cases as pets anyway (in particular since having a pet also means you don't get meat anymore as an option). That said, sheep are still better than goats since they are identical except for double pet value, so might as well have the higher pet value just... in case.