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[tNok85]

I want to do a fortress that primarily eats dog. Maybe some wild animals later as well, or animals I get from the elves, but I want it to be self sustaining.

Farming on the side of course for variety + alcohol...


Any tips on how to set up an effective, self-sustaining dog farm? (Or any type of animal farm) I'd plan on bringing 5-6 dogs to start with, to make sure I get a couple females at least.

[Quietust]

Chain up a bunch of females in one area (at least 4, preferably more), plus one male, then cage them up as they're born. Once enough grow up (I usually wait until I have nothing but adults, but that can take several years), butcher all of the adults except for the youngest male and the youngest N females. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Be aware that dogs alone will probably not be able to sustain a large fortress for long, since they're only SIZE:5.

[Albedo]

First, read the wiki. 

If you had, you'd know that you are guaranteed 50% females, any animals of the same species bought at embark alternating M/F/M/F etc.

I'd also recommend you read "breeding" - that has everything you need.

I'd bring more like 8-12 dogs to begin with (even numbers for the females) - it's exponential growth, and 10 will get your "herd" jumping faster, and dogs just are not that expensive.

Decide if you'll eat puppy or not.  Same skin, same skull, 2/3 (rounded up) meat and bones, so small loss and significant time savings.

Then read "Your first fortress" - unless you really, really like to suffer through mistakes. Really.

[tNok85]

Chain up a bunch of females in one area (at least 4, preferably more), plus one male, then cage them up as they're born. Once enough grow up (I usually wait until I have nothing but adults, but that can take several years), butcher all of the adults except for the youngest male and the youngest N females. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Be aware that dogs alone will probably not be able to sustain a large fortress for long, since they're only SIZE:5.

Thanks. Mixing in farming would probably keep it up then. Any idea about pits for this purpose? I have read up on them, but haven't found much about using them as a pen.

First, read the wiki. 

If you had, you'd know that you are guaranteed 50% females, any animals of the same species bought at embark alternating M/F/M/F etc.

I'd also recommend you read "breeding" - that has everything you need.

I'd bring more like 8-12 dogs to begin with (even numbers for the females) - it's exponential growth, and 10 will get your "herd" jumping faster, and dogs just are not that expensive.

Decide if you'll eat puppy or not.  Same skin, same skull, 2/3 (rounded up) meat and bones, so small loss and significant time savings.

Then read "Your first fortress" - unless you really, really like to suffer through mistakes. Really.

Have read a ton of the wiki, including breeding. I do understand how the breeding works, I just want to get a feel for a full breeding + slaughterhouse setup, and was curious if it is reasonable to sustain a fortress on dogs (mostly). The first response answered that.

I did do the first fortress, and have been playing on and off for quite a while (I tend to play in spurts) just nothing much further than the basics with largely easy starting locations. So now I'm playing with aquifers, evil biomes, HFS, tougher starting areas (no trees and stuff), and alternatives to "GROW LOTS OF PLUMP HELMETS".

Plus, learning through mistakes isn't suffering, it's Fun.

[Albedo]

I disagree w/ Q that dogs are "too small" - if you're looking for a challenge, you could do it with cats.  A pain? yep! But hardly impossible.

And if you've read "breeding", then you won't get any better "feel" until you try it.  Each player's personal playstyle will generate their own challenges, and their own variation of each, emphasizing some, diminishing others - and in some cases, ignoring some altogether, for better or worse.

Learning thru some mistakes can be fun.  Trying to learn DF solo?...

Fun indeed.