Print

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

[Scribble]

I'd really like to make some sort of pen for my cattle/horses but I can't work out how to make one that allows them to be milkable and doesn't mess up pathfinding by using 'tightly closed doors'. Ideas or solutions anythone? Thanks!

[AncientEnemy]

use restraints. when ordered to milk an animal, the milker will take it off the restraint and bring it to the farmers workshop, and another dwarf will re-chain it afterwards. just make sure the workshops is nearby, so the dwarf doing the milking doesn't have far to transport the animal. dwarves will literally get into a tug of war over an animal, one trying to take it to be milked, the other trying to rechain it, if given the opportunity.

i tend to use a 9x9 or 11x11 room with the farmers workshop in the center, with 2x1 stalls around the outer edges of the room, each with a restraint/cow, like so:

Code: [Select]

█████████████
█ r█r█r█r█r █
█r █ █ █ █ r█
███       ███
     www   r█
     www  ███
     www   r█
███       ███
█r █ █ █ █ r█
█ r█r█r█r█r █
█████████████


[Scribble]

Thanks, now, how does one introduce the bulls... I rather feel that that could be an animal workshop job. Assisted insemination

[Boingboingsplat]

You just have to wait for the bulls to do it on their own.

And of course by "do it" I mean "release spores."

[AncientEnemy]

you just need to have at least 1 bull, anywhere in the fort. personally i keep mine chained in the same room as the cows, but it doesn't matter. as long as it's alive and somewhere on your map, you'll get calves. reproduction works this way for all creatures (even dwarves, limited by marriage), no actual contact is necessary.

[Stik]

If your map constantly spawns a certain anamal you dont need to.. (i have a female elephant amy my map constantly spawns elephants and the elephant gave birth

[Jhoosier]

If your map constantly spawns a certain anamal you dont need to.. (i have a female elephant amy my map constantly spawns elephants and the elephant gave birth

So that's where all those mountain goats come from...

[Bishop36]

Will one bull get multiple cows pregnant?

[Stik]

Yes, one bull will get multiple cows pregnant. for embark food but one male dog and 3 female =P

[Qwernt]

I have noticed that if the restraint is far away from the workshop, Urist McIdiot might try to rerestain the animal while Urist McMilker is still walking to the workshop. Basically a little tug of war - I haven't watched close enough to see if the milker always wins or not.

[Frumple]

I've had success just building a cage right beside the workshop with all my milkables (minus a few breeders) innit. They'll pull 'em out of the cage and put them back quite happily. Sometimes helps to have the workshop a bit out of the way, though, in case someone gets it into their head the critter needs to be back in the cage.

Has anyone tried just disabling animal hauling on everyone 'cept the milker?

[Alkey]

Unless it changed with the patch animals don't reproduce while in a cage.  So using a cage is convient and takes less metal/space than restraints, it won't allow your heard to grow. 

[Demonic Spoon]

I've had success just building a cage right beside the workshop with all my milkables (minus a few breeders) innit. They'll pull 'em out of the cage and put them back quite happily. Sometimes helps to have the workshop a bit out of the way, though, in case someone gets it into their head the critter needs to be back in the cage.

Has anyone tried just disabling animal hauling on everyone 'cept the milker?

Great ideas there! I must try them out!

[Ilmoran]

Unless it changed with the patch animals don't reproduce while in a cage.  So using a cage is convient and takes less metal/space than restraints, it won't allow your heard to grow.

Actually, that gives me an interesting idea...  It depends on how fast the spores work.  Basically, keep 1 male on a restraint (or free range, whatever), and keep all the females caged nexted to the farmer's workshop.  If the spores work fast enough, the females should get impregnated while being walked over to get milked, then go back into the cage and give birth there.  I am so going to try this now.

[Frumple]

Aye, thus the 'minus a few breeders' part.

'Course, I wouldn't be surprised if the cows got spore'd up while they were being milked; animals definitely give birth while caged, as I've witnessed that repeatedly, but the impregnation doesn't seem to occur. Dunno how much loose time the cows would need to get yeasty, though.

Guess I'll have to take my speedy-dwarves and test it, quick-like.

EDIT: Ninja'd by Ilmoran, argh.