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[Nilik]

Now that cows are milkable, i'd like to give cow farming a go on my next embark. The thing is, I don't want them running around the fort, clogging up the meeting halls and eating all my FPS with their pathing. So... what is the best way to keep them in once place? I've heard of people using restraints to keep them immobile as well as using pits, but both seem to have their flaws. I've heard of a bug where a cow will be removed from it's restraint after/when being milked, and if I pit the cows they're still going to try and escap every time someone opens the door to milk them.

So... options?

[Peewee]

Er, just bring ~4 of them, and the pathing shouldn't be too much trouble. Cage any more that get born, and butcher them when they grow up.

[Nilik]

Er, just bring ~4 of them, and the pathing shouldn't be too much trouble. Cage any more that get born, and butcher them when they grow up.

I want to be able to milk them, can I do that when they're moving around? They're also liable to become people's pets if they're not seperated from the rest of the fort; can you milk pets?

[Peewee]

http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/DF2010:Milk
1. I stand corrected, they all need to be caged.
2. No they aren't. Only cats (ok, other vermin hunters too...) can claim owners. However, you can't restrain pets, so you shouldn't be able to milk them.

[peregarrett]

I use restrains. Chains allow them to be milked, as long as the length of chain allows cow to be moved into workshop. I posted the example of milking facility some days ago
Here it is:

Code: [Select]

############
#$$$$$$$$$$#
#$$$$$$$$$$#
#$$$$WWW$$$#
+$$$$WWW$$$#
#$$$$WWW$$$#
#$$$$$$$$$$#
#$$$$$$$$$$#
############
# - Wall
$ - chain, room of each chain covers the central workshop
W - workshop


[Hans Lemurson]

I was under the impression that chains confine you to just the squares adjacent to the chain itself.  How can animals chained next to the wall be milked at the workshop in the center of the room?

[Gnoll Fortress]

You don't need to restrain them to milk them I'm pretty sure you can milk pets.

[bcd1024]

You don't need to restrain them to milk them I'm pretty sure you can milk pets.

I'm pretty sure you're wrong on all accounts. I remember reading on the wiki you can't milk pets. Your milker will also not milk free-roaming animals, they need to be caged or restrained.

[drayath]

One other solution.

Have a locked area containing the workshop, a small bedroom with plus some expensive statues for happyness.
Lock the worker in the room permenantly.
pit new cows/female horses/camels into the room from above
drop in a selection of booze from above and some empty barrel into a quantum stockpile from above.
Have the worker milk cows and make cheese.
Occasionally get him to dump all the cheese down a pit to the level below.

Other than a few stockpile squares to keep milk/cheese need very little room so not much pathing can happen.

[Psieye]

One other solution.

Have a locked area containing the workshop, a small bedroom with plus some expensive statues for happyness.
Lock the worker in the room permenantly.
pit new cows/female horses/camels into the room from above
drop in a selection of booze from above and some empty barrel into a quantum stockpile from above.
Have the worker milk cows and make cheese.
Occasionally get him to dump all the cheese down a pit to the level below.

Other than a few stockpile squares to keep milk/cheese need very little room so not much pathing can happen.

This. A variant would be to just lock it normally and do all milking, then unlock it so dwarves will then come over and re-do the restraints at your own pace.

[BaronBalloon]

cages are a good way to store your cows. EXCEPT for breeding. for this, i recommend using 1x1 pits with a door on the lower level. this way no pathing will occur.

[Sphalerite]

As far as I can tell, cows will be milked regardless of whether they are chained, caged, or free-roaming.  The milker will go and grab the cow, wherever it is, and then drag it to the farmer's workshop.  After milking the cow will be let loose.  If it was assigned to a chain or cage another dwarf will presently come along and put it back where it was assigned to go.

I have run successful dairy farms in several fortresses now.  The method I use is to make a small room off to one side of the main fortress containing one built cage, a few chains, and a farmer's workshop.  I put all the cows and calves in the cage.  Bulls go on the chains, and all but the best one or two bulls get butchered the moment they mature.  The cow room is connected to the main fortress by a single tile wide corridor with multiple door set to be dwarf-accessible but pet-impassible.  Just outside that I have stockpiles for buckets and milk, and a second farmer's workshop where cheese is made.

Every now and then I set the farmer's workshop to milk cows.  A dwarf will go and get a cow from the cage and milk it.  The cow is released afterward but can't get very far because of the pet-impassible doors.  While out of its cage it can get pregnant however, and will then give birth after being put back in the cage.  All calves, as soon as they are born, get assigned to that same cage.  Bulls, when they mature, get assigned to one of the chains, and then butchered if I have already have better bulls chained up.  I try to breed them for size and amount of muscle.

The milk later gets made into cheese, which is then combined with turtle and plump helmets to make roasts.

[Proteus]

As far as I can tell, cows will be milked regardless of whether they are chained, caged, or free-roaming.  The milker will go and grab the cow, wherever it is, and then drag it to the farmer's workshop.  After milking the cow will be let loose.  If it was assigned to a chain or cage another dwarf will presently come along and put it back where it was assigned to go.
....

Definitely correct, at least when I last used it (which might have been around version 0.31.10 )

[cyks]

I also confirm (as of .12) that milking is a hell of a lot easier than all of you are trying to make it :/

[morgoththegreat]

My forts produce free-range milk, I let my cows and bull lounge around in the meeting rooms. Whenever I order them to get milked the milker runs off to find one, drags it over to the workshop, milks it instantaneously (has anyone else ever though the actual milking process is ridiculously short?) and lets it go. I didn't even know you could milk restrained animals until I started reading these threads about convoluted milking methods.

You can also milk horses and donkeys to produce milk of the same value (horses are cheaper on embark). However, I always like milking cows because it seems like that's the way it should be, milking donkeys feels a bit off. This is similar to the way I (and I'm sure I'm not the only one) build floodgates to hold back liquids even though doors perform better, it seems more authentic.

Somebody should edit the wiki, as it's currently spreading the misinformation that probably led to this thread.