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[billybobfred]

Behold!

Spoiler: How it works (heug image) (click to show/hide)

The pressure plate and hatch are a standard one-way path setup. The door, when unlocked, allows the dwarves to bypass the pressure plate, and the plate is set as a Restricted traffic zone to ensure they do so.

No need to manually go in and forbid a stack of eggs the second they're laid. No worries about the birds you brought on embark dying of old age and taking your entire egg supply with them. No locking and unlocking and re-locking and re-unlocking and re-re-locking and re-re-unlocking and re-re-re-locking and so forth every season or so. And in particular, no need to choose "Do I want eggs or meat?" every season.

[Hyndis]

I put the poulty farm in its own room filled with nest boxes. When I want more birds I just lock the door and leave it locked for a while, maybe a year. Then I get more birds.

Unlock the door and dorfs will harvest eggs.

I only need to lock it up every once in a while when the population is getting low.

[Saiko Kila]

No need to manually go in and forbid a stack of eggs the second they're laid. No worries about the birds you brought on embark dying of old age and taking your entire egg supply with them. No locking and unlocking and re-locking and re-unlocking and re-re-locking and re-re-unlocking and re-re-re-locking and so forth every season or so. And in particular, no need to choose "Do I want eggs or meat?" every season.

Smart. I just did that to my bird room. I happen to keep some cages there, which I sometimes must inspect (they contain mainly hatchlings) while not allowing dwarves to collect eggs. I like their placing and don't want to change it. I set the plate to 20 kg. I think no bird weighs more, while no dwarf weighs less. They are fat, lazy gorgers. I hope sometimes one of them will fall through that hatch, to capybaras room.

[SenorOcho]

You people.

Does this result in a flood of job cancellations along with nest-room dancing?

[_DivideByZero_]

What purpose the the hatch serve, exactly?

[billybobfred]

What purpose the the hatch serve, exactly?

When a dwarf steps on the pressure plate, it opens, breaking the path.

Does this result in a flood of job cancellations along with nest-room dancing?

I haven't actually had it long enough for any eggs to be laid in the nest boxen in question, but if it does, that would be the time to d-b-f the whole area.

Alternately, that could be the time to point and laugh.

[bucket]

Is there something I'm missing? My bird pen is outdoors with a few nest boxes. Every pet bird of a migrant gets sent there. My stocks screen says I have 210 eggs. I figured they were just being collected and put into the food stockpile. Am I going to lose them?

[Detonate]

Couldn't you just forbid traffic, or does it not work that way?

[Acperience]

Whats the last column of drawings for?

I put the poulty farm in its own room filled with nest boxes. When I want more birds I just lock the door and leave it locked for a while, maybe a year. Then I get more birds.

Unlock the door and dorfs will harvest eggs.

I only need to lock it up every once in a while when the population is getting low.

I use what Hyndis does and how your method more effective?

[Saiko Kila]

What purpose the the hatch serve, exactly?

When a dwarf steps on the pressure plate, it opens, breaking the path.

Does this result in a flood of job cancellations along with nest-room dancing?

I haven't actually had it long enough for any eggs to be laid in the nest boxen in question, but if it does, that would be the time to d-b-f the whole area.

Alternately, that could be the time to point and laugh.

I had one storing cancellation in the last five minutes, but then I also had two "Urist McRipper, Mechanic cancels Slaughter Animal: Animal inaccessible.". That duck just slipped through his fingers and laid eggs. And he was three tiles away from the bird when I designated it to be slaughtered. Anyway, the cancellations are easy way to know when something lays eggs - I lost many eggs to these sneaky bastards, including some dragon ones.

UPDATE: It seems only the first cancellation generates announcement. Maybe my setting to "announce some job cancellations" is responsible, but none of the four following dwarves trying to pickup the eggs haven't generated anything.

[billybobfred]

Whats the last column of drawings for?

I put the poulty farm in its own room filled with nest boxes. When I want more birds I just lock the door and leave it locked for a while, maybe a year. Then I get more birds.

Unlock the door and dorfs will harvest eggs.

I only need to lock it up every once in a while when the population is getting low.

I use what Hyndis does and how your method more effective?

The last column shows how birds get in to lay the eggs. I don't think fliers trip pressure plates, but even if they do, they can fly over the hole. (oh and the whole weight setting thing i guess)

My method results in eggs and hatchlings every season; put some nest boxen behind the door and some in front of it. It also doesn't lock the birds behind a forbidden door, so you can butcher them at will. My door is mainly so you can expand without disassembling the whole thing every time, but it can also be used to stop a birdsplosion if your butchers are falling behind.

Couldn't you just forbid traffic, or does it not work that way?

Nope. Traffic zones don't determine where dwarves go, only how they get there.

Is there something I'm missing? My bird pen is outdoors with a few nest boxes. Every pet bird of a migrant gets sent there. My stocks screen says I have 210 eggs. I figured they were just being collected and put into the food stockpile. Am I going to lose them?

Eggs only hatch if they're left in the nest box. If you want more birds, you have to prevent the dwarves from collecting the eggs somehow. And birds have fairly low lifespans, so you'll need more of them eventually.

[Hyndis]

How is that easier than just locking the door? If you have only 1 door into the poultry room you can lock the door whenever you want more birds. Just check to make sure there are no dorfs currently in the room and lock it.

You will get job interruptions if a dwarf is on his way to collect eggs, but you will only get 1 interruption per dorf, and they will stop attempting to collect the eggs until you unlock the door.

[Saiko Kila]

How is that easier than just locking the door? If you have only 1 door into the poultry room you can lock the door whenever you want more birds. Just check to make sure there are no dorfs currently in the room and lock it.

You will get job interruptions if a dwarf is on his way to collect eggs, but you will only get 1 interruption per dorf, and they will stop attempting to collect the eggs until you unlock the door.

They stop attempting, and other try, but only first of them generated any message. My setting is to "announce some jobs cancellations". Other dwarves were just standing on the plate with big "?" and going to do something else, no announcements.

[Acperience]

How is that easier than just locking the door? If you have only 1 door into the poultry room you can lock the door whenever you want more birds. Just check to make sure there are no dorfs currently in the room and lock it.

You will get job interruptions if a dwarf is on his way to collect eggs, but you will only get 1 interruption per dorf, and they will stop attempting to collect the eggs until you unlock the door.

They stop attempting, and other try, but only first of them generated any message. My setting is to "announce some jobs cancellations". Other dwarves were just standing on the plate with big "?" and going to do something else, no announcements.

Wouldn't it take a smidge a more effort for the computer to repath the interrupted dwarf? even though it doesn't give you an onscreen message.

[_DivideByZero_]

So the hatch is meant to be the only path to the chickens besides the door?