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Author Topic: Efficient animal husbandry  (Read 1540 times)

AutomataKittay

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Efficient animal husbandry
« on: June 19, 2011, 11:32:50 am »

I did a quick search and didn't find much productive outside of selective breeding. What's the best way of managing multiple species for long-term husbandry?

I'm still using version .18 so no eggs nor pastures.

My current method is using below arrangement, the cage holding the culled immatures until they grows up and get pulled out to one of the unsurrounded restrains on top to be checked over again. Then if male and desirable, assign to one of the upward-facing restraints and culling the 'older' one from the other side. Same for the females, but using the side-facing restraints and going from top to bottom, butchering the opposite side as they get replaced.

Newly born critters get put to the unsurrounded restraints on the top to be checked over and butchered if undesirable, or put into the cage to mature if desirable.

Each specie gets their own cluster to be processed in.

Code: [Select]
.....
.v.v.
..j..
F.F.F
FvFvF
FFFFF
.vFv.
FFFFF
.vFv.
FFFFF
.vFv.
FFFFF
.vFv.
FFFFF

F = Fortifications ( matter of taste, anything that block movements works )
v = restraints
. = floor
j = cage

The restraints and cages are a bit difficult to use with long pages full of critters, are there easier/better way of managed breeding and processing of older creatures without being indiscriminate with the z animal screen?
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MystRunner

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Re: Efficient animal husbandry
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2011, 02:26:20 pm »

depends on how many animals you keep around. For instance I try to keep one male and a couple of females around. When I get a new female in that is an adult one of the older one's gets culled. Every time a new male comes in I cull the old male. From what I can understand about animal breeding is it doesn't matter where the male is the females will have baby's regardless. But what would make your operation more productive is use only smaller quicker growing animals especially those with multiple uses, and make sure you have a butchers, tanners close by. Create a bedroom, dinning room, and food storage room near the animals. Designate a burrow for that floor and proceeded to make a dwarfs only jobs to milk,shear,butcher, and tan the animals.
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ThrowerOfStones

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Re: Efficient animal husbandry
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2011, 03:47:21 pm »

I know this isn't helpful, but if you're interested in animal husbandry why wouldn't you upgrade?
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AutomataKittay

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Re: Efficient animal husbandry
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2011, 09:31:53 pm »

I know this isn't helpful, but if you're interested in animal husbandry why wouldn't you upgrade?

Laziness, mostly, and I have a few forts still being worked on in .18. I don't really like to move saves around. I'll most likely upgrade eventually once my forts either dies or bore out  :D

depends on how many animals you keep around. For instance I try to keep one male and a couple of females around. When I get a new female in that is an adult one of the older one's gets culled. Every time a new male comes in I cull the old male. From what I can understand about animal breeding is it doesn't matter where the male is the females will have baby's regardless. But what would make your operation more productive is use only smaller quicker growing animals especially those with multiple uses, and make sure you have a butchers, tanners close by. Create a bedroom, dinning room, and food storage room near the animals. Designate a burrow for that floor and proceeded to make a dwarfs only jobs to milk,shear,butcher, and tan the animals.

No shearing in this version, but will keep that in mind for future. I know it don't matters where the male is, my layout's to keep creature of a specie in one easily identified area, with visual difference for 'slots' for male and females. I want to keep more animals, but it's difficult with how clumsy restraints and jail selections are with long lists, so I keep between 3 and 10 of each species I'm interested in. I does keep butchers down in the pen areas, makes it much faster to process them.
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MystRunner

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Re: Efficient animal husbandry
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2011, 10:55:37 pm »

I know this isn't helpful, but if you're interested in animal husbandry why wouldn't you upgrade?

Laziness, mostly, and I have a few forts still being worked on in .18. I don't really like to move saves around. I'll most likely upgrade eventually once my forts either dies or bore out  :D

depends on how many animals you keep around. For instance I try to keep one male and a couple of females around. When I get a new female in that is an adult one of the older one's gets culled. Every time a new male comes in I cull the old male. From what I can understand about animal breeding is it doesn't matter where the male is the females will have baby's regardless. But what would make your operation more productive is use only smaller quicker growing animals especially those with multiple uses, and make sure you have a butchers, tanners close by. Create a bedroom, dinning room, and food storage room near the animals. Designate a burrow for that floor and proceeded to make a dwarfs only jobs to milk,shear,butcher, and tan the animals.

No shearing in this version, but will keep that in mind for future. I know it don't matters where the male is, my layout's to keep creature of a specie in one easily identified area, with visual difference for 'slots' for male and females. I want to keep more animals, but it's difficult with how clumsy restraints and jail selections are with long lists, so I keep between 3 and 10 of each species I'm interested in. I does keep butchers down in the pen areas, makes it much faster to process them.

Then using that system it does sound like you pretty much have the most efficient animal husbandry for that version. Though the efficiency drops when you go up to 31.25 very very badly.
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I don't know what is more impressive, that dwarves can skip salting and curing meat opting for zombiefication, or that the dark art of necromancy has been twisted to the cause of curing meats.

Dwarf Fortress : Crimes Against Nature Simulator.