Animals serve as a source of money and resources on your farm. They can typically be obtained only after a building is constructed on the farm that is suitable to house them (a coop for chickens, for example) and with the exception of the horse and the pet, must either be purchased from Marnie’s Ranch or hatched from an Incubator. In either case, these animals arrive as babies and must grow into adults before they begin producing animal products.
Animals that live in coops (chickens, ducks, rabbits and dinosaurs) have a chance each morning of producing products (usually eggs) that can be gathered by hand. Using the Milk Pail, cows can usually be milked daily, and goats can usually be milked once every two days. Sheep can be sheared with the Shears when their wool grows in, and pigs can be let outside to dig up truffles.
Buildings
Buildings can be purchased from the Carpenter’s Shop, and will be completed within a few days. The only way to have a building moved to a different location is to demolish it. To demolish a building that houses animals inside, they must first be relocated. This ensures that animals aren’t lost in the process. Having any of these buildings demolished will not give you the resources back.
Barns, coops and slime hutches house animals, silos store hay, and the stable unlocks the horse.
Care
Friendship
Animals that live in barns and coops have a friendship rating that can be seen by right-clicking the animal after petting. The rating is out of 5 hearts and is shown in half-heart increments, and determines how likely that animal is to produce higher-quality products if that animal is capable of producing them in the first place. Friendship can be raised by daily petting (right-clicking the animal) and feeding.
Mood
Like friendship, an animal’s current mood can be checked by right-clicking after petting the animal.
Food
Animals do not die if not fed, but will become upset and cease production of animal products until feeding resumes.
Animals that live in barns and coops can eat either fresh grass (if allowed outside) or hay (if kept inside, or unable to find grass). These animals will have their mood changed to “very happy today!” upon eating fresh grass. Slimes only need to have their troughs filled with water from the watering can, and horses and pets do not need to eat.
Grass & Hay
Opening the gates of a coop or barn will allow animals to come outside (when the weather is not rainy, snowy, or stormy) and eat grass. The animals will return to their buildings in the evening to sleep. Closing the gates again in the evening is recommended in the case of goats, as their mood becomes “sad” if the gates are left open overnight.
If they remain inside or do not find grass to eat, they will instead eat hay.
Once a silo has been constructed on the farm, using a scythe on grass will place hay inside the silo. Hay can then be gathered from hoppers inside barns and coops and placed in the feeding bins nearby. Building a silo before building animal buildings can make care much easier, though hay can be purchased from Marnie’s Ranch even if the silo has not been built.
In the winter, snow covers the grass completely, making grazing impossible. As such, it may be advisable to use the scythe to cut some or all of the grass into hay before the end of the fall season to ensure enough reserve hay to feed your animals through the winter.