Ranching Guide: Animal Care & Setups

Ranching is the farm system for raising barn and coop animals, feeding them, keeping them happy, and turning their products into profit. It also covers breeding, incubating eggs, and using special items that boost animal output.

Buildings and what they unlock

Coops

A Coop houses chickens, ducks, rabbits, and dinosaurs. The base Coop holds 4 coop animals, the Big Coop holds 8 and includes an incubator, and the Deluxe Coop holds 12 and includes an auto-feed system.

The Coop unlocks chickens.
The Big Coop unlocks ducks.
The Deluxe Coop unlocks rabbits.

Barns

A Barn houses cows, goats, sheep, and pigs. The base Barn holds 4 barn animals, the Big Barn holds 8 and allows animals to give birth, and the Deluxe Barn holds 12 and includes an auto-feed system.

The Big Barn unlocks goats.
The Deluxe Barn unlocks sheep and pigs.

Feeding systems and amenities

Hay is dried grass used as animal feed.
A Silo stores hay for later use.
Auto-feed systems in Deluxe buildings distribute hay automatically from your silos.
A Heater keeps animals warmer and happier during winter.
An Auto-Petter satisfies animals in coops and barns, but it does not replace the benefits of manually petting them.

Animal happiness, feeding, and care

Animals need to be fed regularly to stay happy and produce well. Feeding can come from hay or from grazing grass outside.

Animals that eat every day mature normally and stay productive.
Petting and general happiness improve output and product quality.
The Animals tab shows your animals, their friendship, whether they have been petted that day, and which ones have received a Golden Animal Cracker.

Products by animal

Chickens

Chickens live in Coops. They can be bought at Marnie's Ranch, hatched from Eggs, and some farms start with chickens already present.

A mature, fed chicken produces an Egg every day.
With enough friendship and happiness, it can produce a Large Egg or Large Brown Egg.
Eggs can be placed in an incubator to hatch another chicken.
Eggs can be turned into Mayonnaise.

Ducks

Ducks live in Coops and are unlocked by the Big Coop.

A mature, fed duck produces a Duck Egg every 2 days.
With enough friendship and happiness, a duck may produce a Duck Feather instead of a Duck Egg.
Duck Eggs can be placed in an incubator to hatch another duck.
Duck Eggs can be turned into Duck Mayonnaise.
Ducks that swim on water do not need hay or grass overnight.

Rabbits

Rabbits live in the Deluxe Coop.

Happy adult rabbits produce Wool every 4 days.
They can also produce a Rabbit's Foot.
Rabbits do not reproduce.

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs are born mature.

A mature, fed dinosaur produces a Dinosaur Egg every 7 days.
Dinosaur Eggs can be placed in an incubator to hatch another dinosaur.
Dinosaur Eggs can be turned into Dinosaur Mayonnaise.

Cows, goats, sheep, and pigs

Barn animals are the core of ranching profits and breeding.

Pigs can produce Truffles outdoors.
Sheep produce Wool.
Goats produce Goat Milk.
Cows produce milk and can reproduce.
Cows, goats, sheep, and pigs have a low chance to reproduce when housed in appropriate barns.

Ostriches

Ostriches are a late-game ranching animal.

A mature, fed ostrich produces an Ostrich Egg every 7 days.
Ostrich Eggs can be placed in an Ostrich Incubator to hatch another ostrich.
Ostrich Eggs can be turned into 10 Mayonnaise of the same quality as the egg.

Breeding and incubation

Incubators

Eggs from chickens, ducks, dinosaurs, and ostriches can be hatched in incubators.

The Big Coop and Deluxe Coop include an incubator.
Ostriches use an Ostrich Incubator.

Birth in barns

Some barn animals can give birth instead of being hatched.

Cows, goats, sheep, and pigs have a low chance to reproduce.
The more animals there are inside the same barn, the higher the chance of birth.
When birth occurs, a notice appears before the day starts.
The game does not otherwise indicate that the animal is pregnant.

Golden Animal Cracker

The Golden Animal Cracker is a major ranching booster.

Giving it to any animal other than a pig makes that animal produce 2 times its normal output on its normal schedule.
It does not speed up output.
Baby animals can receive one; they begin producing double output when they mature.
A music note icon appears above an animal when the cracker is given.
The Animals tab and the animal’s info screen show a cracker icon afterward.
A Golden Animal Cracker can also be thrown into a Fish Pond, where it works the same way.
Pigs cannot receive a Golden Animal Cracker.
It can only be used once per animal or Fish Pond.
If the animal or Fish Pond is sold after receiving one, the cracker is permanently lost.

Selling animals

Animals can be sold directly from their friendship and mood interface.

Pet the animal first.
Right-click the animal to open its interface.
Hover over the gold coin button to see the sale value.
Confirm the sale to complete it.

Sale price depends on the animal’s hearts.

Rabbits can be sold.
Pigs can be sold.

Grass, grazing, and enclosure management

Grass is a key part of ranching efficiency.

Grass spreads naturally only to tillable soil.
It does not spread on already grassy tiles.
Paths, fences, closed gates, and furniture can block grass spread.
Fencing off patches of grass can help preserve feed inside animal enclosures.
Placing a fence on grass prevents animals from eating it.
Blue Grass is especially liked by animals and is useful to keep near farm buildings.
Blue Grass does not naturally spawn on most farm maps except Meadowlands Farm.

Risks: animals left outside

If barn or coop animals are left outside when the building doors are closed, they can be in danger.

A trapped animal may be grumpy the next day.
There is also a chance of a wild animal attack during the night.
The attack checks barn and coop buildings with closed doors and animals left outside.
Larger farms with more buildings reduce the chance that any one building is chosen.
The first animal stuck outside in the chosen building becomes the target.

Ranching priorities

A strong ranch setup usually follows this order:

Build a Coop early for chickens and basic egg income.
Upgrade to Big Coop for ducks and incubators.
Upgrade to Deluxe Coop for rabbits and auto-feeding.
Build a Barn for cows, then upgrade to Big Barn for goats and breeding.
Upgrade to Deluxe Barn for sheep, pigs, and auto-feeding.
Use grass, silos, and heaters to keep production stable year-round.
Apply Golden Animal Crackers to the animals that produce the most valuable outputs.