A Question on Farm without Animal

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Starain, Apr 10, 2019.

  1. Starain

    Starain Orbital Explorer

    Has anyone tried to have a farm without any animal at all? Except perhaps the "mandatory" cat or dog. Do you think you miss a big chunk of the game? Or is it pretty much okay?

    So far, in my summer of first year, I have two chickens (considering I already built the coop for quest). The thing is I have enough fun with the crops that I don't really feel like continuing the ranch path. I'm thinking of selling them and remove the coop.

    What is your experience and opinion on this?

    P.S.: Do chickens live forever if I just let them be? I can't find this information in the chicken page of SDV's Wiki, hahah.
     
    • One More Day

      One More Day Cosmic Narwhal

      There's no right or wrong. It's your farm, do it your way. If you don't want animals then don't have any. You miss out by not doing whatever you prefer. I've done farms with no animals, but I've also done farms with no crops.

      It's up to you If you want to get rid of your coop, do so. You can always build again if you change your mind Or you can start a whole new farm.

      And yes, animal are basically immortal If you lock them in a barn, even without food, and forget about them for a hundred years, you can go back and they'll still be there for you. They'll be grumpy, but still alive
       
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      • ShneekeyTheLost

        ShneekeyTheLost Master Astronaut

        I would agree with One More Day, there is no right or wrong way to do things in Stardew Valley. You do what you want to do.

        The only word of caution I would give is that there are many different things you get from animals that are required to complete the Community Center bundles. So if you want to work with the Junimos and finish all the quests at the Community Center, then you're going to need at least some investment in animal husbandry. I would also suggest to you that if you are having difficulty in the mines or the other mines that unlock when the first one is completed, Cheese is an excellent food source for healing health and stamina, so you may wish a few cows and cheese presses to make things easier on you.

        Having said that, if you have no interest in completing the community center bundles, and you either don't want to go into the mines or simply don't have any difficulty keeping up with your health and stamina there, there is no compelling reason to keep animals on the farm, and I have done several farms with absolutely no animals whatsoever.
         
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        • WilliamZ

          WilliamZ Phantasmal Quasar

          An animal only dies if you close the barn door while some animal is still outside, 50%/50% chance of it be attacked by wild dogs according to wiki. Some animals may fall sleep outside of their barn, but as long that you keep the doors open they will appear inside in the next day.


          Wild Animal Attacks
          [​IMG]
          Animal after attack
          If an animal has been trapped outside (see previous section) with the barn or coop doors closed, there is a chance they will be attacked by a wild animal during the night.

          After the player goes to sleep, any events that will happen during the night (such as Bundle events) are calculated as normal. If no events are due to occur, there will be a 50% chance that the game will attempt to start a wild animal attack event. If this event proceeds, the game will go through all buildings to find a barn or coop that has their doors closed and has animals left outside.

          For each building, the game takes a random number between 0 and 1 and compares it to 1/(the number of total farm buildings). If the random number is larger, the building is ignored. In other words, the more buildings the player has, the less likely that one will be attacked. For example, if the player has two farm buildings, each building has a 50% chance of being attacked, three buildings would give 33%, four would give 25% chance of being attacked, etc.

          Once a building has been chosen, the event takes the first animal stuck outside from that building to be the target of the attack. The animal will be removed from the game and in the morning, all other animals will have a mood message saying "<animal name> looks stressed and paranoid today. It seems like something bad happened last night."
           
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          • WhitneyFox

            WhitneyFox Void-Bound Voyager

            Farming was actually the last thing I worked on. I didn't get my first coop or barn until almost the end of year 1.
            If you don't have the animals you'll need to buy the ingredients for cooking (to complete the achievments for Grandpa's evaluation) and the Community Center bundles if you want to follow that route, but as others have said, there is no right or wrong way to play.
             
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            • jmababa

              jmababa Orbital Explorer

              I'm farm without crops now after community bundle is done cause it's hilltop farm it is more profitable to visit everyday your farm quarry everyday than grow crops. End game I'm selling lots of gold bars, gems, iorn bars, copper bars and anything dug up from worms in quarry and of course animal products too much grass in land and sap from trees and fruit process products from trees then winery or pickler
               
                Last edited: Apr 14, 2019
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              • Clovis_Sangrail

                Clovis_Sangrail Subatomic Cosmonaut

                Usually, I buy a coop and a barn when I get the cash and resources. I use them to produce the items needed for the community center bundles, then I dismantle them. I get my money from winemaking and and my apiary (usually about 200 bee houses).

                But this most recent playthrough, I kept the barn, upgraded it to allow pigs, and became a truffle farmer. I now have 2 barns and 24 very happy truffle-producing pigs.

                Additionally, my Foraging is maxed out, so I get iridium truffles every time. 40,000 to 70,000 gold a day, and all I have to do is pet the piggies and pick up the truffles. I don;t even bother to make truffle oil.

                So you can prosper either way. Once you have all the animal products for the community center, animals are not essential, but they can be profitable.
                 
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                • ShneekeyTheLost

                  ShneekeyTheLost Master Astronaut

                  Iridium quality Truffles sell for 1,250g/ea, and a Deluxe Barn can only accommodate 12 pigs at a time, so that means you have 4-6 barns to have that many pigs on your farm. I find room to doubt.

                  Don't get me wrong, pigs can be moderately profitable, but this is a bit hyperbolic.
                   
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                  • WhitneyFox

                    WhitneyFox Void-Bound Voyager

                    I think he means 12 pigs in 2 barns for 24 total. Though the profit math might be a bit off. I usually get 1-2 truffles a day from each pig (except on rainy days or in winter when they don't go out). That gives 30-60K a day. Usually on the day after a rainy day I get double, which means if it's a 2 truffle day I could get as much as 120K, but that would only be if each pig gave double and double which is extremely rare.
                     
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                    • Starain

                      Starain Orbital Explorer

                      Oh my, everyone gave such interesting insight! I apologise for not being able to reply to every single one of them personally, which I'd love to do out of politeness, but it seems like I don't quite have the time or mind power to do so.

                      So far, I've let my chickens go and demolish the barn after reading some of the replies on this thread. The initial reason of me creating this thread is because I found out I'm no longer comfortable with any sort of animal products and I wonder whether I can play the game just fine.

                      It is indeed a bummer with the Community Centre, considering there's a whole bundle of animal products and another whole collection for fishes. But I guess I can collect some items little by little through some random items the Travelling Cart sells. Do you guys think it's possible?

                      The truffle pig idea is pretty interesting, though! I suppose I'm okay with the pigs helping me finding that sought after mushroom. Although it'd take a while until I get there, I'm glad to see that it might help me financially in the long run. Gotta save those sweet gold for sending my future fictional two kids into college, hahah.
                       
                      • squigglyruth

                        squigglyruth Pangalactic Porcupine

                        This is definitely possible - all the animal products and fish for the community centre can turn up on the cart, and Krobus also stocks some of the fish in the sewer.

                        If you increase frienship with Emily, Demetrius and Linus you might get wool, bream, catfish, largemouth bass and maki roll through the post.

                        On Wednesdays, Krobus has a 1/11 chance of each of chub, tilapia, tiger trout, bullhead, sturgeon and shad. He might also sell you the fried egg or maki roll (on Saturdays), as might the pub.

                        You would still need to buy the following from the cart:
                        4 of: large milk, large goat milk, 2 large eggs (one of each colour), duck egg (assuming you get wool from Emily through the mail; or buy it if you see it)
                        sunfish, carp, sardine, tuna, red snapper, walleye, eel, pufferfish, sandfish, woodskip
                        duck feather

                        The animal products and pufferfish are pretty common, but the standard fish less so. On my current save file, the sardine, tuna and red snapper don't turn up until late in Y3, and in fact the duck feather doesn't come until the end of Y4. So, it depends how patient you are!
                         
                        • WilliamZ

                          WilliamZ Phantasmal Quasar

                          You should play in the way that you enjoy most, or else the game will become a chore, I find boring to play with kegs and preserve jars (even knowing that they are profitable superior), so I'm always messing with something unusual for the general opinion.
                          I already did a Crystalarium farm and a Wool farm, next time that I play I will try a Syrup and Wood Farm.

                          This one was my last wool farm.

                          [​IMG]
                           
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                          • Clovis_Sangrail

                            Clovis_Sangrail Subatomic Cosmonaut

                            Happy pigs give more than one truffle a day. Happy pigs can sometimes give three. I have 24 very happy pigs, so I usually get at least 40 truffles a day.

                            40 times 1250 = 50,000 gold.

                            I did start making sure they got pet every day once I realized there was a connection between pig happiness and number of truffles dug up.
                             
                            • Sventex

                              Sventex Pangalactic Porcupine

                              I farm without animals all the time. Personally I find it a great way to avoid multitasking. If you need any animal products, the traveling merchant cart can provide all that you need, just remember to check twice a week. You can also get the cloth to build the mill via recycling newspapers. My latest playthrough had be getting my first animal in years 3, after Grandpa's 4 candle judgement.
                              Although I should mention that I side with Joja all the time, because all I have to worry about are gold quotas. I find the Junimos to be cruel taskmasters.
                               
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                              • Starain

                                Starain Orbital Explorer

                                Thank you for more replies and insights, guys. I'm pretty much a textbook kind of person. Perhaps a bit too textbook-y, so I believed that a good way to play Stardew Valley is by pretty much developing all of its various aspects.

                                At the moment, in the end of my first Winter of Year 1, I managed to built Deluxe Barn and bought 2 baby pigs to help me with Truffle mining in the upcoming spring. I will certainly still focus on planting, but I'll do little bits of this and that beside that as well.
                                 
                                • Kurachi84

                                  Kurachi84 Cosmic Narwhal

                                  i always take cows and chickens first
                                  build coop, get 2 white chickens (otherwise the brown eggs will take up spaces, too), then build barn, take 2 cows, so i at least have milk and eggs
                                  eggs+milk = omelet, omelet+parsnip = farmer's lunch, boosting your farming level by 3, making your crops worth more, and easier for the quality bundle
                                  although i mostly use them when higher level farming, not when i'm level 3 (that's when you get it)
                                  i also keep the cows able to get pregnant, so i'll someday get more milk, and take 2 blue chicken for eggs and for fun, as i like them

                                  i start with coop and barn as soon as i got enough money, not from the start, i rather get a lot of money through crops first
                                   
                                  • WilliamZ

                                    WilliamZ Phantasmal Quasar

                                    There is a misunderstanding about animals not make money that came from old posts and guides, animals are very profitable in this game, but any kind of product that you're willing to make only show result if you have it on large quantities, your way of play isn't wrong and I believe that it's the most enjoyable way, because once you max everything there will be nothing left to do in the game.

                                    A barn with 4 pigs are more than enough for a casual gameplay I think, unless you strictly want to own only one barn I see no harm in have 6 cows, 2 goats and sheeps and 4 pigs (you can make iridium cow cheese later), for the coop you can have 4 chickens (brown, white, blue and black), 2 dinos, 2 rabbits and 4 ducks.
                                     
                                    • shybobcat

                                      shybobcat Void-Bound Voyager

                                      I’m a beginner farmer, so not much experience here. I did build both a coop and a barn to complete community center bundles. I’ve max upgraded both as soon as I could since that gave me autofeeding and additional animal products for bundles. You can also buy autograbber for your barn, which means no more milking. Currently I pet animals only when I feel like and try to pick up eggs daily. Pick up milk maybe once a week. Barn doors stay open, I just put fence around with lots of grass within. I’m getting more pigs for truffles and rabbits for rabbit foot - universally loved gift for almost anyone. I’m not into heavy profit, more doing what I like. Summer year 3, about a third of my farmland is still not developed. I did complete Community Center and Grandpa’s Evaluation. Now that I have daily iridium ore, I’ve upgraded my sprinklers and tools to iridium level.
                                       
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