Milk, grazing and the colony herd

Two colony species with individual records

Fortress keeps individual Dairy Goats and Dairy Cows. Each animal has its own sex, age, health, hunger, thirst, milk clock and history. These colony rules are separate from Adventure happiness, feed quality and chance-based breeding. Open Farms, then Herd to inspect an animal, locate it and assign its Milking station.

A station does not create an animal

The arriving party’s animal manifest determines its current founding herd. Buying an animal requires a live caravan visit, gold and space. Each visit sells at most two goats and one cow, and you choose male or female before buying. New stations do not grant extra animals. Older colonies adopting individual livestock can have a separate one-time allowance, up to two goats from existing stations.

Milking has its own readiness test

A female needs to be adult, alive and at least 50 health, with both hunger and thirst below 70. She must have reached her next milk time. A reachable assigned Milking station and matching Dairy order are required. Goats give 4 Goat Milk per completed milking and need one day before the next. Cows give 6 Cow Milk and need one and a half days. Milking uses no feed or water ingredients directly, so care deliveries remain necessary.

Quality follows the real animal

The site biome sets a base milk quality for the species. Actual quality then falls with the animal’s health and with the greater of its hunger and thirst. It is rounded to a whole number with a minimum of 20. This changes milk quality, while the species amount remains fixed. A bought adult starts with half a day before its first milk is ready. A female born in the colony must first reach maturity.

Feed and water are separate jobs

An ordinary supply request starts at 45 hunger or thirst, with Farming delivering feed and Hauling delivering water. Goats need one unit for each delivery and cows need two. Either delivery lowers the corresponding need by 65 points, down to zero. A Milking station’s Hauled feed & water setting must allow delivery. Food planning can offer Dried feed before Food and protect reserves. At 80 hunger or thirst, urgent supply work can wake an eligible worker.

Grass is a resource that grows back

Eligible animals start grazing at 35 hunger. One grass tile lowers goat hunger by 65 or cow hunger by 32.5. The tile is then depleted and needs four days of suitable growing time to recover. Grass must be uncovered, from 5 to 32°C, outside Frost, away from fire and shallower than two units of water. Frost and other unsuitable time do not advance regrowth. Current colony-clock herds can graze loose around camp, while older colonies can need a station grazing range or fenced pen.

Natural water and carried water

With flowing-water systems, an animal can walk to a safe reachable bank and drink from known fresh water on its own level. A source needs enough water for that species and must pass fire, magma and blight checks. A fenced animal first searches inside its pen. At 80 thirst, it can use the wider route through a fence gate to seek water outside. Natural drinking begins at 35 thirst. At 80 thirst, an urgent delivery can be posted even when a natural drinking route exists. Stored water or a reachable well can supply a separate delivery.

Health needs shelter as well as supplies

Hunger and thirst rise over calendar time. At 95 or more, either shortage costs health. Temperature below 0°C or above 35°C also costs health. Fire, magma or water at least three units deep cause separate hazard damage on movement updates. Check the animal’s actual ground and temperature. A roof at its intended station does not shelter an animal that has not arrived.

Tending and slower natural recovery

Request tending uses two Water and one Salt, with 12 base Farming work. The completed treatment lasts two days. Automatic care starts below 80 health, while the manual control can request it for a smaller injury. Recovery needs hunger and thirst below 60, a temperature from 0 to 35°C, no fire and water below two units. Tending restores two health each eight-calendar-tick herd check. Eligible current colonies also recover about 10 health per day without tending. The two rates do not add together.

Request one pregnancy, then arrange the meeting

Choose Request one pregnancy on an adult female. To schedule the work, both parents must be the same species, adult and at least 80 health, with hunger and thirst below 60. They need the same assigned Milking station, positions in its grazing range and a route that puts them next to each other. A Farming worker brings twice the species feed amount in Food, plus one Water, and performs 12 base work. A fenced pen alone does not replace the shared station requirement. Pregnancy turns the request off. Cancelling a request does not end an existing pregnancy.

Young animals and herd capacity

Goat pregnancy lasts 12 days and cow pregnancy lasts 14. Birth can use the mother’s tile or a cardinal neighbour if it is walkable, not burning and shallower than two units of water. A blocked birth keeps its saved young animal waiting. Goat young mature after 14 days and cow young after 21. The herd allows 32 living animals and reserves room for pending births. Its local record allows 256 animals, including former animals, and also reserves pending births. Releasing a former producer does not erase that recorded place.

Death, carcasses and release

Release animal removes ownership without payment and leaves no carcass. A pregnant animal cannot be released. Death can leave the species’ actual carcass when the colony keeps carcasses, unless fire or magma destroys it. Butchering a Goat carcass gives four Raw meat. A Cow carcass gives ten Raw meat and, with forge support, one Hide. Losing a pregnant mother also loses that saved pregnancy.