Why Use Chickens?

[Sovereign]

I'm curious if anyone can sell me on chickens. Now, I have seen theoretical proof (corroborated with my monitoring production in game) that sheep unequivocally produce the most food, with cows about 1000/season behind, and chickens just slightly behind cows. It's also been proven to me that chickens reproduce fastest, sheep next, cows the slowest.

Now, sheep are obviously the best for food, and they also produce wool. Cows aren't as good, but they produce more food than hunters (it seems, not confirmed) and definitely produce more leather (and more efficiently), a̶n̶d̶ ̶s̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶s̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶a̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶k̶i̶n̶d̶,̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶w̶s̶.̶
Edit: Incorrect, wool can also be used to make coats. Somehow missed that one.

Chickens it seems are only good if you are looking for two things:
A) Food diversity, which they are excellent for since they produce two food types.
B) For quickly establishing a year-round food source.

Here's my question: Why should one in say, year 125, bother producing more than a smallish batch of chickens (for diversity), or is there no rational reason to do so? The obvious irrational reason to do so is because saying "chick'n" is amusing.

Edit: Spelling corrections

[dcbobo]

IMO, would be to use the eggs for trade. I haven't did the tests yet, but i don't think using eggs for trading for grains, veggies and fruit is a bad route.

[eram]

Chickens for eggs! I stock over 2500 eggs..

..about the sheep thing....Over a larger area, 20x15+ i find my cattle are producing the same and in some cases more food. Wool beats leather every time.

[Sovereign]

Individuals Meat Other products
25 Sheep 4580 384 wool
20 Cattle 3880 110 leather
66 Chicken 580 3054 eggs

Here's the statistics pulled from the game's scripting calculated for one season and a maxed-out pasture (size and workers).

[eram]

I have to assume then that placement, distance to storage barns, distance from workers home effect this? If not i have some over/under producing going on.

[Sovereign]

Originally posted by NoQuarter:

IMO, would be to use the eggs for trade. I haven't did the tests yet, but i don't think using eggs for trading for grains, veggies and fruit is a bad route.

This sounds valid enough, but here's the thing: If I just max out on producing cows and sheep then I can sell warm coats which go for 20 standard units a piece at the market. So not only do I get more food, but I get to consume that food AND sell the byproducts of the whole process for 20 units of food, or whatever at the market anyway,

[Sovereign]

Originally posted by eram:

I have to assume then that placement, distance to storage barns, distance from workers home effect this? If not i have some over/under producing going on.

Yeah, definitely.

[dcbobo]

Originally posted by RLMSovereign:

Individuals Meat Other products
25 Sheep 4580 384 wool
20 Cattle 3880 110 leather
66 Chicken 580 3054 eggs

Here's the statistics pulled from the game's scripting calculated for one season and a maxed-out pasture (size and workers).

thanks for that info!

and yah, i'm with ya on the coat trading. But one thing i've noticed. Because of it harvest rate. It's a little harder to supply tradeports with. So you kinda need to overproduce to get a good flow. I'm not sure yet, but i think maybe eggs plus the coat trading would be a very decent setup.
I guess it would rely on how much you trade though, etc...

my town i'm working on now, my goal is to completly remove every forest on the map and use limited farm/orchids possible none if i can get trade in order, and trade for anything that requires forest, , like logs, firewood, herbs, etc...and all my grains, veggies, fruits.

It may implode in my face, but i know i enjoy trying this stuff heh

[wcbarney]

Chicken food is right up there with beef, venison and mutton. Chicken meat also sells at the trading post for 3:1, and eggs sell for 2:1. So my goal is to hoard as much meat as I can in the trading post and trade it for triple the units of beans -- or corn, wheat, apples .....

[Starvin247]

Originally posted by RLMSovereign:

snip ...and since one needs leather to make coats of any kind, one needs to have cows.

One can make hide coats from just leather which is better than no clothing. One can make wool coats from just wool, which is better than just a hide coat and if you have both resources one can make warm coats, which is the best of the 3 coats.
http://banished-wiki.com/w/images/banishedwiki/e/ec/Tailor_menu.jpg

[Sovereign]

Originally posted by Starvin247:

Originally posted by RLMSovereign:

snip ...and since one needs leather to make coats of any kind, one needs to have cows.

One can make hide coats from just leather which is better than no clothing. One can make wool coats from just wool, which is better than just a hide coat and if you have both resources one can make warm coats, which is the best of the 3 coats.
http://banished-wiki.com/w/images/banishedwiki/e/ec/Tailor_menu.jpg

Thanks for the correction! I guess I somehow missed that wool coats were available. Good tip. I'll have to look up how much the wool coats go for, I am wondering if it's more income-efficient to produce both wool and leather coats or just the warm coats.

[Starvin247]

np. I dont have a steady source of leather so im forced to make just wool, just got some cows so this might change.

[Sovereign]

Does anyone know for sure that the coats only use 1 unit of resource to produce? Like, leather coats need 1 leather, wool coats need 1 wool, and warm need 1 of each?

[wcbarney]

Originally posted by RLMSovereign:

Does anyone know for sure that the coats only use 1 unit of resource to produce? Like, leather coats need 1 leather, wool coats need 1 wool, and warm need 1 of each?

Yes, 1 wool coat uses 1 wool; 1 hide coat uses 1 leather; 1 warm coat uses 1 wool + 1 leather -- all + the tailor's labor, of course.

[Sovereign]

Originally posted by wcbarney:

Originally posted by RLMSovereign:

Does anyone know for sure that the coats only use 1 unit of resource to produce? Like, leather coats need 1 leather, wool coats need 1 wool, and warm need 1 of each?

Yes, 1 wool coat uses 1 wool; 1 hide coat uses 1 leather; 1 warm coat uses 1 wool + 1 leather -- all + the tailor's labor, of course.

Okay, in that case, based on the numbers, wool coats would be the most cost-effective trade resource since they only cost 5 standard units (1 wool) to produce 15 units (1 wool coat) netting a gain of 10 units. Leather coats cost 10 units (1 leather) to make 15 netting 5, and warm coats cost 15 units (wool, leather) and sell for 20 netting 5 again.

Based on this it's best to have mostly sheep and just enough cows to make warm coats for your population and then turn the remanding wool into coats for the market. Does that make sense?

PS: I need to test it because I get the feeling that it costs two of each resource to make the coats, and if that's the case then this strategy would be void.

[Ric]

I've tried trading in wool coats exclusively. It's pretty damn awesome. You obviously need a fair bit of pasture space but I buy everything with this.
Whats more is the amount of mutton byproduct you get, you can either feed your peeps or sell that for tonnes of other food variety.

It's a real winner if you don't want to go the firewood trading route which I prefer to stay away from now as you can nestle pastures in your settlements :)