Chickens...

[RetailPale]

Ever since the "farming update" came out I noticed a chicken within the fence ui yet i have never seen 1 chicken in my entire game play so far through out all of my game play I've lived in all biomes at this point and probably had 1000 trades at this point. (Even before the update)

Where are the chickens and how do I find/get them ?

Do they give more food and profit say if I wanted to sell them dead or alive than ducks, and are they cheaper to buy ?
Do they require less room ?

A lot of things I want to know mainly because I like farming and trading on the game. Any answers much appreciated.

[Jaggid Edje]

I got a group of chickens as an "animals join" event from a ritual where getting an amazing ritual results lead to "farm animals wander in" just a few weeks ago. I've also had them offered for sale by traders, though I've never bought any nor did I notice their cost compared to ducks...neither is all that valuable.

As far as food goes, they are almost identical to ducks across the board if I recall correctly when I had both in my colony. The wiki says chickens lay eggs faster, but I could have SWORN when I looked in the "i" info panel for them they were the same. I could just be remembering wrong.

[Roadkill]

A female chicken lays an egg every single day. This means that 10 female chickens can birth 10 more chickens daily if there are enough roosters to fertilize them.

You can get chickens as a random join or from the occasional trader. Chickens are extremely useful if you can think outside of the bawks.

I like to breed a huge number of chickens, return them all (with the exception of my breeding stock) to the wild within the walls of my base, then have my shooters hunt them for sport.

I also have used them to train doctors by sterilizing huge numbers of chickens, then euthanizing them,

[glass zebra]

You can get them through random farm animal join events (can also trigger from ritual bonus) or buy them from bulk traders or faction bases.

Ducks and Chicken are basically the same in every stats except that ducks are worth 20% more and eat 40% more. They give the same food both for meat and eggs. Most animals give more value if you sell their meat instead of alive, but not every trader excepts meat (e.g. exotic traders buy chickens but not meat).

There are no room requirements, just food requirements. Ducks need 40% more food.

If you like farming, basically take what you get first and stay with that until you find something "better". You will likely not be able to freely choose between ducks and chickens or goats and cows.

[Jaggid Edje]

Originally posted by Roadkill:

... if you can think outside of the bawks.

LOL, that was such a horrible pun that I did truly laugh out loud.

You've confirmed that the wiki is wrong then, and ducks do have the same egg laying frequency. I have ducks and they also lay an egg every day, and I KNOW their meat production is the same.
So chickens or ducks seems pretty much just dealer's choice.

Edit to add: I didn't notice the ducks eating more, but it makes sense if they are also worth more that there is a balance trade off. I switched from chickens to ducks a while back, just because I like qwuacking more than clucking.

[glass zebra]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

You've confirmed that the wiki is wrong then, and ducks do have the same egg laying frequency. I have ducks and they also lay an egg every day, and I KNOW their meat production is the same.
So chickens or ducks seems pretty much just dealer's choice.

Basically all animals are wrong in the wiki since 1.3. Many animals are "the same" now with slight differences. Seems ducks are just worse chickens, unless I am missing something.

[RetailPale]

Originally posted by glass zebra:

You can get them through random farm animal join events (can also trigger from ritual bonus) or buy them from bulk traders or faction bases.

Ducks and Chicken are basically the same in every stats except that ducks are worth 20% more and eat 40% more. They give the same food both for meat and eggs. Most animals give more value if you sell their meat instead of alive, but not every trader excepts meat (e.g. exotic traders buy chickens but not meat).

There are no room requirements, just food requirements. Ducks need 40% more food.

If you like farming, basically take what you get first and stay with that until you find something "better". You will likely not be able to freely choose between ducks and chickens or goats and cows.

This will sound dumb but I only play Rimworld if I'm cheating, mainly for building the home etc. but I like to keep the currency and trade legit. So even if I had to cheat the specific animal in that's okay with me I was just wondering how without that and I appreciate the replies.

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Originally posted by Roadkill:

... if you can think outside of the bawks.

LOL, that was such a horrible pun that I did truly laugh out loud.

You've confirmed that the wiki is wrong then, and ducks do have the same egg laying frequency. I have ducks and they also lay an egg every day, and I KNOW their meat production is the same.
So chickens or ducks seems pretty much just dealer's choice.

Edit to add: I didn't notice the ducks eating more, but it makes sense if they are also worth more that there is a balance trade off. I switched from chickens to ducks a while back, just because I like qwuacking more than clucking.

Realistically ducks are better irl because of the egg size apparently but also because they are easier to control, so obviously it would be a better switch regardless I was just concerned about the chickens existing only because I've never seen one in game

[Jaggid Edje]

Originally posted by Android:

Realistically ducks are better irl because of the egg size apparently but also because they are easier to control, so obviously it would be a better switch regardless I was just concerned about the chickens existing only because I've never seen one in game

Not actually true. IRL, though duck eggs are a bit bigger, ducks are also more expensive to raise, by quite a bit, and do not produce eggs as quickly. They also require more space.
There's a reason chicken eggs and chicken meat are a staple in the supermarket, whereas duck eggs and meat are pretty much exclusive to specialty and farm-to-table shops.

I raised both for over 20 years, and personally I prefer duck despite the cost difference. I find the meat and eggs to be more delicious. It's the one thing I miss from the days when I actually lived on a ranch. We used to have roast duck every Wednesday. MMmmm

[RetailPale]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Originally posted by Android:

Realistically ducks are better irl because of the egg size apparently but also because they are easier to control, so obviously it would be a better switch regardless I was just concerned about the chickens existing only because I've never seen one in game

Not actually true. IRL, though duck eggs are a bit bigger, ducks are also more expensive to raise, by quite a bit, and do not produce eggs as quickly. They also require more space.
There's a reason chicken eggs and chicken meat are a staple in the supermarket, whereas duck eggs and meat are pretty much exclusive to specialty and farm-to-table shops.

I raised both for over 20 years, and personally I prefer duck despite the cost difference. I find the meat and eggs to be more delicious. It's the one thing I miss from the days when I actually lived on a ranch. We used to have roast duck every Wednesday. MMmmm

Thats awesome, I am very knew to it myself personally, was going to go a route that Ive been looking at. This guy has a very simple set up where he just had a very small pin that was mobile and he'd basically use the ducks to "mow" his grass for food. Maybe if your just trying to do it right I guess I mean I don't know especially if I trust your knowledge online but I feel like I could raise them (For eggs Ofcourse) for very cheap

[Jaggid Edje]

Originally posted by Android:

Thats awesome, I am very knew to it myself personally, was going to go a route that Ive been looking at. This guy has a very simple set up where he just had a very small pin that was mobile and he'd basically use the ducks to "mow" his grass for food. Maybe if your just trying to do it right I guess I mean I don't know especially if I trust your knowledge online but I feel like I could raise them (For eggs Ofcourse) for very cheap

Oh, for sure. If you are raising them just for yourself, they are great. Like I said, personally I prefer them myself.
But if you are doing it "commercially" chickens are significantly lower cost.
Regardless, if raising them for yourself, it's still cheaper overall than if you were to be buying the either chicken or duck. You cut out all the middle-men (and their profits) when you raise your own.
I would TOTALLY raise ducks over chickens if I still lived rural and had the option for either.

Ducks also have the advantage of just being a cooler animal. If they know you and like you, they are almost like dogs (they'll greet you, follow you around, etc.). Chickens, on the other hand, are stupid as F.

[RetailPale]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Originally posted by Android:

Thats awesome, I am very knew to it myself personally, was going to go a route that Ive been looking at. This guy has a very simple set up where he just had a very small pin that was mobile and he'd basically use the ducks to "mow" his grass for food. Maybe if your just trying to do it right I guess I mean I don't know especially if I trust your knowledge online but I feel like I could raise them (For eggs Ofcourse) for very cheap

Oh, for sure. If you are raising them just for yourself, they are great. Like I said, personally I prefer them myself.
But if you are doing it "commercially" chickens are significantly lower cost.
Regardless, if raising them for yourself, it's still cheaper overall than if you were to be buying the either chicken or duck. You cut out all the middle-men (and their profits) when you raise your own.
I would TOTALLY raise ducks over chickens if I still lived rural and had the option for either.

Ducks also have the advantage of just being a cooler animal. If they know you and like you, they are almost like dogs (they'll greet you, follow you around, etc.). Chickens, on the other hand, are stupid as F.

Kinda like where this thread went and yea only for myself but anyway definitely a project for the future. Appreciate the conversation thanks for the answers also

[Roadkill]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Originally posted by Roadkill:

... if you can think outside of the bawks.

LOL, that was such a horrible pun that I did truly laugh out loud.

Have 300 chickens all clucking in your ear and see how hard it is to think. It's why my gunners shoot them.

[RetailPale]

Originally posted by Roadkill:

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

LOL, that was such a horrible pun that I did truly laugh out loud.

Have 300 chickens all clucking in your ear and see how hard it is to think. It's why my gunners shoot them.

You had a really great idea on that though it would definitely be worth doing.

[RetailPale]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Originally posted by Android:

Thats awesome, I am very knew to it myself personally, was going to go a route that Ive been looking at. This guy has a very simple set up where he just had a very small pin that was mobile and he'd basically use the ducks to "mow" his grass for food. Maybe if your just trying to do it right I guess I mean I don't know especially if I trust your knowledge online but I feel like I could raise them (For eggs Ofcourse) for very cheap

Oh, for sure. If you are raising them just for yourself, they are great. Like I said, personally I prefer them myself.
But if you are doing it "commercially" chickens are significantly lower cost.
Regardless, if raising them for yourself, it's still cheaper overall than if you were to be buying the either chicken or duck. You cut out all the middle-men (and their profits) when you raise your own.
I would TOTALLY raise ducks over chickens if I still lived rural and had the option for either.

Ducks also have the advantage of just being a cooler animal. If they know you and like you, they are almost like dogs (they'll greet you, follow you around, etc.). Chickens, on the other hand, are stupid as F.

Side question if you dont mind.. can you not put the hares/rabbits in pin ? Before the farm update I made a zoned room for the rabbits with no roof, and had a rice farm on the inside that would grow and feed them, they literally over crowded that room in a short amount of time. Just curious because I havent tried to grow them yet and working out my mods, and from what I remember I didnt see them on there

[glass zebra]

Originally posted by Android:

Side question if you dont mind.. can you not put the hares/rabbits in pin ? Before the farm update I made a zoned room for the rabbits with no roof, and had a rice farm on the inside that would grow and feed them, they literally over crowded that room in a short amount of time. Just curious because I havent tried to grow them yet and working out my mods, and from what I remember I didnt see them on there

All of the non-farm small animals are like in the old system without pens. They just need a zone restriction and follow it and require training to stay tame. Feeding rice to hares is not very efficient. Hay is a lot more efficient for animal feed (like +50% yield on harvest if I remember correctly).
If you are not actively using the zoning (e.g. for free feeding rotation on outside grass or as a raider distraction), you will usually be better off with pen animals, since they require no retaming and have extra yield or utility.

[RetailPale]

Originally posted by glass zebra:

Originally posted by Android:

Side question if you dont mind.. can you not put the hares/rabbits in pin ? Before the farm update I made a zoned room for the rabbits with no roof, and had a rice farm on the inside that would grow and feed them, they literally over crowded that room in a short amount of time. Just curious because I havent tried to grow them yet and working out my mods, and from what I remember I didnt see them on there

All of the non-farm small animals are like in the old system without pens. They just need a zone restriction and follow it and require training to stay tame. Feeding rice to hares is not very efficient. Hay is a lot more efficient for animal feed (like +50% yield on harvest if I remember correctly).
If you are not actively using the zoning (e.g. for free feeding rotation on outside grass or as a raider distraction), you will usually be better off with pen animals, since they require no retaming and have extra yield or utility.

Yea but hay takes sooo long like I literally cant be patient enough for that. I think they should update it or something, but anyway it might be worth looking into because they breed so much I remember having like 20+ in one 3 by 3 starting from only 2 rabbits in I feel like less than an hour but maybe it was more... obviously though there were too many THE MAIN problem is that I ended up having huge -mood because they were considered colonists but the rice farm was supporting their living in the room when I managed their size, I only did it because of colder times anyway. BUT not even for a rimworld practical stand point I literally just like to farm and trade on the game intentionally regarded the "whats easier for rimworld" if you know what I mean. I just like having fun on it really.

My favorite run was when I had a solo colonist, ended up building up a huge and great farm only for me to have to eat all my animals and eventually my pets and prisoners/slaves because winter hit extremely hard. (This was before farm update)