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v0.34:Domestic animal

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This article is about an older version of DF.

Domestic animals are creatures that can be used by dwarves one way or another without taming or training, usually for security or food. Distinguished by having the [COMMON_DOMESTIC] tag in the raws, they can be bought at embark or traded for with caravans. Wild versions of domesticated animals (horses, muskoxen, etc.) can be tamed and used normally.

Every embark starts with two free domestic draft animals which pull the wagon to the fortress site. These can be any of the animals in the list below with the [WAGON_PULLER] tag (Horses, Yaks and Water Buffalos) which are available at embark. Note, the two animals may not be from the same species. Embarking with a sufficient quantity of goods can result in multiple wagons, each of which comes with another two animals. A fortress has no use for wagons after embark except to be deconstructed for wood, so these animals can be slaughtered or kept for breeding and making your dwarves happy as pets.

With the exception of the two free draft animals, the player may choose which gender of animals purchased at embark. Only one male is necessary for breeding. Depending on the animal, you may wish to limit breeding altogether.

Comparison of domestic mammals[edit]

When butchered, all adult domestic mammals yield one skull and one raw hide. All milkable mammals give the same value milk and appear to be milkable at the same frequency. The embark costs shown apply to both adults and juveniles of either sex. All domestic mammals reach adolescence at 1 year and adulthood at 2 years, except cavies, which take half as long. All grazing animals require a pasture; the lower the 'grazer' value, the larger the size of the required pasture.

Animal Embark cost Pet value Size when full-grown* Total edible†‡ Bones Horns + hooves Milkable? Shearable? Grazer§ Notes
Alpaca 101 200 70,000 35 16 0 Yes Yes 857
Cavy 2 3 800 0 0 0 No No 75,000 Commonly called guinea pigs
Cat 11 20 5,000 14 4 0 No No - Adopts owners. Hunts vermin. Beware Catsplosion!
Cow 151 300 600,000 37 15 6 Yes No 100
Dog 16 30 30,000 37 11 0 No No - Trainable as war dogs or hunting dogs, which can also be bought for 31☼
Donkey 101 200 300,000 30 13 4 Yes No 200
Goat 26 50 50,000 27 10 6 Yes No 1,200
Horse 101 200 500,000 32 13 4 Yes No 120
Llama 101 200 180,000 36 18 0 Yes Yes 333
Mule 101 200 400,000 34 13 4 No No 150 Sterile in real life; all male in Dwarf Fortress
Pig 51 100 60,000 17 8 4 Yes No -
Sheep 51 100 50,000 27 8 or 10 4 or 6 Yes Yes 1,200
Rabbit 2 3 500 0 0 0 No No 120,000
Reindeer 101 200 130,000 28 16 6 Yes No 461
Water Buffalo 101 200 1,000,000 70 20 6 Yes No 60 Extreme grazing requirements. Difficult (impossible?) to keep alive while tame.
Yak 101 200 700,000 42 16 6 Yes No 86 Extreme grazing requirements. Difficult to keep alive while tame.
* Gives a crude estimate of ability in combat, and thus danger to hunters. This number comes from the raws, so it might also be a better estimate of butchering results than the dodgy numbers from this wiki.
† Total of meat, fat, and offal.
‡ Maximum reported in infoboxes in this wiki, April 2011. Strongly influenced by individual attributes, especially for larger animals. Use with caution!
§ A lower number means the animal needs to graze more often, and will thus need a larger pasture. Cats and dogs have the [CARNIVORE] tag and do not graze or require pasture.
¶ The higher number is for rams.

Comparison of domestic poultry[edit]

All domestic poultry have a pet value of 10 and cost 6 at embark. Blue peafowl, geese, and guineafowl reach adolescence at six months and are full-grown after one year; ducks, chickens and turkeys reach adolescence at one year and are full-grown after two years. When butchered, all full-grown poultry yield one skull; those that yield bones also yield a raw hide. However, domestic poultry are much more efficient when used for egg production than as a meat source; over the lifetime of an average hen, many more meals can be produced from the eggs. This is especially true for ducks and guineafowl.

Animal Min. eggs Max. eggs Avg. eggs* Egg size Years til
full-grown
Max Age Size when full-grown Total edible†‡ Bones
Blue peafowl 6 8 7 102 1 15-30 4000 17 6
Chicken 4 15 9.5 62 2 7-15 3000 13 4
Duck 8 13 10.5 52 2 7-9 1000 0 0
Goose 3 8 5.5 152 1 10-24 4500 17-18 6
Guineafowl 4 15 9.5 42 1 10-15 1500 0§ 0
Turkey 10 14 12 87 2 7-10 5000 19 6
* Estimate based on mean of minimum and maximum clutch sizes.
† Total of meat, fat, and intestines.
‡ Reported in infoboxes in this wiki, April 2011. Might be influenced by individual attributes. Use with caution!
§ A yield of 2 meat, 2 fat, a skin, and a skull has been reported for butchering a guineafowl. This seems to be rare.
‖ Egg size does not currently affect food quantity