Domestic animal

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v50.12 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

Domestic animals are creatures that can be used by a civilization one way or another without any training required, 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, turkeys, etc.) can be captured in cage traps and receive training, which will turn them completely tame afterwards.

Dwarf, human and elf civilizations have access to the same variety of domestic animals, which are listed below. Goblins can't use these, but rather have access to domesticated beak dogs, which dwarves can only access by capturing in the wild or as spoils of war. Meanwhile, kobolds and subterranean animal people have no 'domestic' animals at all.

Every embark starts with two free, randomly-selected domestic draft animals which arrive with the wagon at the fortress site. These can be any of the animals in the list below which are available at embark that have the [WAGON_PULLER] tag (i.e. horses, yaks and water buffaloes). Note that the two animals do not (intentionally) come as a "matched pair", and so 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 pair of randomly selected animals. Since fortresses cannot move their wagons after embark, these "draft" animals can be slaughtered or kept for breeding, or can become pets for making certain dwarves happy.

When purchasing* draft animals at embark, the player may choose which gender of animals (only one male is necessary for breeding). Depending on the animal, you may wish to limit breeding altogether, or assign a gelder.

(* Note that the two free draft animals per wagon are not "purchased", and so are randomly generated, both re species and gender.)

Comparison of domestic mammals

When butchered, all adult domestic mammals yield one skull and one raw hide. All milkable mammals give the same value of 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	Sprite	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	2614
Beak dog		26	50	150,000	35	16	0	No	No		Domestic for goblins only, also poultry.
Cavy		2	3	800	0	0	0	No	No	74768
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	522
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	878
Goat		26	50	50,000	27	10	6	Yes	No	3364
Horse		101	200	500,000	32	13	4	Yes	No	599
Llama		101	200	180,000	36	18	0	Yes	Yes	1287
Mule		101	200	400,000	34	13	4	No	No	708	All-male, cannot breed.
One-humped camel+		251	500	500,000	54	17	0	Yes	No	598	Domestication not guaranteed.
Pig		51	100	60,000	17	8	4	Yes	No		Only milkable domestic animal that does not graze.
Rabbit		2	3	500	0	0	0	No	No	106,366
Reindeer		101	200	130,000	28	16	6	Yes	No	1643
Sheep		51	100	50,000	27	8 or 10¶	4 or 6¶	Yes	Yes	3364	Cheapest shearable domestic animal.
Two-humped camel+		251	500	500,000	44	17	0	Yes	No	598	Domestication not guaranteed.
Water buffalo		101	200	1,000,000	70	20	6	Yes	No	356
Yak		101	200	700,000	42	16	6	Yes	No	465

* 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.

+ These animals don't possess the [COMMON_DOMESTIC] tag, but may be domesticated due to having [PACK_ANIMAL]. Unlike the others, they are not guaranteed to exist in your civilization.

Comparison of domestic poultry

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	Sprite	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
Beak dog		5	10	7.5	1600	2	10-20	150000	35	16
Chicken		4	15	9.5	62	2	7-15	3000	13	4
Duck		8	13	10.5	52	1	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

"Domestic animal" in other Languages Dwarven: rodnul emär Elvish: wotha fela Goblin: ongob slulasp Human: hustra dik