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Difference between revisions of "40d:Meat industry"

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This article is a quick guide to running a '''leather industry.'''
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{{av}}
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{{Quality|Exceptional}}
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This article is a quick guide to running a '''meat and related goods industry'''. If you decide to base your economy off such then keep in mind that the amount available depends on the breeding rate of your tame animals (how long the offspring takes to be born and mature), the spawning of wild animals, and/or the amount of meat and leather that traders bring.
  
Kill and butcher animals to separate bones, raw hides and meat. Tan the hide before it goes bad, and then convert the leather into an end product. Because many steps require materials which can [[rot]], this industry requires slightly more micromanagement than other industries.
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Note that the meat industry involves many materials which can [[rot]] and so requires slightly more micromanagement than other [[industry|industries]].
  
== Animals ==
 
Your raw material source are [[animal]]s. You can either [[hunt]] for animals or raise your own animals. Each option has its own merits and neither produces a completely regular supply. Alternately, you can simply buy [[leather]] from [[traders]], bypassing many of the time-limited steps and instead getting infrequent, large influxes of source material.
 
  
=== Buying from traders ===
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'''Summary''': Obtain some animals; kill and butcher them to obtain bones, meat, fat, skulls and raw hides; the meat can be used immediately but the hide needs to be tanned into leather and the fat needs to be processed into tallow; finally cook the tallow into a meal, and craft the bones, skull and leather into an end product.
  
If you wish to import leather in sufficient quantity to keep your [[leather worker]]s occupied year-round, then you must request leather from the the trading liaisons. Request every type of leather as a low priority to ensure they come back with sufficient quantity next year. You can only buy leather from [[human]]s and [[dwarf]] caravans.{{verify}}
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== Acquiring Animals and their products ==
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There are several sources for obtaining [[animal]]s, outlined below. Alternatively you can skip that business and just [[trade]] directly for [[leather]] and [[meat]]. You'll miss out on [[fat]] (negligible), and [[bone]]s though.
  
=== Hunting ===
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===Embark===
''Requires: a [[hunter/ambusher]], and [[wildlife]]''.
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You can buy animals on embark. With the exception of cats and dogs, buying animals on embark is extremely expensive, therefore this may not be a smart move. You also get 2 random [[Domestic animal|draft animals]] for free that drag your wagon, though these are rarely a breeding pair. These can be butchered when needed, or be kept in the hopes that [[Trade#Liaisons|traders]] will supply matching animals for breeding. This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to ''buy'' one: If you happen to have a female, chances are that sooner rather than later it will meet a companion among the traders' many pack animals. Nature will find a way.
  
In order to hunt for animals, you must place your [[fortress]] in a [[biome]] which contains wildlife. You will also need to assign a [[dwarf]] to the [[hunting]] labor.
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=== Trading ===
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''Requires: A [[Trade depot|trade depot]], a [[Broker|trader]], a [[merchant]], and some [[Finished goods|tradeable goods]]''
  
A dwarven hunter will wear leather [[armor]], and equip himself with the weapon indicated in the [[military]] screen. Note that a hunter who is also a [[wood cutter]] will hunt with an axe, and a [[miner]] will hunt with a [[pick axe]]{{verify}}. Ranged attacks reduce the potential for injury, so using [[crossbow]]s is preferable. Note that failing to assign a weapon to your hunter will cause the dwarf to attempt to wrestle animals to death. As wrestling generally takes longer to kill than other forms of combat, and the randomly-chosen target of a hunt may be part of a hostile pack, it is extremely unwise to forget this step.
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You can purchase animals, meat and leather from a merchant. Animals can either be kept for breeding (see [[#Breeding|''Breeding'' below]]) or butchered immediately (see [[#Butchering|''Butchering'' below]]). Elves may bring more exotic animals which are additionally interesting for defense purposes.
  
You may also wish to assign one or more trained [[dog]]s to your hunter to provide backup. Hunting dogs will sneak alongside your dwarf, while the easier-to-detect war dogs do twice as much damage once they get into melee range.{{verify}}
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If you wish to import leather in sufficient quantity to keep your [[leatherworker]]s occupied year-round, then you should request leather to be imported from the trading [[liaison]]s. It might be necessary that you request every type of leather at low priority in order to ensure the merchant comes back with a large quantity next year (they usually bring excessive amounts even if you don't). You can only buy leather from [[human]] and [[dwarf|dwarven]] caravans.
  
Any dwarf who owns a pet, including assigned dogs, should have the [[animal caretaker]] labor activated.
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=== Hunting ===
 
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''Requires: A [[hunter]] and huntable [[Creatures|wildlife]]''<br>
<!--- The next paragraph has too advanced info to really be part of a "quick guide" IMO --juckto --->
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''Recommended: A [[dog]] (or three), leather [[armor]], and a [[weapon]] - preferably a [[crossbow]], [[quiver]], and [[bolt]]s''
Before sending your hunter out, you should draft him into the [[military]] and train him in wrestling (to dodge incoming attacks) and his weapon of choice. In order for your hunter to spar, you will need a barracks (room designated from a [[weapon rack]], [[armor stand]] or [[bed]]. Sparring unarmed will train wrestling, which is used to dodge. Sparring with a melee weapon will train the weapon skill. Both forms of sparring will also train Armor Use and Shield Use, if the hunter has been assigned such things. [[Archery target]]s and bone bolts will train marksdwarfship. Sparring requires a partner also drafted in the military (both must be off-duty). Archery practice does not.
 
  
When your hunter selects the Hunt task, he will choose a specific animal, approach it, engage in combat with it. Hopefully, he will kill the animal. Then he will Return Kill to a refuse stockpile.{{verify}} The hunter may have to defend himself against other wilderness animals while hunting. If he does so, he will not return any of those kills. In order to avoid wasting these kills, you will need to set your general {{k|o}}rders to gather refuse from outside, although this choice carries its own set of risks.
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It should be noted that hunters will ignore some wildlife, e.g. [[zombie]] [[groundhog]]s. Depending on where you settled your [[fortress]], your [[biome]] may have no wildlife at all.  
  
Because of the time-sensitive nature of the rest of the production tree, it is not recommended to have more than one
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After equipping him or herself, a dwarven hunter will make a beeline towards the nearest wild animal and attempt to kill it, regardless of whether it is one amongst a large pack of hostile creatures{{verify}}. Upon killing the beast the dwarf will carry the [[corpse]] directly to the nearest [[butcher's shop]], the closest [[refuse]] [[stockpile]] if none is available, or the nearest meeting area if no stockpile exists. Once he has deposited the corpse, it will be ready for butchering (see [[#Butchering|''Butchering'' below]]).
  
==== Trapping ====
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If the hunter kills other animals on his return journey while defending himself then those animals will not be carried indoors. To avoid wasting them you need to change your general {{k|o}}rders to <tt>Gather refuse from outside</tt> (note that selecting this option may have undesirable side-effects).
''Requires cages and a mechanic''
 
  
It is also possible to acquire animals through judicious use of [[cage trap]]s. This is a very subtle science, and outside the scope of this article. Animals (and sentient creatures) caught in cage traps will be delivered to an animal stockpile. The trap will then be reset with a fresh cage.
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=== Soldiers ===
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''Requires: Any number of [[soldier]]s and huntable [[Creatures|wildlife]]''<br>
  
=== Livestock ===
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If so desired, you can order your active soldiers out to kill wild animals by enabling them to "harass dangerous wild animals" in the [[military]] screen. This takes some small management, but is particularly useful if a large herd appears and you want to get them all before they emigrate to less blood-soaked pastures; be prepared to process them all, however (see below).  Soldiers will not kill or butcher [[Domestic animal|domestic]] or [[tame]] animals.
  
Rather than subjecting your hunter to the dangers of [[cave adaptation]] and wild beasts, you can raise your own livestock. You will need one male animal and at least one female animal of the same type, acquired through the starting purchase screen or from [[caravan]]s (you can request live animals under the pets menu when speaking to the liaison).
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=== Cage traps ===
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''Requires: [[Cage]]s, [[mechanism]]s, and a [[mechanic]]''
  
Some immigrants may arrive with pets of their own which will happily breed with any available animal. Slaughtering pets will generate bad [[thoughts]] and therefore is to be avoided.
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It is also possible to catch animals through judicious use of [[cage trap]]s. This, of course, involves building cage traps where animals will walk. Once they are trapped the caged animal (or [[invader]]) will be delivered to an animal stockpile and the trap will be reset with a fresh cage.
  
Animals purchased through a trader will come in a [[cage]] that is left in your animal [[stockpile]]. You do not need to build the cage in order to slaughter the caged creature, you can slaughter it through the stock menu. However, caged animals will not breed.
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Cage traps should be built where animals ''will'' walk, not where they are when you decide to trap them. Any dwarves sent out to create and arm traps in the animals' midst will scare them away or trigger their aggression. To successfully trap large animals, form a choke point some distance away from them: build walls, dig [[channel]]s, eliminate ramps to create sheer cliffs, use ponds, &c. to create a continuous barrier to movement.  
  
==== Breeding ====
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Leave a small gap one or two tiles wide (depending on how many of the critters you want to trap) and build your cage traps there. If the animals haven't moved off or been scared off by the time you're done, and they're docile enough to not attack once they see your dwarves, use military orders to send a dwarf (or several) around behind the animals and herd them toward the choke point.  
''Requires tame animals, one male and at least one female of the same type. Optionally requires [[restraint]]s.''
 
  
Although [[horse]]s and [[donkey]]s can interbreed to create [[mule]]s in the real world, they will not do so in the game.  They will still breed separately, however.
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Note that when using channels and ponds together to create a choke point, connecting the channel all the way up to the pond's edge will end up draining the pond. If this is undesirable for your fort's water supply plans, be sure to leave a tile between the edge of the pond and the edge of the channel, and build a cage trap or wall instead.
  
Animals do not need to be in the same room or come into contact with each other in order to breed.
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Note also that cage traps cannot be built within a certain number of tiles of the map edge, so when planning your funnels and choke points, be sure to leave four or five tiles as a buffer zone.
  
Caged animals will not breed, although animals on a [[restraint]] will.  It is recommended that you rope down all your livestock near your [[butcher's shop]], as a large number of free-roaming animals will reduce your game speed.  This also reduces the amount of time it takes butchers to track down and retrieve animals they are trying to slaughter.
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=== Breeding ===
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''Requires: One or more adult females and one adult male of each species and time''<br>
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''Recommended: [[Cage]]s and/or [[restraint]]s''
  
Trained war dogs are incredibly useful, so it is not recommended to consider them part of your livestock.
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If a male and a female of the same species exist on your map then sooner or later (and probably sooner) the male will impregnate the female.  No contact between a male and female is needed - pregnacy can ''and will'' occur regardless of distance, physical obstacles such as walls or locked doors, number of each gender (beyond the first), and even ownership.  ''(This is often referred to as "breeding by spores".)''  Even a male in a herd of wild animals outside the fortress walls can impregnate a female locked deep in a lowest level.  A female can get pregnant again immediately after giving birth.  The only thing that has been reported to prevent pregnancy is caging, but females that are already pregnant can give birth while caged.
  
[[Cat]]s reduce [[vermin]] and keep dwarves [[thought|happy]], but can quickly breed to the point where it seriously affects game performance. Quickly caging newborn kittens overcomes this problem (see Zoo, below).
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Some [[immigrant]]s will bring [[pet]]s that might form or complete breeding pairs.
  
==== Zoo ====
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One strategy includes [[restrain|restraining]] most/all your livestock near your [[butcher's shop]], as a large number of free-roaming animals will reduce your game speed. Additionally it reduces the amount of time it takes butchers to track down and retrieve animals they are to slaughter.
''Requires a [[cage]], and several [[restraint|chains/ropes]]''
 
  
In order to breed, animals must be uncaged, but too many free animals can affect game performance. On the other hand, only adults can breed, so animal children can be caged. A zoo is an excellent solution.
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For the same reasons as above, a common strategy is to cage all your young until matured because they do not give the same amount of bones, meat, and fat as adults. (Keep in mind, though, that some tamed wild species take more than 1 year to mature, unlike most domestic animals. For example, it may be excusable to butcher an elephant calf right away for 10 meat and bones, rather than wait 10 years for 16 of each.)
  
There are many reasons why your zoo should contain one, and only one cage:
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Furthermore:
* Cages can hold an unlimited number of animals, so you only need one
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* Cages can hold an unlimited number of animals, so you only need one.
* Caged animals do not affect processor speed
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* Caged animals do not path, and therefore, do not consume a lot of processor speed.
 
* Distinguishing between breeding animals and butcherable livestock is easier when clearly separated.
 
* Distinguishing between breeding animals and butcherable livestock is easier when clearly separated.
* Caged cats cannot adopt owners
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* Caged cats cannot adopt owners (thus decreasing the chances of a [[catsplosion]]).
* Zoos have additional benefits to overall fortress wealth, dwarven happiness, etc
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* You can define a [[zoo]] from a cage, increasing overall fortress wealth, dwarven happiness, etc..
  
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Using [[cage trap]]s judiciously (or taking advantage of the animals [[elf|elves]] trade) can sometimes snag you a breeding pair of a wild animal. Tame something unusual and start something crazy, like an [[alligator]] farm!
  
Place several chains/ropes in your zoo as well, and assign breeding animals to these chains. An animal which is chained can be available for adoption, while remaining chained.{{verify}} This can assist you in making sure you don't accidentally kill your only male of a particular type. Whenever you see an announcement indicating that an animal has given birth, assign those baby animals to the cage. This is especially important with kittens, as kittens can adopt owners, taking them out of the leather-pool.
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Do note that once a certain number of animals of a particular type are present in your fortress (currently observed to be around 50), that type of animal will cease to become pregnant (existing pregnancies will produce young, but they will not become pregnant again); once enough adults are slaughtered, more will begin to be born.
  
Animals provide the same amount of meat, bones and hide when they are children, so you do not need to wait until they grow up. However, the more females of each animal type, the more often you will get more animals of that type.  
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====Pens====
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Animals on [[restraint]]s still can [[path]] (1 tile in any direction from the chain/rope), and that can hurt your [[Maximizing framerate|framerate]].  By making a series of 1x1 rooms with doors set to "non-pet-passable", and restraining the animals there, the animals have nowhere to go and so [[path|pathing]] is not a problem.  The door keeps them from wandering; the restraint is necessary to get them into the room in the first place.  (See [[Restraint]] for proper removal technique.)
  
Ten (10) free-roaming cats should be more than adequate to keep vermin under control. On the other hand, if you keep kittens caged until they grow up, you can be sure to maintain your cat population. Admittedly, this is rarely a problem.
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[[Activity zone#Pit/Pond|Pits]] can also be adapted for this purpose, without the restraint and with multiple animals.
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The pens idea would be a good idea if pets actually understood non-pet-passable during calculation of paths.  Instead they believe they can get through during mental calculations. Cold, hard, reality stops them at the door, but they continue to path as if they could get through, so, they just stand there (until a dwarf comes by and opens the door, at which point they gleefully run past).  Pets in cages helps framerate the most, followed closely by restraints, since the search space bottoms out after only 2 moves (corner to corner). Pits, with no access besides (raised) bridges and (closed) floodgates, are also very effective, as pathing will stop as soon as the space of the pit is exhausted, so it's like a restraint with a slightly longer leash.  Pens using floodgates would work, although loading the pets in would be nigh impossible without dropping them in from above, as anything in the way of a closing floodgate stops it from closing.  It would be quite extreme, but such a collection of 1x1 pits could be an effective way of stopping pathfinding while retaining breeding.    One could even use bars instead of floodgates, I think, and have a really proper zoo/cage.
  
 
== Butchering ==
 
== Butchering ==
''Requires a [[Butcher's Shop]], a [[butcher]] and [[animal]]s. Ideally, the animal should not be a pet.''
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''Requires: A [[butcher's shop]], a [[butcher]], and either a stray tamed [[animal]] marked for slaughter or one killed by a hunter or soldier''
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Note: While you can't butcher [[pet]]s, their offspring will be at your disposal without restriction.
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Once an animal has been killed you only have a limited amount of time to butcher the corpse before it rots. If your butcher is distracted by other tasks, this can be highly problematic.
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By default a [[butcher's shop]] will automatically queue <tt>Butcher animal</tt> whenever an animal corpse is available, or <tt>Slaughter animal</tt> for stray animals marked for slaughter.  An animal is available if it is taken to the butcher's shop or in a refuse stockpile.  An animal is not available if it is merely lying around. Once butchered the animal will yield one skull (even [[hydra]]s), one raw hide and a number of meat pieces, bones, and chunks - the amount depending on the animal type. The skill of the butcher only affects the time taken for <tt>Butcher animal</tt> task (<tt>Slaughter animal</tt> occurs in the blink of an eye), not the amount produced nor the quality.
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Meat and fat goes to your food stockpile. Bones, chunks and raw hides go to the refuse stockpile. Chunks have no use and should be left to rot to nothingness, but you would be well put to create custom stockpiles for hides next to your tanner's shop (see [[#Tanning|''Tanning'' below]]), for bones next to your craftsdwarves workshop (see [[#Bone carving|''Bone carving'' below]]), and changing the settings on your main refuse pile to not accept bones and hides.
  
Once an butcherable animal has been killed, you have a limited amount of time to actually butcher the corpse before it rots.
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If the animal is butchered just before it rots, the products of the animal MAY not rot. It is unknown whether the time of rotting for butchering products is based on the time of death of the animal or the time of production of the butchering returns.{{verify}}
  
A [[Butcher's Shop]] will automatically queue tasks whenever an animal is available to be butchered. However, this still requires an available dwarf with the Butcher labor enabled, and that dwarf may not get around to it in time if he has many other labors enabled.
 
  
Once butchered, an animal will yield a quantity of meat, bones, raw hide and one skull. If the corpse is left too long, it will rot, yielding the same amount of bones and a skull, but depriving you of the meat and hide. Because none of these items have a quality rating, and the amount produced is independent of skill, any untrained dwarf is suitable for the task. Skill ratings only affect the amount of time it takes for them to complete the task.{{verify}}
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=== Overdrive ===
  
Meat goes to your food stockpile. Bones and raw hides go to the refuse stockpile.
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In some instances - most notably, after [[rhesus macaque]] invasions, or killing some other large herd with your soldiers - you may find yourself with more bodies and [[severed body part]]s than you can process. In this case it is a good idea to set up some temporary extra butcher and tanners' shops (and butchers and tanners) to process them all before they rot.  Butchers are more important because their workshops have a tendency to get cluttered really quick.
  
 
== Using the animal products==
 
== Using the animal products==
===Bone carving===
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Animal products can support several industries within the fortress: they provide meat and fat for cooking, leather for bags, clothing and armor, and bones for [[Bolt|ammunition]], trade goods and in desperate circumstances armor. The [[value]] of an animal product is multiplied by the animal's modvalue, so items made from common animals are less valuable than items made from rare animals like a [[giant cave spider]] or a [[dragon]].  An animal's modvalue can be found in the creature raw files.
''Requires: [[Bone crafter]], [[craftdwarves workshop]], and some [[bone]]s and [[skull]]s''
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===Bones and Skulls===
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''Requires: [[Bone carver]], [[craftsdwarf's workshop]], and some [[bone]]s or [[skull]]s''
  
Butchering an animal produces quite a few bones and a skull. By setting up a craftdwarf workshop nearby you can turn these into useful products, such as bone bolts for your [[archer]]s to practice with.
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Butchering an animal produces quite a few bones and a skull. By setting up a craftsdwarf workshop near your abbatoir you can turn these into useful products, such as bone bolts for your [[archer]]s to practice with.
  
The only useful thing to do with a skull is turn it into a [[totem]] for [[trading]]. Note that totems do not fall under any category in the "Move trade goods to depot" screen, and so you need to {{k|s}}earch for them.
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The only useful thing to do with a skull is turn it into a [[totem]] for [[trading]]. Note that totems do not fall under any category in the "Move trade goods to depot" screen, so you need to {{k|s}}earch for them. Usually however they will be in a finished goods bin and not show up at all, so just transport the bins to the depot.
  
 
===Meat and fat===
 
===Meat and fat===
 
''Requires: a [[cook]], a [[kitchen]], and some [[meat]] or [[fat]]''
 
''Requires: a [[cook]], a [[kitchen]], and some [[meat]] or [[fat]]''
  
[[Fat]] can be rendered into [[tallow]] at a [[kitchen]], and then used as an ingredient in meals. Meat can be eaten raw, or used as an ingredient.
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[[Fat]] can be rendered into [[tallow]] at a [[kitchen]], and then used as an ingredient in meals; if you feel particularly enterprising and have wood on your map, you can instead make the tallow into [[soap]] for constructions or trade. Meat can be eaten raw, or used as an ingredient.
  
=== Tanning ===
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=== Skins/Leather ===
''Requires: a [[tanner]], a [[tanner's shop]], , and [[raw hide]]''
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''Requires: a [[tanner]], a [[tanner's shop]], and [[skin|raw hide]]''
  
Like the Butcher's Shop, the Tanner's Shop will queue tasks automatically, generates a set number of items independent of skill and this task is time-sensitive, as raw hides can rot.
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As with the butcher's shop, the tanner's shop will queue <tt>Tan raw hide</tt> automatically (by default), the tanner's skill has no effect on quantity nor quality of the leather produced, and the task is time-sensitive because of rot.
  
A single dwarf can be assigned the butcher and tanner task, as you will never need to tan until you butcher. You can also make this same dwarf your Leatherworker, but then it is wise to only slaughter (or hunt) for animals after you have depleted your current supply of tanned hides. In this manner, you decrease the chance of any material rotting before it can be processed
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It is quite sensible to have a single dwarf as both the butcher and tanner, as you will never need to begin tanning until you finish butchering. You could also make this same dwarf your leatherworker. It may be advisable (or not) to simply ensure that there are ''no'' stockpiles that will accept Fresh Raw Hides and to have the tanner's shops in the immediate area of the butcher's shop-if fresh raw hides can be stored in any refuse stockpile, they will instantly be designated for hauling and cannot be tanned until they have been stored. Ensuring that raw hides will not be stockpiled means that they will be available for tanning fresh off the former owner.
  
Once a hide has been tanned, it goes into the Leather stockpile.
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Once a hide has been tanned, it will be stored in a leather stockpile.
  
 
=== Leatherworking ===
 
=== Leatherworking ===
''Requires: [[Leather works]], a [[leatherworker]], and [[tanned hide]]''
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''Requires: A [[leather works]], a [[leatherworker]], and a [[tanned hide]]''
  
Once you have tanned hides, you can use them to produce leather goods in the [[Leather Works]].
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Once you have tanned hides, whether created yourself or bought from a merchant, you can use them to produce leather goods at the [[leather works]].
  
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== Summary ==
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''Worker type / Labor''
  
== Summary of requirements ==
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*[[Ambusher]] / [[Hunting]]
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** A [[crossbow]] or other [[weapon]]
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** [[Bolt]]s, [[quiver]]
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** Leather [[armor]]
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** [[Cross-training|Stats buffing]]
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** [[Archery target|Archery practice]]
  
=== Hunter / Hunting ===
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*[[Soldier]]s/[[Military]]
* a crossbow or other weapon
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**[[Soldier]]s
** bolts
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**Some form of [[armor]]
*** bone bolts for practice
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**Any [[weapon]]
*** any bolt for hunting
 
* leather armor
 
* a shield
 
* Barracks
 
** A sparring partner
 
* Archery Target
 
  
=== Animal Trapper ===
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*[[Cage trap]]ping
* Mechanic
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** [[Mechanic]]
* Mechanic's Workshop
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** [[Mechanic's workshop]]
** mechanisms
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** [[Mechanism]]s
* cages
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** [[Cage]]s
  
=== Animal Husbandry ===
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*Breeding
* cages
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** [[Animal]]s
* chains or ropes
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** [[Cages]]
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** [[Restraint]]s
  
=== Processing ===
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*Processing
* Butcher / Butchery
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** [[Butcher]] / Butchery
**Butcher's Shop
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*** [[Butcher's shop]]
* Tanner / Tanning
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** [[Tanner]] / Tanning
** Tanner's Shop
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*** [[Tanner's shop]]
* Leatherworker / Leatherworking
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** [[Leatherworker]] / Leatherworking
** Leather Works
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*** [[Leather works]]
* Bone Crafter
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** [[Bone carver]] / Bone carving
** Craftdwarf's Shop
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*** [[Craftsdwarf's workshop]]
* Cook
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** [[Cook]] / Cooking
** Kitchen
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*** [[Kitchen]]
** Barrels
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*** [[Barrel]]s
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
*[[Leather]]
 
*[[Leather]]
*[[The clothing industry]]
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*[[Industry]]
  
 
{{Workshops FAQ}}
 
{{Workshops FAQ}}
[[Category:Quick guide]]
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{{Category|Guides}}
[[Category:Materials]]
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{{Category|Industry}}
[[Category:Industry]]
 

Latest revision as of 15:00, 8 December 2011

This article is about an older version of DF.

This article is a quick guide to running a meat and related goods industry. If you decide to base your economy off such then keep in mind that the amount available depends on the breeding rate of your tame animals (how long the offspring takes to be born and mature), the spawning of wild animals, and/or the amount of meat and leather that traders bring.

Note that the meat industry involves many materials which can rot and so requires slightly more micromanagement than other industries.


Summary: Obtain some animals; kill and butcher them to obtain bones, meat, fat, skulls and raw hides; the meat can be used immediately but the hide needs to be tanned into leather and the fat needs to be processed into tallow; finally cook the tallow into a meal, and craft the bones, skull and leather into an end product.

Acquiring Animals and their products[edit]

There are several sources for obtaining animals, outlined below. Alternatively you can skip that business and just trade directly for leather and meat. You'll miss out on fat (negligible), and bones though.

Embark[edit]

You can buy animals on embark. With the exception of cats and dogs, buying animals on embark is extremely expensive, therefore this may not be a smart move. You also get 2 random draft animals for free that drag your wagon, though these are rarely a breeding pair. These can be butchered when needed, or be kept in the hopes that traders will supply matching animals for breeding. This doesn't necessarily mean that you need to buy one: If you happen to have a female, chances are that sooner rather than later it will meet a companion among the traders' many pack animals. Nature will find a way.

Trading[edit]

Requires: A trade depot, a trader, a merchant, and some tradeable goods

You can purchase animals, meat and leather from a merchant. Animals can either be kept for breeding (see Breeding below) or butchered immediately (see Butchering below). Elves may bring more exotic animals which are additionally interesting for defense purposes.

If you wish to import leather in sufficient quantity to keep your leatherworkers occupied year-round, then you should request leather to be imported from the trading liaisons. It might be necessary that you request every type of leather at low priority in order to ensure the merchant comes back with a large quantity next year (they usually bring excessive amounts even if you don't). You can only buy leather from human and dwarven caravans.

Hunting[edit]

Requires: A hunter and huntable wildlife
Recommended: A dog (or three), leather armor, and a weapon - preferably a crossbow, quiver, and bolts

It should be noted that hunters will ignore some wildlife, e.g. zombie groundhogs. Depending on where you settled your fortress, your biome may have no wildlife at all.

After equipping him or herself, a dwarven hunter will make a beeline towards the nearest wild animal and attempt to kill it, regardless of whether it is one amongst a large pack of hostile creatures[Verify]. Upon killing the beast the dwarf will carry the corpse directly to the nearest butcher's shop, the closest refuse stockpile if none is available, or the nearest meeting area if no stockpile exists. Once he has deposited the corpse, it will be ready for butchering (see Butchering below).

If the hunter kills other animals on his return journey while defending himself then those animals will not be carried indoors. To avoid wasting them you need to change your general orders to Gather refuse from outside (note that selecting this option may have undesirable side-effects).

Soldiers[edit]

Requires: Any number of soldiers and huntable wildlife

If so desired, you can order your active soldiers out to kill wild animals by enabling them to "harass dangerous wild animals" in the military screen. This takes some small management, but is particularly useful if a large herd appears and you want to get them all before they emigrate to less blood-soaked pastures; be prepared to process them all, however (see below). Soldiers will not kill or butcher domestic or tame animals.

Cage traps[edit]

Requires: Cages, mechanisms, and a mechanic

It is also possible to catch animals through judicious use of cage traps. This, of course, involves building cage traps where animals will walk. Once they are trapped the caged animal (or invader) will be delivered to an animal stockpile and the trap will be reset with a fresh cage.

Cage traps should be built where animals will walk, not where they are when you decide to trap them. Any dwarves sent out to create and arm traps in the animals' midst will scare them away or trigger their aggression. To successfully trap large animals, form a choke point some distance away from them: build walls, dig channels, eliminate ramps to create sheer cliffs, use ponds, &c. to create a continuous barrier to movement.

Leave a small gap one or two tiles wide (depending on how many of the critters you want to trap) and build your cage traps there. If the animals haven't moved off or been scared off by the time you're done, and they're docile enough to not attack once they see your dwarves, use military orders to send a dwarf (or several) around behind the animals and herd them toward the choke point.

Note that when using channels and ponds together to create a choke point, connecting the channel all the way up to the pond's edge will end up draining the pond. If this is undesirable for your fort's water supply plans, be sure to leave a tile between the edge of the pond and the edge of the channel, and build a cage trap or wall instead.

Note also that cage traps cannot be built within a certain number of tiles of the map edge, so when planning your funnels and choke points, be sure to leave four or five tiles as a buffer zone.

Breeding[edit]

Requires: One or more adult females and one adult male of each species and time
Recommended: Cages and/or restraints

If a male and a female of the same species exist on your map then sooner or later (and probably sooner) the male will impregnate the female. No contact between a male and female is needed - pregnacy can and will occur regardless of distance, physical obstacles such as walls or locked doors, number of each gender (beyond the first), and even ownership. (This is often referred to as "breeding by spores".) Even a male in a herd of wild animals outside the fortress walls can impregnate a female locked deep in a lowest level. A female can get pregnant again immediately after giving birth. The only thing that has been reported to prevent pregnancy is caging, but females that are already pregnant can give birth while caged.

Some immigrants will bring pets that might form or complete breeding pairs.

One strategy includes restraining most/all your livestock near your butcher's shop, as a large number of free-roaming animals will reduce your game speed. Additionally it reduces the amount of time it takes butchers to track down and retrieve animals they are to slaughter.

For the same reasons as above, a common strategy is to cage all your young until matured because they do not give the same amount of bones, meat, and fat as adults. (Keep in mind, though, that some tamed wild species take more than 1 year to mature, unlike most domestic animals. For example, it may be excusable to butcher an elephant calf right away for 10 meat and bones, rather than wait 10 years for 16 of each.)

Furthermore:

  • Cages can hold an unlimited number of animals, so you only need one.
  • Caged animals do not path, and therefore, do not consume a lot of processor speed.
  • Distinguishing between breeding animals and butcherable livestock is easier when clearly separated.
  • Caged cats cannot adopt owners (thus decreasing the chances of a catsplosion).
  • You can define a zoo from a cage, increasing overall fortress wealth, dwarven happiness, etc..

Using cage traps judiciously (or taking advantage of the animals elves trade) can sometimes snag you a breeding pair of a wild animal. Tame something unusual and start something crazy, like an alligator farm!

Do note that once a certain number of animals of a particular type are present in your fortress (currently observed to be around 50), that type of animal will cease to become pregnant (existing pregnancies will produce young, but they will not become pregnant again); once enough adults are slaughtered, more will begin to be born.

Pens[edit]

Animals on restraints still can path (1 tile in any direction from the chain/rope), and that can hurt your framerate. By making a series of 1x1 rooms with doors set to "non-pet-passable", and restraining the animals there, the animals have nowhere to go and so pathing is not a problem. The door keeps them from wandering; the restraint is necessary to get them into the room in the first place. (See Restraint for proper removal technique.)

Pits can also be adapted for this purpose, without the restraint and with multiple animals. The pens idea would be a good idea if pets actually understood non-pet-passable during calculation of paths. Instead they believe they can get through during mental calculations. Cold, hard, reality stops them at the door, but they continue to path as if they could get through, so, they just stand there (until a dwarf comes by and opens the door, at which point they gleefully run past). Pets in cages helps framerate the most, followed closely by restraints, since the search space bottoms out after only 2 moves (corner to corner). Pits, with no access besides (raised) bridges and (closed) floodgates, are also very effective, as pathing will stop as soon as the space of the pit is exhausted, so it's like a restraint with a slightly longer leash. Pens using floodgates would work, although loading the pets in would be nigh impossible without dropping them in from above, as anything in the way of a closing floodgate stops it from closing. It would be quite extreme, but such a collection of 1x1 pits could be an effective way of stopping pathfinding while retaining breeding. One could even use bars instead of floodgates, I think, and have a really proper zoo/cage.

Butchering[edit]

Requires: A butcher's shop, a butcher, and either a stray tamed animal marked for slaughter or one killed by a hunter or soldier

Note: While you can't butcher pets, their offspring will be at your disposal without restriction.

Once an animal has been killed you only have a limited amount of time to butcher the corpse before it rots. If your butcher is distracted by other tasks, this can be highly problematic.

By default a butcher's shop will automatically queue Butcher animal whenever an animal corpse is available, or Slaughter animal for stray animals marked for slaughter. An animal is available if it is taken to the butcher's shop or in a refuse stockpile. An animal is not available if it is merely lying around. Once butchered the animal will yield one skull (even hydras), one raw hide and a number of meat pieces, bones, and chunks - the amount depending on the animal type. The skill of the butcher only affects the time taken for Butcher animal task (Slaughter animal occurs in the blink of an eye), not the amount produced nor the quality.

Meat and fat goes to your food stockpile. Bones, chunks and raw hides go to the refuse stockpile. Chunks have no use and should be left to rot to nothingness, but you would be well put to create custom stockpiles for hides next to your tanner's shop (see Tanning below), for bones next to your craftsdwarves workshop (see Bone carving below), and changing the settings on your main refuse pile to not accept bones and hides.

If the animal is butchered just before it rots, the products of the animal MAY not rot. It is unknown whether the time of rotting for butchering products is based on the time of death of the animal or the time of production of the butchering returns.[Verify]


Overdrive[edit]

In some instances - most notably, after rhesus macaque invasions, or killing some other large herd with your soldiers - you may find yourself with more bodies and severed body parts than you can process. In this case it is a good idea to set up some temporary extra butcher and tanners' shops (and butchers and tanners) to process them all before they rot. Butchers are more important because their workshops have a tendency to get cluttered really quick.

Using the animal products[edit]

Animal products can support several industries within the fortress: they provide meat and fat for cooking, leather for bags, clothing and armor, and bones for ammunition, trade goods and in desperate circumstances armor. The value of an animal product is multiplied by the animal's modvalue, so items made from common animals are less valuable than items made from rare animals like a giant cave spider or a dragon. An animal's modvalue can be found in the creature raw files.

Bones and Skulls[edit]

Requires: Bone carver, craftsdwarf's workshop, and some bones or skulls

Butchering an animal produces quite a few bones and a skull. By setting up a craftsdwarf workshop near your abbatoir you can turn these into useful products, such as bone bolts for your archers to practice with.

The only useful thing to do with a skull is turn it into a totem for trading. Note that totems do not fall under any category in the "Move trade goods to depot" screen, so you need to search for them. Usually however they will be in a finished goods bin and not show up at all, so just transport the bins to the depot.

Meat and fat[edit]

Requires: a cook, a kitchen, and some meat or fat

Fat can be rendered into tallow at a kitchen, and then used as an ingredient in meals; if you feel particularly enterprising and have wood on your map, you can instead make the tallow into soap for constructions or trade. Meat can be eaten raw, or used as an ingredient.

Skins/Leather[edit]

Requires: a tanner, a tanner's shop, and raw hide

As with the butcher's shop, the tanner's shop will queue Tan raw hide automatically (by default), the tanner's skill has no effect on quantity nor quality of the leather produced, and the task is time-sensitive because of rot.

It is quite sensible to have a single dwarf as both the butcher and tanner, as you will never need to begin tanning until you finish butchering. You could also make this same dwarf your leatherworker. It may be advisable (or not) to simply ensure that there are no stockpiles that will accept Fresh Raw Hides and to have the tanner's shops in the immediate area of the butcher's shop-if fresh raw hides can be stored in any refuse stockpile, they will instantly be designated for hauling and cannot be tanned until they have been stored. Ensuring that raw hides will not be stockpiled means that they will be available for tanning fresh off the former owner.

Once a hide has been tanned, it will be stored in a leather stockpile.

Leatherworking[edit]

Requires: A leather works, a leatherworker, and a tanned hide

Once you have tanned hides, whether created yourself or bought from a merchant, you can use them to produce leather goods at the leather works.

Summary[edit]

Worker type / Labor

See also[edit]