LordSheep78
Greenhorn
I never have any hay for my animals, there is no grass growing anymore, and I hate relying in Marnie! Is there a strategy to get lots of hay? Thanks
Constantly Running Out Of Hay.
- Thread starter LordSheep78
- Start date
PoppyForPenny
Farmer
A great way to get hay is to plant wheat, which grows 2 seasons but only takes 4 days.
The best way to have tons of hay is to fill a silo by cutting grass. You can remove hay from the silo and store it in a chest, and cut more grass to fill the silo again.
And (except during winter) you can get grass to start growing on your farm using grass starters, which you can buy from Pierre or craft from fiber.
The best way to have tons of hay is to fill a silo by cutting grass. You can remove hay from the silo and store it in a chest, and cut more grass to fill the silo again.
And (except during winter) you can get grass to start growing on your farm using grass starters, which you can buy from Pierre or craft from fiber.
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Lew Zealand
Helper
My favorite way to get Hay is to plant about 15-25 evenly spaced Grass Starters on Winter 28, covering about 1/3 of my farm or even 1/2 on smaller tillable farm maps like the Forest Farm, and watch the Grass go crazy and fill the Farm the next day. Grass expands wildly that one night so it's a great way to get loads of Hay by Scything it afterwards.
But just thin the Grass out, don't clear it! It will grow back and you can thin it out again with the Scythe in 3-4 days. And let your animals to go out and eat it as well so you don't even need to feed them any Hay on those days. I let the animals eat outside each non-rainy day Spring thru Fall, and the every 3-4 days clear out scything replenishes the Silos over the course of those 3 Seasons. I usually end up with 3 Silos full (240 Hay x 3 Silos = 720 Hay) by the end of Fall, which will feed a full Coop and Barn (12 + 12 animals for 28 days = 672 Hay) for the whole Winter with a bit left to spare.
And repeat next year!
Edit: for clarity
But just thin the Grass out, don't clear it! It will grow back and you can thin it out again with the Scythe in 3-4 days. And let your animals to go out and eat it as well so you don't even need to feed them any Hay on those days. I let the animals eat outside each non-rainy day Spring thru Fall, and the every 3-4 days clear out scything replenishes the Silos over the course of those 3 Seasons. I usually end up with 3 Silos full (240 Hay x 3 Silos = 720 Hay) by the end of Fall, which will feed a full Coop and Barn (12 + 12 animals for 28 days = 672 Hay) for the whole Winter with a bit left to spare.
And repeat next year!
Edit: for clarity
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Mango Choo-choo
Planter
Build up 3 silos.
This can be a good approach for lazy guys.
This can be a good approach for lazy guys.
timofeewho
Farmhand
i dunno why it didn't cross my mind that this tip would work in the forest too. i've only been doing it for my farm
thanks!
Ereo
Helper
It only works on the farm. They’re talking about the forest farm map. You can’t harvest hay outside the farm map.
Lew Zealand
Helper
Yes the Forest Farm map! I'll edit it to make that more clear.
timofeewho
Farmhand
MateoOfRiverwood
Sodbuster
If your coops and barns are closed, the animals cannot go outside and eat grass on their own. Also, in winter, animals stay inside, and hay can rapidly deplete in winter.
How many animals matters too. For a “normal” farm, I have 3-4 cows, 3-4 sheep, 4 chickens, 2 ducks, 3-4 rabbits, and some number of pigs or dino’s. So my animals will typically eat between 20-24 of either grass or hay, or some mix of them.
if you have gone Full Metal Rancher, and have 4 coops and 6 barns, all fully upgraded and maxed out on animals, that’s awesome, but your grass / hay needs would spike along with your animal population. If you have enough animals, they can dent and even eat down a large plain of grass, unless you’re backfilling it with new Grass Starter every so often. And it’s particularly tricky if your farm doesn’t even have a big grassy area at all. (Riverland, etc). On the plus side building more Silos and filling them ALL will reduce how often you need to buy from Marnie, but it’s certainly possible to overbuild what your farm can natively support.
How many animals matters too. For a “normal” farm, I have 3-4 cows, 3-4 sheep, 4 chickens, 2 ducks, 3-4 rabbits, and some number of pigs or dino’s. So my animals will typically eat between 20-24 of either grass or hay, or some mix of them.
if you have gone Full Metal Rancher, and have 4 coops and 6 barns, all fully upgraded and maxed out on animals, that’s awesome, but your grass / hay needs would spike along with your animal population. If you have enough animals, they can dent and even eat down a large plain of grass, unless you’re backfilling it with new Grass Starter every so often. And it’s particularly tricky if your farm doesn’t even have a big grassy area at all. (Riverland, etc). On the plus side building more Silos and filling them ALL will reduce how often you need to buy from Marnie, but it’s certainly possible to overbuild what your farm can natively support.
FilthyGorilla
Local Legend
In all honesty, every animal (besides 0 heart ducks selling the eggs raw) can pay off it's basic hay cost (out side of their baby stage obviously) as a baseline, and they only get more profitable over that line.
While it's efficient in some cases to create rather elaborate grass feeding layouts that ensure that the essential grass doesn't get eaten, it's smart to just buy hay and keep silos stocked for the animals that miss eating on top of that, as any animal producing literally anything is always better for profit than letting the animal starve.
While it's efficient in some cases to create rather elaborate grass feeding layouts that ensure that the essential grass doesn't get eaten, it's smart to just buy hay and keep silos stocked for the animals that miss eating on top of that, as any animal producing literally anything is always better for profit than letting the animal starve.
