Good idea to build fences around farm buildings?

Wow, you learn something new every day... I had no idea you were supposed to put up a fence. I've had my animals "free roaming" since the day I built my coop (and barn) and still have all my critters, never heard the wolf wound either. I also had no idea that closing the little doors on the coop/barn would help maintain happiness... Man... That would have been nice to know.

 

You don't have to use fences, they'll be just fine free-roaming. I'm pretty sure the wolf event is triggered by an open gate, not by a lack of fencing.

But I definitely recommend closing the gates, it boosts the animals' happiness and thus increases productivity and it prevents a wolf attack. Not that a wolf attack is anything to worry about though, it seems to be a pretty rare event.

 

Personally growing up on a farm myself i go by what we did. We had our bigger barn animals penned but we had 4 different fields we herded them to. it saves the grass. Say your animals eat all the grass in one field. close that gate and open another to a fuller field. I change what field theyre in every day. I do the same for coop animals because sadly, in this game there is no real reason to let your animals free roam unless you want them to eat all the grass you're growing for your silo



Something like this is how I would do it...(sorry if the image is too big or doesnt show up. let me know and i'll try to fix it)
**Obviously you would need another fence to get in the fence yourself not sure how I forgot that but I did.......

 

While that works great if you /can/ herd the animals, getting them from the barn door to one of those smaller fenced-in areas (especially the ones farther along the rotation) must be a real chore. Farm animals tend to roam pretty randomly if you're not right behind them pushing.

 

That's actually a pretty nifty idea, I know this is done in rl with animals that are put to pasture but I hadn't really thought to do so in the game, and now I'm not sure why. lol Would definitely give the grass a chance to grow instead of them munching it all down super fast. Looks a bit more tidy too.

 

Usually if you close all the other gates, they go to the nearest food source. So as long as there isn't grass in the path to your field they'll just head straight to the open gate...but I've only had one barn and a few animals so I cant really say for later in the game.

If you do have trouble herding maybe make two larger fields and a small square with two gates? That would make it easier to herd them and still save grass because there would be too much for them to eat. Just don't put a fence right next to the door. lol they get stuck in the corner.

 

Ohh, that's a pretty cool idea, I like it!
I also grew up on a farm, a pig farm, but the animals were strictly indoor only, so I have no experience with herding and pastures and all that outdoor stuff

But I personally don't have problems with my animals eating all my grass, so this is not super important to me. I have 1 of each animal (+ an extra chicken, one of each color) and two very big areas to grow grass in. I have way more grass than I'll ever need

 

Thank you~

I've seen that work before but, I would still put a fence around the grass and have some excess to cut for winter but i'm always worried i will run out of hay for the winter. But again I have more animals so that probably doesn't matter to you.


~ bonus bit of backstory noone asked for~
I grew up on a small 51 acre farm (mostly forest) we had maybe 40 chickens, 5 pigs, 4 cows, a goat, 4 ducks, 3 geese, 14 cats, 2 dogs and a fish hatchery. Our cows were pigs and being as small a farm as we were we didn't actually sell any of our goods we really only got enough to sustain our family. Hay was expensive and alfalfa was even more expensive so we had to utilize our property for what we can and that ended up being two top fields (I lived on a hill) and two bottom fields across the river and we would herd them to the bottom fields for spring and summer because there was the most food and to the top during fall and winter so we could give them hay. we occasionally let the ducks free roam cuz they would eat the slugs and not the garden but if we let the chickens out they would eat all our food for the year and that wasn't gonna work for us so they had a large pen outside they could roam in.
This is pretty much what i've based my stardew farm on.

 

I love my animals so much it's a little alarming. I only have chickens right now but I would never want them to feel upset or scared on my farm.
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That's super cool! Some part of me always wanted to live on a real farm but I doubt I could handle the enormous workload by myself.

 

@Sereru I love animals too. It was a sad day when i had to move to town. I live in an apartment now and Its so incredibly cramped and I cant have any animals. Drives me bonkers (lives vicariously through stardew).

Also The workload isnt that bad but you do need more than one person for upkeep (I had a family of 5). Sure you have chores to get done but get em done and you have the rest of the day to yourself. It feels awesome to know you've grown and stored your food for the winter. Its a good experience and personally suggest it to everyone wanting a new direction.

 

I grew up on a much different farm than you. It was much bigger, yet still fairly small for a danish pig farm, roughly 600 pigs at any given time. We didn't grow crops for our own consumption, mainly grew cereals like wheat and barley which we sold.
It was very much a full-time job for my dad, he worked from the sun went up to the sun went down and sometimes longer than that, especially during harvest season. There's no such thing as weekends or vacations. It is just work 24/7 365 days of the year.

I definitely miss living on the farm as a kid, but I would not want to live on a farm in the future. Being your own boss is nice and all, but I need free time.

 

As someone who is pretty much stuck inside a small apartment at her desk 95% of her waking hours, I would *love* to live on a farm. Something that gets me outdoors and busy and active AND I get to work with animals? Sign me up!

@LoonyLunetta I feel you on the no-pets-allowed thing. Our apartments are super strict, they allow cats, dogs, small birds or an aquarium no bigger than 10 gallons, but nothing else. NOTHING. I personally adore rats and that's what I want to have, but they're super dead-set against caged critters for whatever reason. Makes me sad. :C

 

@Minimanta Ohhhh my goodness I dont think I could handle that kind of farm. Its much too big. I think I'll stick with a small personal self sufficient farm haha.

@LuthienNightwolf Not fair! At least you have the ability to have a dog/cat. I want a shar pei.

We can basically have any caged animal. Land lady says "as long as it doesnt ruin my floors and or walls'. The only way you can have other animals here is if you have a service animal. Sadly when you need something affordable you cant really pick and choose very much. And unfortunately recently my one pet passed away. I miss my Mr. Wizard. He was so handsome

Also I apologize for derailing the topic >~> Pretty sure that was my fault.

 

Let's trade!

I don't really get why they're so dead-set against small animals here. Typically any damage they could do would all be to my property anyway. I say allow them and charge a deposit like they do for dogs and cats. I would gladly pay it to have my ratties.

 

I personally don't bother with the fences anymore, I used to, but maintenance ends up getting in the way of other things. Besides, my animals are much happier when they can roam around free and get under my feet at the most inopportune times....