Animals, hearts, and what they produce
Which animals pay off first, how hearts and feed tiers drive production, and the ten-heart trade that swaps ordinary goods for golden ones.
The short answer
Start with chickens and cows, which are available from day one and produce daily. Animals need petting and feeding every day to produce. Each missed day costs more points than a good day earns. At ten hearts an animal stops producing the ordinary product and produces only the golden version. This change is expected.
Which animals come first
Eight species exist, split by size: small animals (chicken, duck, rabbit, capybara) live in coops and eat seeds; large ones (cow, horse, sheep, alpaca) live in barns and eat hay.
| Animal | Unlock | Cost | Produces | How often |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | from day one | 1,000g | egg / golden egg | daily |
| Cow | from day one | - | milk / golden milk | daily |
| Duck | Hayden’s farm repaired | - | duck egg / golden duck egg | daily |
| Horse | Hayden’s farm repaired | - | hair / golden hair | every 3 days |
| Rabbit | Hayden’s farm repaired | - | rabbit wool / golden rabbit wool | every 3 days |
| Sheep | Hayden’s farm repaired | - | sheep wool / golden sheep wool | every 3 days |
| Capybara | Winter 1 of year 1 | - | fur / golden fur | every 3 days |
| Alpaca | Winter 1 of year 1 | - | alpaca wool / golden alpaca wool | every 3 days |
Chickens and cows are the first purchases because they produce daily and need no repair quest first. Ducks and rabbits join once Hayden’s farm is fixed; capybaras and alpacas wait for winter of year one.
The daily care rule
An animal produces only if it was petted, fed, and slept inside on the day. Each of those is scored overnight:
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Petted (once a day) | +5 |
| Fed (plus the feed’s own bonus) | +5 + bonus |
| Not petted | −5 |
| Not fed | −5 |
| Slept outside | −5 |
A fully neglected animal loses 15 points a night. Plain feed and petting earn 10, so skipping care costs more points than a normal day earns. Pet each animal in the morning, keep the trough full and shut the door at night.
The feed bonus is 0 for plain hay or seed, +1 for quality, +3 for deluxe, +5 for ultimate. A hand-fed crop or tree fruit is worth +5, and a cooked dish +5 to +9 by star rank. One-star dishes tie with ultimate feed; only two stars and up beat it. Details on every feed are on the ranch animals page.
Hearts and production
Hearts come from daily care. The ranch animals page lists the points needed for each level. Production changes at these thresholds:
| Hearts | Ordinary output |
|---|---|
| 0-1 | 1 per cycle |
| 2-3 | 1, +20% chance of a second |
| 4-5 | 2 |
| 6-7 | 2, +20% chance of a third |
| 8-9 | 2, plus 10% chance of a golden item |
| 10 | no ordinary output; only golden |
At ten hearts, the ordinary product stops and the animal produces only the golden version. A hen at maximum hearts lays about 1.1 golden eggs a day instead of two ordinary ones. Golden products sell for much more, so the change raises income. If an animal stops producing its usual item, check its heart level first.
Feed, and what it costs
Small animals eat Grass Seed; large animals eat Hay. A barn trough will not accept seeds. You can buy, grow or refine feed, and the hay guide covers every source.
Better feed raises hearts faster, but it does not increase the amount or speed of production. Plain feed is free, while ultimate feed gets an animal to the golden-product tier sooner.
Winter and weather
Animals let out on a clear day gain +5 hearts; on a rainy or snowy day they lose 5. They also eat any ripe edible crop they can reach, which costs you the harvest. The winter rule is simple: keep them in on snow days, let them out when it is clear, and make sure the trough is full either way (hay guide has the numbers).
Breeding and later unlocks
The breeding guide covers colors and variants. The ranch animals page has the animal festival score formula, the Shiny Bead economy and the auto feeder’s feed conversion. A typical ranch starts with chickens and cows, adds ducks and rabbits after the farm repair, then works toward golden products.