Animals are part and parcel of the farm life in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. There are different types of animals that can be taken care of within the farm, and each of them can be a source of produce that can be sold for income. Read ahead as we go through every available farm animal in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life.
All Farm Animals in A Wonderful Life
There are five different types of animals that can be raised in the farm:
- Chickens
- Cows
- Sheep
- Goat
- Duck
There is also the Horse which is mainly used to move around the places in the valley faster.
In contrast to the previous Harvest Moon version, animals in Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life do not die even if they are neglected. They can still be sold for half of their purchase price.
How to get and raise Chickens
Chickens are raised within the farm’s coop and is a constant daily source of eggs.
Getting Chickens
Chickens can be ordered from the farm ledger for 1,000G for a hen (female) and 500G for a rooster (male). Having at least one rooster and one hen inside the coop will give you fertilized eggs (pink) which can either be sold for a slightly higher price compared to unfertilized eggs, or it can be placed inside the coop’s incubator.
Hatching Chicks
Eggs placed in the incubator will hatch into a chick after a few days, but only if there is still a slot left within the coop. Chicks will have a 50/50 chance of being a male or a female. You will only need one rooster inside the coop and fill the rest of the slots with hens to keep producing fertilized eggs. If you have ducks in the farm, they can also sit on the eggs to incubate them, and vice versa.
Feeding Chickens
Chickens can be fed by placing Bird Feed on the trough in the middle of the coop, or they can be let outside the coop to graze on the tall grass, but only when it is sunny. Ring the bell to call them back into the coop during rainy days.
Bird Feed can be bought for 100G per bag through the ledger and will be delivered the next day. A bag can last long depending on the amount of animals that you have in the coop.
Be aware that chickens can lay their eggs outside the coop if they are left out to graze.
Nurturing Chickens
Chickens don’t need too much attention when compared to the other larger animals. To keep them healthy, make sure to always keep their trough full of bird feed and to snuggle with them every day to raise their affection.
About the Coop
Your initial coop can hold a total of 8 animals, with any combination of ducks and chickens. It can be expanded to have 16 animal slots for 100,000G and it can be ordered through the farm ledger.
How to get and raise Cows
Cows are raised inside the farm’s barn and they can produce milk.
Getting Cows
Cows can be ordered through the ledger and their price can very depending if you’re getting a heifer (female) or a bull (male), and on their variety. Listed below are their prices (bull/heifer):
- Normal Cow – 2,500G/5,000G
- Brown Cow – 10,000G/20,000G
- Marble Cow – 10,000G/20,000G
- Star Cow – 25,000G/50,000G
Initially, you will have a female cow to take care of which will be introduced to you by Takakura.
The difference between the Brown and Marble Cows is that the Brown Cow’s milk is better suited to be turned into Butter, while the Marble Cow’s milk is better turned into Cheese.
Feeding Cows
Cows need to be fed Fodder which costs 100G per bundle. Place the fodder inside the feeding troughs inside the barn and the cows will automatically eat them. You can also let them outside the pasture to graze on the tall grass, but only on sunny days. Use the bell to call the cows back into the barn on rainy days and make sure that you have enough fodder in stock.
Fodder ordered through the ledger will be delivered the same day. Alternatively, you can grow your own tall grass by spreading fertilizer in the pasture, though it takes a few days to fully grow.
Nurturing Cows
Cows need to be snuggled daily to raise their affection. Aside from feeding them daily, they also have to be groomed with the use of the brush, otherwise they will get dirty and can get unhealthy. The higher the affection level that your cows have, the better the quality of their milk will be.
Milking Cows
Cows can be milked twice a day using the milker which can be purchased from Van’s shop. It is recommended to milk cows early in the morning as part of your morning routine so that you can milk them once more in the evening. Also, cows do not stop producing milk anymore unlike in the original Harvest Moon game.
The quality and quantity of a cow’s milk can be affected by three factors:
- Affection level
- Temperature of the season
- If the cow has recently given birth
Affection level increases the chances of getting high quality of the milk from a cow. The more hearts that a cow has, the more higher quality milk it can give you, but only if its health is above 80%.
- 0-2 Hearts yields Milk C
- 2-6 Hearts yields Milk B
- 6-7 Hearts yields Milk A
- 8-9 Hearts yields Milk S
- 9-10 Hearts yields Milk S★
Temperature affects the quantity of milk that you can get from a cow. Extreme heat during the summer and extreme cold during the winter will only give you 2 milk bottles per milking, or a total of 4 bottles a day. Temperate seasons such as Spring and Fall will allow you to get 3 bottles per milking, or 6 bottles per day.
A few days after the cow gives birth, it can produce more milk than the usual for its calf. However, for the first three days of the week, it will produce Mother’s Milk which is mainly fed to the calf. It can also be sold to Van or processed into cheese or butter, but it sells less than regular milk.
After it produces Mother’s Milk until its 7th day, the mother will be back to producing its regular milk, but it will give you 2 more bottles per milking. After the first week until the end of the next season, the mother will continue producing 1 extra bottle of milk per milking.
With all these factors in mind, you can maximize your milk production by making sure that your cow is getting the best care it needs, plus it gets pregnant during the right season, preferably during Summer or Winter, so that it gives birth during the right seasons.
Remember that Brown Cow’s milk is best turned into butter, while Marbled Cow’s milk is best turned into cheese. However, a Star Cow’s milk sells higher than its processed products, so don’t turn them into butter or cheese.
Breeding Cows
There are three ways to breed cows and get a heifer impregnated. A heifer will only get pregnant if there is a slot in the barn. This slot will immediately get “taken” as soon as your cow gets pregnant.
The first option is to request a breeder from the Ledger. This service costs money and once ordered, Takakura will head out of the town and take home a bull to breed with your heifer for a day. In this case, you can get a pregnant heifer without having the need to keep a bull in your barn.
The second option is to purchase a bull and have it live in your barn. Every day, there is a small chance that your bull will get one of your cows impregnated. This event is highly random and there’s no telling which cows will get impregnated if you have more than one heifer.
The third option is to also have a bull in the barn and then talk to Takakura and ask him to mate a heifer and the bull for you. With this option, you will have more control over the process and the outcome.
When crossbreeding different type of cows, the calf’s breed is slightly more inclined to follow the mother’s breed by 60/40. The sex of the calf will still be 50/50, but you can create a save just before the cow gives birth and just reload the save until you get the calf that you want.
There is no benefit from crossbreeding cows other than to save money from purchasing the more expensive breeds.
Taking care of a pregnant cow and a calf
A pregnant cow will take around 8-12 days from the start of its pregnancy to when it gives birth, including the 5 days of its pen period.
When a cow is about to give birth, it will have flushed cheeks. You will need to manually move it over to the pen inside the barn, but if you forget it, the Nature Sprites will do it for you. After 5 days, it will then give birth to its calf who you can then give a name.
During the next three days, milking the mother cow will give you Mother’s Milk. Since the calf is too young to suckle and eat on its own, you will have to feed it its Mother’s Milk manually.
About the Barn
At the start of the game, your Barn will have 8 slots available for your animal, with one slot already occupied by your first cow. You can then have it expanded to have 16 slots for 120,000G through the ledger.
How to get and raise Sheep
Sheep are raised inside the barn and they can produce wool.
Getting Sheep
Sheep can be ordered through the farm ledger and both ewe and ram costs 3,000G. Upon getting your first sheep delivered to your barn, Takakura will also give you your basic clippers.
Feeding Sheep
Sheep can be fed with fodder or they can be sent outside to the pasture to graze on sunny days. Like with other animals, they need to be called back into the barn during rainy season to avoid getting unhealthy.
Nurturing Sheep
Sheep need their daily snuggling and they also need to be brushed to keep them clean, especially that they produce wool.
Shearing Sheep
Sheep grow their wool every 5 days, and by then you can use your clippers to shear off the wool from their body. Wool, even on its lowest quality, sells for thousands of gold and it just requires the daily nurturing maintenance to ensure that its quality grows over time. The higher the sheep’s affection is, the better the quality of wool it can produce. Raising sheep is a more passive alternative to lucrative ranching due to this when compared to raising cows or other animals.
Breeding Sheep
Breeding Sheep is similar to breeding cows where you can just have one ram and ewe in the barn and they will start having lambs on their own, or you can ask Takakura’s help to mate them or ask for a breeding service if you don’t plan to own a ram.
Taking care of a pregnant sheep and a lamb
The process of taking care of a pregnant sheep and a lamb is similar to a cow’s, except that you won’t have to worry about feeding a young lamb with something special.
How to get and raise Goats
Goats are raised in barns and they can produce goat’s milk.
Getting Goats
Acquiring goats it different from any other animals as they can only be bought from Van’s shop every Spring from Year 2 onwards. Van only sells the female goat for 40,000G, but if you have a high enough friendship stat with him, you can haggle to bring it down to 36,000G. Be aware that the goat will only appear in Van’s shop if you have at least one available slot in your barn.
Feeding Goats
Goats can be fed with fodder or they can be sent outside to the pasture to graze on sunny days. Like with other animals, they need to be called back into the barn during rainy season to avoid getting unhealthy.
Nurturing Goats
Goats need their daily snuggling and they also need to be brushed to keep them clean.
Milking Goats
Goats can also be milked using the milker and their milk also follows the same milk grade that cow milk has. Goats also do not stop producing milk unlike in the original Harvest Moon game.
Breeding Goats
Since you will only have access to a female goat in the beginning, your option to breed it is through the breeding service in the farm’s ledger. The goat will then get impregnated and give birth to a kid after a few days. Unlike calves, kids don’t also need your assistance as they can feed as soon as they start walking. Eventually, Van will start selling male goats as well for 20,000G.
How to get and raise Ducks
Ducks are raised in coops and can occasionally produce duck eggs.
Getting Ducks
Ducks cannot be purchased from anywhere as you can get them through a special event. In order to trigger this event, you must:
- Purchase the Pond in the Farm
- Have at least 2 empty slots in your coop
If both of these conditions are met, you will get an event where your spouse talks to you about the ducks that they found around the pond. You can then decide you if you want to keep them. If you do, they will then be added into the coop along with your chickens.
Hatching Ducklings
Similar to chickens, the pair of ducks can have fertilized eggs which can then be placed in the incubator to hatch into a duckling. Take note that ducks do not lay eggs are regularly as chickens, and if they do lay a fertilized one, it can be left inside the barn and it will be incubated by the mother or other hens when they sit on it. Ducks can also sit on the eggs to incubate them, too.
Feeding Ducks
Ducks also eat Bird Feed and they can be fed through the same feeding trough inside the coop. They can also be let out to graze.
Nurturing Ducks
Ducks can be picked up and laid down to be snuggled and raise their affection. The higher their affection, the better the quality of their eggs would be. As long as they are fed everyday, they will stay healthy and happy.
How to get a Horse
Having a Horse is a fast way to get around the Forgotten Valley. You will get a horse by Summer 1, Year 1 given to your by Takakura. You will be able to select the color of the horse, from black, white, and brown, and then you get to name the horse as well.
Nurturing the Horse
Horses also need to be fed and taken care of to stay healthy. You can feed it with fodder and you can also snuggle with it and groom it with a brush. Let it out into the pasture from time to time to allow it to graze.
How to ride the Horse
You can ride your horse by calling it out of the barn first. Once out, you can then approach it and press the Ride button once it appears. When you’re away from your horse, you can use the Call Horse option to call the horse to your location. Horses also sleep and you cannot ride it when it is asleep; wake them up first by talking to them or by using the Call Horse option.