Cow

Cow

Type	Animal
Building	Barn
Price	1500g
Produce	Milk; Large Milk

The Cow is the first barn animal most farms raise and the heart of an early dairy. It moves into the basic Barn, and Marnie sells calves for a modest price. A grown cow gives Milk every single day, collected by hand with a Milk Pail. That Milk becomes Cheese, which keeps rising in value when aged in a Cask. Large Milk from a well-loved cow also fills the Animal Bundle and makes gold-quality Cheese. In an upgraded Barn, cows can even give birth to calves, so the herd can grow without buying more.

The in-game description reads: Adults can be milked daily. A milk pail is required to harvest the milk. Lives in the barn.

Care

Robin builds the Barn at the Carpenter's Shop. A cow eats one portion of food each day. On fine days, an open Barn door lets the herd out to graze, and fresh grass counts as the day's food. Cows wander among the crops without harming them, though a fence keeps the herd close to home. When they stay inside, they eat Hay from the trough. The Hay Hopper draws Hay from the Silo, and the Deluxe Barn later fills the trough on its own.

Cows come home at around 6pm. Shutting the door too early strands any cow still outside, and it will be grumpy the next morning. A stranded animal also risks being taken by a wild animal in the night. The herd stays indoors through rain and all of Winter, so stocking the Silo in Fall saves buying Hay later. A Heater in the Barn keeps their mood up during Winter evenings.

Friendship rises with daily petting and climbs to five hearts. Milking the cow by hand each morning adds a little extra friendship on top. A cow left unpetted loses a bit of friendship each night. Mood is a separate daily score that petting, food and fresh grass all lift.

Marnie sells the Auto-Grabber once Farming reaches level 10. It milks every cow in the Barn overnight, but the cows then miss out on the milking bonus. Pairing it with an Auto-Petter keeps their friendship climbing.

Produce

A mature, fed cow is ready for milking every morning. White and brown cows give exactly the same Milk. Once friendship and mood are high enough, a cow sometimes gives Large Milk instead, worth about half as much again. Better care also raises the star quality of the Milk.

Putting Milk into a Cheese Press makes Cheese in just over three hours. Regular Milk makes normal Cheese, and Large Milk always makes gold-quality Cheese. The press ignores the star rating of the Milk itself. For that reason, iridium Milk sells for more raw than as Cheese unless the Artisan profession is taken. Aging Cheese in a Cask raises it step by step to iridium quality, which doubles its base price.

The Rancher profession raises the price of raw Milk by a fifth. The Artisan profession raises Cheese by two fifths instead.

Milk goes into many cooking recipes, including Omelets, Ice Cream, Chowder and Lobster Bisque. Large Milk works in any recipe that asks for Milk. Large Milk is an option in the Animal Bundle in the Pantry, and that bundle rewards a Cheese Press. Cheese is also an option in the Artisan Bundle.

Buying

Marnie sells cows at Marnie's Ranch once a Barn is built. The coat colour, white or brown, is chosen at random. The colour appears before the purchase is confirmed, and backing out allows another roll.

Pregnancy needs a Big Barn or better, plus a free space. Interacting with a cow after petting opens its menu, where pregnancy can be switched on or off. When a birth happens, a message appears overnight and the game asks for the calf's name.

A cow with full hearts sells back for somewhat more than its purchase price.

Notes

A cow is one of the fastest animals to pay for itself. Its daily Milk covers the calf's price in under two weeks at base prices. Cheese shortens that to about a week.

A cow produces every day, while a goat needs two days for each milking. Per day of output, plain cow Cheese earns a little more than Goat Cheese. Goat Cheese is worth more per jar, though, so it makes better use of limited Cask space.

Feeding a cow a Golden Animal Cracker permanently doubles the Milk it gives.

All Animals

Every entry in this group, with its key details.

Name	Image	Building	Price	Produce
Chicken		Coop	800g	Egg; Brown Egg; Large Egg; Large Brown Egg
Cow		Barn	1500g	Milk; Large Milk
Dinosaur		Big Coop	-	Dinosaur Egg
Duck		Big Coop	1200g	Duck Egg; Duck Feather
Dusty	-	-	-	-
Goat		Big Barn	4000g	Goat Milk; Large Goat Milk
Golden Chicken		Big Coop	-	Golden Egg
Ostrich		Barn	-	Ostrich Egg
Pig		Deluxe Barn	16000g	Truffle
Rabbit		Deluxe Coop	8000g	Rabbit's Foot; Wool
Sheep		Deluxe Barn	8000g	Wool
Void Chicken		Big Coop	-	Void Egg