Need help on cows ASAP!

[Antman4ever]

I really need help on cows I do not understand and tutorials but I need a step by step process. Started sandy shores farm and really want to use this map for animals any help please!!!

[Antman4ever]

Instead of making a new form in gonna sub post on here and ask What is the best animal to start with???

[Zetor9145]

Sheep, just need grass and water.

[Antman4ever]

Sheep, just need grass and water.

Thanks!

[aklein]

Sheep are great starters. there easy. all you need is a mower and a loading wagon. use the 3point front mower and a loader wagon on your tractor. you can use the smallest loading wagon and that will hold you for a large number of sheep. Compared to cows the sheep hardly eat a thing.

Then you will need a water tank which you find in the animals section of the store. No idea where water is on sandy bay but fill with water and provide water to the trough that has a rounded bottom. grass goes in the one that has a squared off bottom and an angle to the top of the trough.

sheep produce wool. Wool sells for a very good price for the amount of work they take although it takes a while to produce wool of any qty until you have a larger amount of them.


Since you asked about cows. Cows are the most complex of all animals. they require, water, grass, and then you can choose to feed them in addition to grass hay or silage or TMR (total mixed rations). cows will always need grass but if you go with TMR you dont need to feed hay/silage directly as it will come in your TMR feeding. Cows also need straw to produce solid manure.

Silage can either be made in the bunkers or by wrapping round or square bales (Kuhn DLC needed for square wrapper)

TMR is made up by mixing straw, hay and silage in a mixer. the base game feed mixer holds 16000L of product. Feed in a ratio of 8000L silage or hay, 4000L on silage if you feed 8000L of hay or 4000L hay if you did 8000L silage. Then 4000L of straw. Lots of folks use bales to make their TMR because 1 bale is 4000L regardless of straw, hay or silage.

When you feed TMR you will see both the TMR and the Hay/silage feed chart increase which is why if you feed TMR you don't need to feed hay/silage separate.

Cows take alot more grass and hay and silage and require more equipment to feed so they are usually later in the game or if you have a cool millon from nuggets you could finance cows from the start.

Cows make milk which is often sold at midnight automatically on most maps.

[PureMassacre187]

Dont try the cows without probably 200,000. Your gonna be just under 100,000 with basic equipment. Assuming you have a tractor and harvester. Leaves you money for some cows and you still have a decent buffer.

[Keldin]

Cows are more interesting though, and not expensive to get started in at all. All you need is a forage wagon (31k ?). Once you have bit of money get a tedder and then later on a mixing wagon and front loader bucket.

I am running a cows only game on Sosnovka (on hard mode, no missions) which is probably my most favourite game.

[PureMassacre187]

My figure was to jump right into TMR. I was used to it from 15 so i automaticly set up that way. Doing grass and hay/silage is alot easier and cheaper.

[Blademaster]

Do sheep pens need to be cleaned? My cleanliness % is at 0. Not sure if indeed to do something about it. Thanks.

[Keldin]

Do sheep pens need to be cleaned? My cleanliness % is at 0. Not sure if indeed to do something about it. Thanks.

Yes, you should see the spilled grass next to the food through.

A few early options are a front loader with bucket, or a forage wagon.

[Fordson]

Cows is now more easier as in LS 15, as you do not have to do silage. Instead you can use hay.

To feed only gras does not give sufficient productivity (only 28%). With hay or silage, straw bedding and a clean stable you can get to 72% of productvity.
Doing silage you need one peace of equipment less. But starting with hay is easier (i.e. faster), as you have to collect a certian amount of grass to do silage.
So you need equipment for water, gras, hay, straw. Here comes the minimum equipment (you can also work with bales, which is more expensive)

First of all you need a field and a not to small meadow (as it has to provide grass and hay).
A place to dump the loose straw, hay and grass.
A front loader to handle straw, hay and grass.
For watering your cows you need the Joskin Aquatrans (about 10.000 it think)
To transport gras, hay and straw you need a forage wagon. The cheapest (31.000) will do the job.
To mow the gras you need a mower (also about 10.000) preferable a front mower.
To do hay you need a tedder.
You might need a windrower. But I think you can pick up the hay with the forage wagon directly. (Somone else may put me right).

To start with you should have water and grass in the troughs and straw in the beding before buy the cows (although they will not starve, but only give no milk).

Watering: Take the Aquatrans and fill it at a stream: Find a shallow landing (on the map they are sandy spots) and drive the Aquatrans backwards into a stream (press R if nothing happens). This is for free. Else you park beside a fountain and press R. This will cost you.
Drive the barrel to the cows and rerward to the water trough (the one with the rounded floor). Press I. If it does not work use the other trough, you are at the feeding trough. The trough will hold at about 3.000 l (if you have more then 15 cows it will be more. But since no cow is less then 15 ...).

Straw: You need to plant wheat or barley. When harvesting switch the output of the combine to straw. Pick the straw up with the forage wagon. Carry it to your cows. Drive backwards to where the straw has to be unloaded. Press I. You will need about 6.000 liters for up to 15 cows. Dump the rest of the straw in the location provided for it (STRG I or I). You can pick it up with the front loader when needed.

Gras: Equip a tractor with the front mower and the forage wagon. Go to a meadow. Switch on the mower. Switch on the forage wagon. Collect about 6.000 l for 15 cows.
Go to the cows. Drive rearwards to the feeding trough (the one with the plain floor usually). Unload the forage wagon (press I). If you have grass left in the wagon, dump it in the silage pit.

Now buy some cows. As less then 15 cows need as much fodder as any lesser number, 15 is a good starting point.

Hay: Put the front mower on you tractor. Go to meadow and mow some grass. Get the tedder and use it to turn the grass into hay. Take the forage wagon and pick up about 15.000 l hay (main fodder). Drive it to the cows and dump it into the feeding trough. Dump the rest of the hay where appropriate (I or STRG I). You can take it up later with the front loader.

Cleaning: Your cows will spill the fodder around the feeding trough. Pick it up with the forage wagon and put back into the trough.

This is the most basic way (beside only using grass) to have happy cows. You can improve it by:
- Doing silage
- Using straw and hay bales
- or the hay shed (mod by Giants)
- doing total mixing rations (you need a foddermixer)

At some point you will have to get rid of the manure and slurry. But nothing to get worried about now.

Any comments welcome
And sorry for my english.

[Keldin]

This is the most basic way (beside only using grass) to have happy cows. You can improve it by:
- Doing silage
- Using straw and hay bales
- or the hay shed (mod by Giants)
- doing total mixing rations (you need a foddermixer)

I am curious about bales being an improvement. I never used bales in my cow game. Before I had the placable food mixer I just used the tip anywhere feature to have a hay and straw pile. Now with the mixer I have no need for extra storage.

[Fordson]

I meant improvement in the sense of enrichement of your possibilities or in plain speak: If you are happy with bales, you can use bales instead.

Personnally I am with you and avoid bale-handling. It is no fun for me either.

[Forseti]

Well, I actually enjoy the whole bale thing and use them only for feeding. Sure, they need more effort, then loose gras or straw, but they provide some neat advantages:

- big storage capacity with little volume.
- making TMR is so easy: 2 bales hay, 1 bale silage, 1 bale straw and up she goes (or: 1 hay, 2 silage, 1 straw, or: 2 hay, 2 silage)
- bales can be put into the trough directly, no need of the primor on most maps
- surplus bales can be sold for good money, especially silage bales, and you don't need to look for the prices as they are constant (loose material can have better prices , but they change, so you need to wait - which will force you make a stock, probably a big stock - and you suffer from price drops after selling one waggon)

[ErwinR55]

Well, I actually enjoy the whole bale thing and use them only for feeding. Sure, they need more effort, then loose gras or straw, but they provide some neat advantages:

- big storage capacity with little volume.
- making TMR is so easy: 2 bales hay, 1 bale silage, 1 bale straw and up she goes (or: 1 hay, 2 silage, 1 straw, or: 2 hay, 2 silage)
- bales can be put into the trough directly, no need of the primor on most maps
- surplus bales can be sold for good money, especially silage bales, and you don't need to look for the prices as they are constant (loose material can have better prices , but they change, so you need to wait - which will force you make a stock, probably a big stock - and you suffer from price drops after selling one waggon)

or 1 hay + 3 silage
or 1 silage + 3 hay

I feed my cows 1 hay + 3 silage from the pit