For the first time in the saga’s history, an expansion of The Sims introduces the Skill to raise farm animals for the purpose of deriving products for one’s own use or profit. What gamers often summarize as “farm” was not completely foreign to the Franchise, however: it is still possible to purchase two set stores for The Sims 3 that allow you to play with cows and chickens, albeit with restricted functionality.
This time, however, a larger project was dedicated to the topic. And so it is that The Sims 4 Country Life includes six new species of animals, three of which are farm animals (cows, llamas, chickens) and three wild animals (rabbits, foxes, birds, which we will discuss in another article). The goal of this guide is to show you all that the aforementioned animals have to offer and the way to approach each of them in The Sims 4 Countryside Life.
Purchase an animal in The Sims 4 Countryside Life
The animals in this expansion are not created as directly as dogs and cats. In fact, their existence cannot be separated from the placement of their respective shelter, be it a shed (cows and llamas) or a chicken coop (chickens). Both structures can be taken from the buy catalog, more specifically from the “Outdoor Activities” section of the “Activities and Skills” category.
Sheds and chicken coops per se are unfenced, but if desired, it is possible to demarcate the area set aside for the animals by drawing a fence around it. In the absence of tighter perimeters, cows and llamas can move within a space of 10×9 squares, while chickens can move freely around the lot.
Once a shelter is placed, simply click on it and press “Buy an Animal.” Through a dialog box we then select the type of chicken, cow or llama we intend to buy and confirm our choice. The basic colors are those in the selection menu, but there are special ones that we will see later.
At this point, the animal will automatically materialize near the shed. A hut can hold a single cow or llama, while a single chicken coop houses up to eight chickens.
Keeping track of animals in The Sims 4 Countryside Life
Animal Attributes in The Sims 4 Countryside Life.
Beyond their specificities, all animals share common attributes that we can control by placing the cursor over the animal itself. Specifically, there are:
- Name. Each animal is assigned a generic name at the time of purchase, such as “Spotted Cow” or “Black Hen.” However, we can rename them to our liking by clicking on the “Name it…” option. This is certainly practical for distinguishing animals of identical appearance.
- Relationship. By interacting with animals, Sims inevitably develop a relationship with them. This aspect should not be underestimated, because it affects some aspects of play.
- Age. As well as the Sims, cows, llamas and chickens also mark their lives through age groups. These are chick (chickens only), young adult, adult and elderly. We will get news of their age transition from nothing more than a game notification. Instead, the moment of passing will be sealed by a visit from the Grim Reaper.
- You can turn off the aging of animals through the game options. Unchecking “Aging of Animals” in the “Package Settings” section will halt their growth.
- Happiness. This is an overall indicator that goes hand in hand with the state of the animals’ needs. When the latter are satisfied, happiness increases, and with it also the possibility of obtaining high quality products. Happiness can be low, good, high or very high.
- Following production. This item tells us in advance what kind of product the animal will generate at the next production batch.
Needs of animals in The Sims 4 Countryside Life.
Three needs contribute to the happiness of an animal (chicken, cow or llama), such as:
- Hunger. Needless to say, feeding is part of the basic care for an animal. As such, we need to make sure that the livestock can feed about once a day. To do this, we can either click on the shelter or feed the animals individually. Hunger can be absent, high or extreme.
- Hygiene. To feel happy, an animal also needs impeccable hygiene. Ensuring it means cleaning the shed or chicken coop about once a day, because if animals enter a dirty shelter, their hygiene level drops significantly. At that point it may be necessary to personally clean the animal. Hygiene may be low or high.
- Caution. Our caring for an animal also goes through socialization. Therefore, let us make sure that we perform enough social interactions on him so that he can feel considered. Attention can be low, adequate or high.
It should be made clear that although the need for energy does not exist, animals will go to sleep regularly every night. At those junctures, we may observe visual effects in the shape of “ZZZ” coming out of their shelter.
Losing an animal
Normally our cohabitation with the animal is not eternal, and it can end under four specific circumstances listed below.
- Neglect. If the animal’s happiness level remains low for an extended time, a game notification will warn us that it will leave in search of another home if we do not provide the necessary care. Further ignoring the creature will permanently remove it from our lives.
- Exchange. The loss of an animal is not always involuntary. At any time, we can decide to barter it for other goods. The choice is between meat, simoleons, treats or ingredients for agricultural products.
- Old age. As mentioned above, livestock also age over time. At the end of the age range of old age, the animal will pass away, an event of which we will become aware through a game notification.
- Death at the hands of foxes (chickens only). If the Wild Foxes challenge is active on the plot and the chickens find themselves without adequate protection, the chickens may be torn to shreds by foxes.
Shearing a llama
Once a day llamas accumulate enough wool for a shearing, the latter practicable from early morning. Six units of wool are usually obtained from the activity, having the same color as the animal’s current coat. The most common wools are white and beige, since llamas of this type can be purchased from the beginning. There are, however, far more distinctive colors that originate from certain treats (see table below).
Whatever the coloring, all wool has in common the same advantage: reducing the cost of creating knits (Stitch Stuff Portent) or cross-stitch squares. The special colors still make up valuable trade material to be given to the Creature Overseer to receive certain animal clothing.
A Sim proceeds to shear a llama when performing the “Shear…” interaction. Here, too, the mood of both sets up as a major factor in the success of the operation: the beast, in an uncomfortable condition, could, for example, reject the shearer and cause us to fail. On the other hand, when all goes well, any special colors will return the place to the animal’s original coat. Upon obtaining a novel wool variant, it will be recorded in the Sim’s personal notebook with essential information about it.
In any case, feel free to postpone shearing to any time you wish, as there is no risk of the llama generating too much wool and suffering negative repercussions because of it.
Cheats for cows, chickens and llamas in The Sims 4 Country Life.
Those who want to maintain control over animal husbandry can take advantage of an abundant supply of tricks, available upon entering testingCheats true (more Cheats here).
First, CLICK + SHIFT on a cow, chicken or llama gives access to the following options.
- Trick relationship. Instantly sets the status of the relationship between the Sim and the animal You can choose between maximum friendship, maximum enmity, friendship or almost friends.
- Trick Outcomes. Sets a temporary condition that guarantees success (or causes all social interactions between the Sim and the animal to fail).
- Create wool in inventory: adds to the Sim’s inventory every type of wool in the game.
- Create all feed recipes (DEBUG): adds to the Sim’s inventory every type of animal treat present in the game.
- Unlocks all animal dwellings (DEBUG). Makes the flock of birds and rabbit burrow immediately available in the Buy Catalog.
- Obtain all animal clothing. Adds the complete collection of clothes of all animals in the expansion to the Sim’s inventory.
