I've got a nice little chicken pen going. About a year in I noticed something weird. I'm now getting a few unfert eggs mixed in with my fert ones. I always thought that the breeding mechanic was pretty much 'if there is roosters, they are fert', so I thought it pretty strange to be finding unfert eggs.
Anyway, not a gripe, but confused as how this happens. Could it be that some of the chickens are old and that effects fertility? Could it be that the rooster was outside, while the hen is in the pen when the egg is first 'created' (both areas accessible to both animals)? Or is it just possible for eggs to be unfert when laid even when the hen was near a rooster and I just haven't noticed till now.
The rooster does infact mate with the hens. Do you have more hens than he can handle now? Need to know more about the numbers here to help further.
Wow. No way. Is there an animation or anything? I've never seen the chickens (or any animal for that matter) interact with each other at all, so I just assumed it was 'in the same room/area/close proximity' deal. Currently I've got 1 rooster, 15 hens.
select your rooster and watch the bottom left info panel for what (or who) "hes doing" :)
Believe it or not, but the roosters have a certain "limit" as to how many hens they can fertilize. :)
The limit itself is not a number, but the rooster needs time to fertilize the hens. He has to walk up to them and then perform the fertilization. Add to it that the rooster has to eat and sleep during the night and you'll see that it's not really possible to fertilize more than 20-30 hens per day, meaning some hens will hatch the egg without it being fertilized.
It's simply a limitation of the game mechanics.
Quote from: Skissor on March 14, 2016, 09:46:31 AM
Believe it or not, but the roosters have a certain "limit" as to how many hens they can fertilize. :)
It's simply a limitation of the game mechanics.
Or in this case, the 'Rooster's mechanics! ::)
Speaking of which, are unfertilized eggs a viable alternative for meat? As in, can they be used to cook fine meals as a substitute for meat?
Quote from: falcongrey on March 14, 2016, 12:22:25 PM
Quote from: Skissor on March 14, 2016, 09:46:31 AM
Believe it or not, but the roosters have a certain "limit" as to how many hens they can fertilize. :)
It's simply a limitation of the game mechanics.
Or in this case, the 'Rooster's mechanics! ::)
Surely it should have been "cock mechanics"?
Quote from: Barley on March 14, 2016, 08:39:37 PM
Speaking of which, are unfertilized eggs a viable alternative for meat? As in, can they be used to cook fine meals as a substitute for meat?
Both types of eggs can
Quote from: Skissor on March 14, 2016, 09:46:31 AM
Believe it or not, but the roosters have a certain "limit" as to how many hens they can fertilize. :)
The limit itself is not a number, but the rooster needs time to fertilize the hens. He has to walk up to them and then perform the fertilization. Add to it that the rooster has to eat and sleep during the night and you'll see that it's not really possible to fertilize more than 20-30 hens per day, meaning some hens will hatch the egg without it being fertilized.
It's simply a limitation of the game mechanics.
Wow, that's great to hear. I wanted my colony to produce a mix of fert and unfert, so I was letting roosters roam for a few weeks, killing them, buying more roosters later, repeat.
In alpha 13 I think I'll try two partially-overlapping animal areas so that sometimes the rooster in area 2 is physically incapable of visiting a random portion of the hens in area 1.
Its also 2 eggs per simple meal. They are very high in nutrition.
Quote from: skullywag on March 15, 2016, 04:33:06 AM
Its also 2 eggs per simple meal. They are very high in nutrition.
This is also true irl! Goats and chickens are extremely energy-efficient producers, whether you're talking dairy and wool, or just meat. I might try to mod in space goats (coast to coast) for alpha 13.
Quote from: forumaccount on March 15, 2016, 03:52:48 AM
Quote from: Skissor on March 14, 2016, 09:46:31 AM
Believe it or not, but the roosters have a certain "limit" as to how many hens they can fertilize. :)
The limit itself is not a number, but the rooster needs time to fertilize the hens. He has to walk up to them and then perform the fertilization. Add to it that the rooster has to eat and sleep during the night and you'll see that it's not really possible to fertilize more than 20-30 hens per day, meaning some hens will hatch the egg without it being fertilized.
It's simply a limitation of the game mechanics.
Wow, that's great to hear. I wanted my colony to produce a mix of fert and unfert, so I was letting roosters roam for a few weeks, killing them, buying more roosters later, repeat.
In alpha 13 I think I'll try two partially-overlapping animal areas so that sometimes the rooster in area 2 is physically incapable of visiting a random portion of the hens in area 1.
I found that 20 hens serviced by 1 rooster (in tight quarters to ensure maximum fert) will result in a little less then 1/3 of the eggs being unfert.
I feel that this is a good time to ejaculate my mind.
People, you're working your cocks to death here. You should let it rest, so it will rise again to its full glory.
Semi related to the topic, so I decided to continue it instead of making a new one. Everyone has noticed that stacked eggs split the difference for remaining time until hatched right? I had a stack of eggs that didn't hatch until it got to the stack capacity so no new eggs could be added to bring the timer down.
Pretty crazy when like... 50 chickens all hatch at once, and then moved as one to their area, with a colonist running behind them culling them. Just looked like he was creating chickens until I realized it wasn't just one chick, but 50, all on the same tile.
Yes they stack. But obviously that was the only way to solve it. Otherwise egg production would speed up so it needs to be done.
Quote from: Skissor on March 18, 2016, 07:26:25 AM
Yes they stack. But obviously that was the only way to solve it. Otherwise egg production would speed up so it needs to be done.
I think you thorghly misread what I wrote.
Hmm I was just noting that Tynan purposely made it so that the time of the eggs stack up. Yes, it makes no sense that 50 chickens hatch at once if they were laid at different times. But that was the only way to make it work gameplay wise.
OK. Once more:P Is it meant to be possible for eggs from tamed chickens to hatch untamed chicken?
(http://s14.postimg.org/qi3kmi0il/Untitled.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/qi3kmi0il/)
All the chickens in the screen shot are wild. I assume hatched from the eggs in the fridge. Didn't see them hatched, just noticed this situation arising.
Quote from: Mikhail Reign on March 21, 2016, 12:17:37 PM
OK. Once more:P Is it meant to be possible for eggs from tamed chickens to hatch untamed chicken?
Nope. This is a heavy bug. But looking at your screenshot it seems like your game is modded. I'm 99% sure this is causes by a mod you installed.
Nope if chicken eggs are moved from the allowed area of the parent they are hatched as wild chicks. I thought this was intended.
In vanilla game the baby chicken hatched are tamed. So Skissor has the right point.
Hrmmm i swear ive had this happen. If an egg is moved to an area that no animals are allowed in ot will hatch untamed. Ill double check this tonight when im at my pc.
Quote from: skullywag on March 21, 2016, 01:51:00 PM
Hrmmm i swear ive had this happen. If an egg is moved to an area that no animals are allowed in ot will hatch untamed. Ill double check this tonight when im at my pc.
Hmm sounds like a bug to me.
Quote from: skullywag on March 21, 2016, 01:51:00 PM
Hrmmm i swear ive had this happen. If an egg is moved to an area that no animals are allowed in ot will hatch untamed. Ill double check this tonight when im at my pc.
The area they are in, chickens aren't normally aloud, so that fits perfectly.
I've never had this problem. Chicks hatch in my freezer all the time, then head over to the chicken coop.
Although it is pretty ridiculous that my freezer is a chick hatchery...
I just had eggs hatch in the fridge where no chickens were allowed....the chicks obediently went to their allowed area...completely tamed.
I did have some dogs in the colony on unrestricted, but i think that wild chicks are a bug, and that it doesn't matter where they hatch.
Quote from: Mikhail Reign on March 21, 2016, 12:17:37 PM
OK. Once more:P Is it meant to be possible for eggs from tamed chickens to hatch untamed chicken?
(http://s14.postimg.org/qi3kmi0il/Untitled.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/qi3kmi0il/)
All the chickens in the screen shot are wild. I assume hatched from the eggs in the fridge. Didn't see them hatched, just noticed this situation arising.
I'm sorry to go completely off topic here, but what mod are you using that actually builds the air conditioner into the walls? I've been wanting that for sooo long!
Quote from: Play2Jens on March 22, 2016, 02:31:52 PM
I'm sorry to go completely off topic here, but what mod are you using that actually builds the air conditioner into the walls? I've been wanting that for sooo long!
???
I can't tell you which Mod is used. But the coolers are set as you do it in vanilla game. You can set the cooler on build walls or in between two walls. So that Cooling , the blue marked side, is in the room used as a freezer.
Then you can set the temperature to the one you want to have. eg -10
Quote from: Play2Jens on March 22, 2016, 02:31:52 PM
Quote from: Mikhail Reign on March 21, 2016, 12:17:37 PM
OK. Once more:P Is it meant to be possible for eggs from tamed chickens to hatch untamed chicken?
(http://s14.postimg.org/qi3kmi0il/Untitled.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/qi3kmi0il/)
All the chickens in the screen shot are wild. I assume hatched from the eggs in the fridge. Didn't see them hatched, just noticed this situation arising.
I'm sorry to go completely off topic here, but what mod are you using that actually builds the air conditioner into the walls? I've been wanting that for sooo long!
As someone pointed out, I have a few mods on, but I 'think' its this one
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=11056.0
What biome do you get chickens?
I haven't been able to find any, but I usually play on the lush forrest one, I forget what it's called.
Quote from: nuschler22 on March 25, 2016, 02:43:18 PM
What biome do you get chickens?
I haven't been able to find any, but I usually play on the lush forrest one, I forget what it's called.
Chickens come in a event, or are bought from traders. They, like other farm animals(cows, pigs) do not spawn in the wild.
Thanks.
I did see pigs and cattle on a trader along with other animals. I just the thought they were biome specific and I wasn't in the right one.
Good to know. :)
It might have been said, but I can't find it. Hopefully someone won't mind walking me through something. I'm not familiar at all with animals, especially chickens. I don't know how to milk, get wool, etc.
I have a chicken pen set up. I have two hens and a rooster. There are now three eggs in the pen. Do I leave the eggs in the pen? Should I move them somewhere if I want more chickens to hatch? I believe all three are fertilized. I notice they keep disappearing with nothing to show for it.
I realize I can use them as food, but I'd rather grow my chicken pen.
And if you could provide any tips for a person new to the animal portion of the game.
Thank you! :)
Eggs will degrade if left outside. Make a stockpile indoors, like in your freezer, and they won't degrade and they'll hatch safely. The new chicks should have the same restrictions as the grown chickens so they'll instantly start running to the pen when hatched.
Thanks. :)
Also, make sure your animal handler's aren't taking the eggs to tame/train other animals.
Eggs laid OUTSIDE the home zone are automatically marked forbidden. This is really handy to make sure that some eggs aren't picked up and will hatch.