Do (tamed) animals have temperature needs?

[The Man with No Name]

I have some tamed livestock now, such as cows, turkeys and chickens. Will they be okay outdoors in the winter? If not, does that mean that they need to be in a roofed area, perhaps with a heater? Would a heated sleeping area be enough, or should they be protected from the elements all of the time in winter?

[ArguedPiano]

Trial and error man... that's how most people solve their problems in this game.
Alternatively you could look at the animals stats page for your answers.

[O Negative]

Most animals are unrealistically comfortable in a super wide range of temperatures. I definitely recommend selecting the animals you have and looking at their info tab. There should be information on their Max and Min temps that they can handle.

I reported animals not getting heatstroke as a bug a long time ago, but was told it was only like that because the devs didn't want animals to be super hard to care for. Fair enough.

[The Man with No Name]

I can't find any in-game or online sources for animal temperature ranges. However, using the Numbers mod, with which can view various stats, I can see that animals have minimum and maximum comfortable temperatures. Here are the ones for the animals I own (min/max):

Turkey: -8C/50C
Cat: -14C/50C
Cow: -14C/50C
Grizzly bear: -40C/50C
Red fox: -50C/50C
Husky: -50C/50C
Muffalo: -60C/50C

So I suppose it might be sensible to build a heated barn for animals to shelter in for when it gets really cold.

[ArguedPiano]

If you click on the animal in question, a box in the bottom left corner will pop up. Look for the information tab (i). That will list all the animals stats.
Numbers mod works as well.

[The Man with No Name]

If you click on the animal in question, a box in the bottom left corner will pop up. Look for the information tab (i). That will list all the animals stats.
Numbers mod works as well.

This forum doesn't have a facepalm smilie. 

The Numbers mod displays all one's animals' stats on one page, though... 

EDIT:

I reported animals not getting heatstroke as a bug a long time ago, but was told it was only like that because the devs didn't want animals to be super hard to care for. Fair enough.

So we're still not sure whether animals's comfortable temperature range actually does anything? Maybe affects wool/egg/milk production speed maybe, if it doesn't kill them?

[Toast]

Animals *will* get frostbite and lose appendages, freeze to death, etc. if they are not kept reasonably close to their "comfortable" temperature in winter. Chickens are particularly delicate, more than other animals I have raised, and must be kept warm with a heater or campfire if it gets at all below freezing.

I have never seen an animal suffer from heatstroke, though I do generally take pains to offer them access to cooler interiors anyway to be safe.

[Ukas]

Chickens are particularly delicate, more than other animals I have raised, and must be kept warm with a heater or campfire if it gets at all below freezing.

This is my experience too. Also, fertilized eggs will ruin and won't hatch chickens if they are frozen for a while.

[OFWG]

Chickens are particularly delicate

+1 on this, I've always found chickens to not be worth the hassle on the temperate (freezing winter) maps I play. Pigs are similar, although at least pigs only seem to need a few days' indoor time per winter.

Of course, if you allow your animals free range to come indoors it's not a problem. They seem to do a very good job of coming in from the cold.

[Ukas]

+1 on this, I've always found chickens to not be worth the hassle on the temperate (freezing winter) maps I play. Pigs are similar, although at least pigs only seem to need a few days' indoor time per winter.

Of course, if you allow your animals free range to come indoors it's not a problem. They seem to do a very good job of coming in from the cold.

Have to admit chickens require attention during winters. I always have them though as eggs are so valuable when compared to meat. So, I'll build a coop with two rooms and a walled yard, as I separate males from females. They feed in roofed part of the yard, so hay won't spoil like it would inside. Everytime when there's zrrrt or other blackout I have to remember to build fires inside ASAP as they seem to freeze their legs very quickly. While hens without legs aren't a problem, roosters without legs can't visit the hens when I want chicken meat for pemmican etc.

[The Man with No Name]

How do temperature-related "injuries" happen? Is it the average temperature experienced over a period of time, like a day, or the temperature at a particular moment? For example, if farm animals have a heated sleeping area, will they be able to stand colder temperatures during the day if outdoors?

[Lys]

How do temperature-related "injuries" happen? Is it the average temperature experienced over a period of time, like a day, or the temperature at a particular moment? For example, if farm animals have a heated sleeping area, will they be able to stand colder temperatures during the day if outdoors?

All living things (and maybe even robots?) get a "Hypothermia" debuff in their health section when outside their comfortable temperature for a small time. This gradually builds up and at a certain point (I believe at "serious") they may randomly lose body parts. When in comfortable temperature again, the Hypothermia goes away quickly.

[The Man with No Name]

Okay. I'm trying to work out whether I'd need to create an indoor area for farm animals to stay in 24/7 in wintertime, or whether a heated sleeping area would be enough unless it got really cold. If temperature health problems builds up gradually then the first option might be possible, by keeping an eye on hypothermia levels. So if, for example, a chicken was outside during the day and incurred initial or minor hypothermia, but slept in the warmth, causing the hypothermia to dissipate would they have health problems? Or perhaps frostbite injuries are separate from hypothermia and they may be at risk from them during the day?

[NinjaDiscoJew]

So if, for example, a chicken was outside during the day and incurred initial or minor hypothermia, but slept in the warmth, causing the hypothermia to dissipate would they have health problems? Or perhaps frostbite injuries are separate from hypothermia and they may be at risk from them during the day?

I believe this would work, only if the hypothermia doesn't get too bad. I don't know how far along before frostbite occurs though...

[Zhentar]

Between 0C to 10C below their minimum comfy temperature, the state of hypothermia is static - it doesn't get better, and it doesn't get worse. More than 10C below and they start to accumulate hypothermia (the colder it is, the faster it accumulates). At 37%, they can start getting frostbite.

Edit: I don't remember how long it takes to reach frostbite when you start accumulating hypothermia, but I'm pretty sure it's less than half a day.