Caravan animals should be fed hay first

[Chibiabos]

The cheap and dirty food I bring for my caravaners is just simple corn.  I also bring hay for my caravan animals ... wasn't sure how much to bring, so in addition to a lot of corn, I packed 1,000 hay.  When I got to my destination, I still had 1,000 hay ... meaning none of it had been consumed.

Hay is really worthless to bring if caravan animals will eat your colonist food first ... I can't even trade it as no colony I trade with will even buy it.

[Limdood]

just a quick question...did you send that caravan thru forest in non-winter months?

If you did, then the animals just grazed...they eat none of your caravan food and snack on grown grass along the way.  The only times they don't do this are in barren biomes (desert or icy) or during winter (in non rainforest).

Is it perhaps possible that only your colonists ate corn (they eat 36 per day per colonist, so it disappears FAST) and the animals grazed, but you assumed that the animals ate the corn because it disappeared so quickly?

[jamaicancastle]

All caravan members, except for grazing animals, will prioritize food that's closer to rotting. If you bring hay (initially 60 days to rot) and pemmican (80) or survival meals (never), your animals should preferentially eat the hay. Of course, this doesn't help when they send a request for food, as they often do.

[Chibiabos]

All caravan members, except for grazing animals, will prioritize food that's closer to rotting. If you bring hay (initially 60 days to rot) and pemmican (80) or survival meals (never), your animals should preferentially eat the hay. Of course, this doesn't help when they send a request for food, as they often do.

That's not been my experience :/  Dogs will guzzle beer that's far off instead of kibble right next to them

[cultist]

That's not been my experience :/  Dogs will guzzle beer that's far off instead of kibble right next to them

It only works like that with caravans, not in your base.