What's the best way to feed pen animals?

[Waterlugh]

Hi all, first time using the forums.

I'm about 830 hours in and I'm thinking I'm sleeping on ranching (that, and I want to try it more). I've mostly been using a wide, open pen in the early game for grazing when raids are easy and unlikely to wipe, then switching to a small barn and putting grown hay on a shelf by the midgame. On a few runs, especially in colder maps, I made a little freezer and stored raiders inside so that pigs, wargs, etc could feed without eating food for the humans and horses.
I'm pretty sure this isn't the most efficient way to feed my animals, though. Is there any way that's more efficient? Preferably without butchering raiders.

[Ukas]

Butchering saves a lot of meat compared to corpse eating, and then making kibble saves even more. Wargs don't eat kibble, but other animals do, so I tend to trade off wargs. Next to the pen, I have a cold room that stores raider corpses and haygrass, which the slaves combine to make kibble that they take to the pen.

[Waterlugh]

Butchering saves a lot of meat compared to corpse eating

Yeah, I'd figured. I *really* don't want to butcher raiders, though, mostly just because I find it yucky. Oh well, there's always next run.

making kibble saves even more

Hm. Maybe I could use Insect meat for kibble? I usually refine it into chemfuel for practical use/a quick buck, but now that I think about it, that could be really helpful. Only question is if money is more important than having a reliable source of food for my pigs and other animals, huh?

[SupaStalka]

I put the bench in pen and drop on floor.
I paint a storage under the drop
I then set my worst cooks to a 1 on cooking, and put a skill limit on my meals.
Kibble will always get done to the level i asked, over flow will get taken to other storages when floor fills up by carriers, and animals are gutted right away.

Stuff speed/efficiency its kibble.
I also grow a hay field, no cutting.

You might want to put a skill limit on skinning, i dont, i just dont care, i would up my value too much.

NB Muffalo are boss. Chilled, lazy, good yield, good product
Im using bears for combat, will be swapped for mega sloth or thrumbo even tho i know they not meta. Rhino/elephants are your other combat goto.
Chickens are amazing but build a temp controlled hut the moment you get them
Boomlopes are good but sell the excess. keep them in doors on slabs (not hay)
Ginipigs chinchilla breed quicker but have a travel time over head vs muffalo
Stuff anything adjasent to deer, or the angery birds or snakes or insects

I auto slaughter, at 2 maoe adults, 1 male infant. I then might set a max total or max female adults. This depende on soooo many factors. Example, i set 3 rooster, 16 hens, unlimited chicks, then they dont get slaughtered til they are adults.
With muffalo i find it safer to tame then overflow the auto slaughter.

And tell the bigger animals to stay outside with allowed areas, they make a lot of "mess"