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While crops are definitely important in Stardew Valley, animals also play a big role in the farming adventure. Not only can players raise and sell their animals, but they can also keep these animals and utilize their produce. But just like in real life, some of these animals provide more benefits than others. Since building up the farm business is the main goal, it’s good to understand each animal’s pros and cons in Stardew Valley.

Updated on December 7th, 2022, by Maya Sattar: Stardew Valley features a variety of wacky animals to harbor on their farms, from literal prehistoric dinosaurs and rainbow slimes to the bog-standard chicken. All livestock on the farm produce their own commodities, which can be sold to make a profit and keep the farms’ economy booming.

To help players figure out which animals are the most beneficial, each animal’s requirements and prices have been added to the list. Some animals require specific farm building upgrades from Robin before they can be purchased from Marnie, the main shopkeeper for all the farm animals’ needs. Crows have also been added to the list; as obnoxious as they are, players need to be aware of the damage they can do to their agricultural growth and how to prevent this.

13 Crows

Price : None Requirements : For every 16 crops, a crow may try and eat a crop.

Stardew Valley wouldn’t be complete without hindrances to farming life! Every night on the farm, there is a slight chance that a crow will spawn and attempt to eat budding crops sprouting from the ground. For every 16 crops growing, a crow may try and eat a crop. This maxes out at four potential crows at a time. Each crow may hop along and peck the ground after eating a crop, but this is a purely cosmetic animation with no in-game impact.

This farm destruction can be avoided by placing scarecrows around the farm near growing crops, as the only way to stop scavenging crows from eating the players’ hard work. Scarecrows are unlocked at Farming level one and can be obtained relatively early. Players can also collect all the Rarecrows in the game, adding some decorative flair to their space.

12 Cats And Dogs

Price: None, can be chosen at the beginning of the game in character creation Requirements: None

Players can choose whether they want a cat or a dog when creating their farmer. Cats and dogs don’t contribute to profit on the farm in any way, but having a maximum friendship level with one will count towards a single point during Grandpa’s Evaluation. Because of this, it’s good for players to pet their furry friend every day and refill its bowl, as it increases the friendship level.

Marnie will be the one to help the farmer adopt a cat or dog. Marnie will arrive at the farm one morning with the pet by their side, usually after the player has earned at least 1,000 gold or by Spring 20th at the latest. Since they’re not extremely useful, they rank the lowest among all animals.

11 Horse

Price: 10,000 gold Requirements: Stable, horse included in the price

Horses are one of the only animals the farmer doesn’t need to acquire from Marnie. Instead, they’ll have to visit Robin’s Carpenter shop and purchase a stable for their farm. Stables are handy since they always come with a single horse included, which can be named when first ridden.

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Horses are beneficial for increased movement speed. Better yet, if the player consumes coffee, the movement speed bonus stacks. Movement speed buffs allow players to get more done in a single day in the game, so it’s an excellent investment to make in a game without any vehicles or bikes. Unfortunately, horses won’t produce any animal products.

10 Goats

Price: 4,000 gold Requirements: Big Barn

On Stardew Valley, goats have fewer benefits than they do in real life. While real farmers benefit from the fact that a goat will eat anything, Stardew farmers only reap the benefits of goat milk.

The downside of goats is that they produce every other day, not every day. But the cool thing is that players can sell their milk or churn it into goat cheese! After a while, the goat will pay for itself, just slower than other animal options. It is possible to get Iridium Large Goats Milk if the goat has a sufficient mood and friendship level, which can then be sold for 828 gold! Players should ensure their water troughs are always full and the hay is plentiful!

9 Ducks

Price: 1,200 gold Requirements: Big Coop

Ducks are definitely a fun animal to get when playing Stardew Valley. They lay their own eggs which can be turned into “duck mayonnaise,” and they even drop feathers that can be sold for 500 gold at Iridium quality or used in tailoring. Additionally, those who want to build friendships with Pelican Town villagers like Elliot or Leo can gift this to them to yield positive results.

The downside is that, like goats, ducks only produce their eggs every two days. Furthermore, Duck Feathers only appear after players build strong bonds with their feathered friend and if the player has sufficient daily luck. Nonetheless, if profit isn’t a primary concern, ducks are somewhat productive and fun to have on the farm!

8 Chickens

Price: 800 gold for regular chickens. Requirements: Coop for regular chickens. Big Coop for Void.

Chickens are a Stardew Valley staple and a must-have for any aspiring farmers, with four variations: White, Brown, Void, and Blue. The Blue Chicken can only be obtained by seeing Shane’s eight-heart event. A Void Egg can be purchased initially from Krobus for 5,000 gold and incubated to hatch a Void Chicken.

All chickens are incredibly affordable to purchase; once matured, they will lay eggs daily. Using a Mayonnaise Machine, their eggs can be turned into regular mayonnaise or void mayonnaise, selling for even more than the eggs themselves. Eggs are also an essential ingredient in several Cooking recipes, like Crab Cakes, for those entrepreneurial chefs! Even though chicken eggs are worth less than duck eggs, their daily production makes them a reliable farm animal. Plus, they’re easy to feed and care for!

7 Sheep

Price: 8,000 gold Requirements: Deluxe Barn

Sheep do not produce milk or eggs (obviously), but their wool can bring a pretty penny. When properly taken care of, these sheep will be fuzzy enough to shear every three in-game days.

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In addition to selling their wool, players can also keep it and use it for crafting. Once the Loom is acquired, players can turn wool into cloth, which is mostly used in tailoring clothing. Both cloth and wool are also great gifts to increase friendships with certain characters, like Emily, for example.

6 Cows

Price: 1,500 gold Requirements: Barn

Cows are like chickens. Well, not literally. But in the world of Stardew Valley, they’re equally dependable, and no farm is complete without them. Cows will produce milk daily; once they are matured. If they feel loved and sufficient happiness has been reached, players will even receive large milk. These sell for more gold and can be used to produce large Cheese.

Make sure the cows always have hay and they don’t get grumpy. If they’re unhappy, milk loss is inevitable. Also, make sure to have a Milk Pail ready; otherwise, milking is impossible.

5 Rabbits

Price: 8,000 gold Requirements: Deluxe Coop

Rabbits on Stardew Valley are quite the opposite of real-life rabbits. These critters are one of the few animals that cannot reproduce in the game, while in reality, rabbits reproduce like it’s their job. However, rabbits are still quite useful on Stardew farms for other reasons.

These animals drop wool every four days, and if players are really good to their rabbits, they’ll even drop something called a Rabbit’s Foot. This particular item is worth lots of money, especially its highest possible quality. Combine a sheep farm and a rabbit farm to produce wool for days!

4 Pigs*

Price: 16,000 gold Requirements: Deluxe Barn

Pigs are easily considered to be one of the best animals in Stardew Valley. This is solely because of their ability to dig up Truffles. These Truffles are worth plenty of gold, and the more pigs players buy, the more truffles there are to sell!

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The catch here is that pigs are the most expensive animals in the game, costing 16,000 gold. However, the profit wins in the end, especially if farmers decide to make and sell Truffle Oil. Gourmet items like these are great products to have on the farm! Pigs also cannot forage for Truffles during the Winter season, as they do not emerge from outside the barn.

3 Golden Chickens

Price: 100 Qi Gems Requirements: 100% perfection must be achieved

Golden chickens are end-game content and can be achieved in three different ways, but first, the player must achieve 100% Stardew Valley perfection. Players can get Golden Eggs through a random event where a Golden Witch leaves a Golden Egg in the coop overnight. Otherwise, golden chickens cost either 100,000 gold at Marnie’s or 100 Qi Gems at the Walnut Room.

Golden Eggs take six in-game days to hatch, but they are well worth the wait! These illustrious golden chickens produce a golden egg every day as long as they are fed. At their highest quality, these eggs are worth 1,000 gold a piece!

2 Honorable Mention: Slimes

Price: None, Slime Eggs are found while exploring Requirements: Slime Hutch

Stardew Valley features many brightly colored slimes, some of which can be a royal pain when fighting through the Skull Cavern! Rarely, these slimes drop Slime Egg. Slime Eggs can be sold for varying amounts of gold, starting at 1,000 for green Slime Eggs all the way to 8,000 for Tiger Slime Eggs. They can even be hatched inside the Slime Incubator that comes with the Slime Hutch. Incubation takes three in-game days and six hours to hatch one Slime.

Despite their adorable and non-threatening appearances, the slimes inside the hutch are aggressive and will attack the player. Slimes spawn Slime Balls, which cannot be sold but contain multiple valuable Slime items. Slimes produce Slime Balls daily, but only if the water troughs are full and a minimum of five slimes are present inside the Slime Hutch.

1 Honorable Mentions: The Dinosaur And The Ostrich

Price: None, found while exploring Requirements: Deluxe Coop and Ostrich Incubator

These wacky animals are a little different from traditional Stardew Valley farm critters. First, the Dinosaur can be found via artifact hunting, and they even show up in treasure chests. It produces an egg every seven days, and that egg can be turned into Dinosaur Mayonnaise, which is sold for 800 gold!

Further, Ostriches are animals that also start from eggs and are randomly found in the Volcano Dungeon. They also lay eggs every seven days, and their eggs produce ten jars of mayo at a time when placed in the Mayonnaise Machine. Plus, a high-quality Ostrich egg sells for 1,200 gold. However, these animals only produce every seven days, so this isn’t the most cost-effective animal.

Stardew Valley is available to play on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Vita, iOS, and Android devices.

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