Other than dogs and cats, The Sims 4 didn't have many important animals... until recently. The players can now set up their own farm thanks to the Cottage Living expansion and have their Sims take care of their farm animals, living in peace and the beauty of the countryside, far away from the city.
However, being a farmer in The Sims 4 can be more difficult than one would presume. For one, the farm animals require a lot of care and if the farmer doesn't know how to treat them, the farming life will soon turn into a nightmare. Luckily, there are multiple ways how the players can ensure the farm animals have what they need and both them and their owners stay happy.
8 Befriending The Birds
If the Sim comes across a flock of birds in their home, they have the option to befriend them. One of the ways how to achieve it is to bring them gifts the birds will appreciate. Different birds will, of course, enjoy different gifts. Once the Sim has managed to befriend the birds, they can get their own flock for their home and live alongside them.
This will also help the Sims to take care of their gardens and farms in general because when their relationship with the birds is high enough, they can ask them for help with gardening. As a result, the birds will make sure there aren't that many bugs around who might harm Sim's garden.
7 Find The Rabbits (And Be Nice)
Similar to the birds, the Sims can get rabbits to live on their farm... but first, they have to discover them in the wild and befriend them. That will unlock the option to buy a home for wild rabbits for their lot. Just like the birds, the Sim can exchange gifts with the rabbits, both give them gifts and get ones from them.
Finally, the rabbits will also help the Sims with the gardening if asked for help. A good tip is not to be mean to the rabbits because if they get angry enough, they can actually attack the Sims and kill them!
6 Choose The Right Traits
Other than making sure the Sim approaches the animal correctly, it also helps to have certain character traits if the Sim wants to be as successful in taking care of his farm animals as possible.
The best traits for this particular game storyline are the friendly trait that helps to befriend the wild animals more easily. It also helps to pick the animal aspiration right from the get-go so that the Sim has a warm attitude toward animals in general.
5 Keep The Coop Clean
This might seem like a given but if the player is only starting with the Cottage Living expansion or they play with a large family, it's easy to forget it. When taking care of chickens, it's good to keep their coop clean. The player can check the coop's status anytime and see if it needs cleaning or not.
A clean coop means the chickens will be much happier, and more productive in laying eggs, as a result. What's even worse is that if the coop becomes truly dirty, the chickens will start to smell bad and neither the Sim nor the chickens want to deal with this.
4 See To The Chickens' Needs
Just like cats and dogs, chickens also have needs that should be fulfilled. If any good farmer wants to take proper care of their chicken, they need to make sure the chickens aren't hungry, are clean, and also aren't lonely. The best way to make sure they're not lonely is simply to interact with them on a daily basis.
Feeding them is easy, all the Sim needs to do is scatter the food or give the chickens some treat, and the hygiene simply involves regularly cleaning the coop. Keeping the chickens happy and their needs fulfilled means that the chickens will lay better eggs. And in some cases, when the Sim has an excellent relationship with the chicken, it can even lay golden eggs!
3 Giving The Chickens The Extra
Other than taking care of the chickens' basic needs, there are a few extra things the players can do to ensure their chickens' happiness and long life. One of them is installing an alarm against foxes who might want to sneak in and hurt the chickens.
It's possible to buy a so-called ComfortCare Life Extender that will upgrade the coop and do what it says - prolong the chickens' lives. Finally, the Sim can buy an auto feeder for the chickens so that they don't have to check regularly whether the chickens are hungry or not.
2 Beware Of The Foxes
Chickens have their natural enemies in The Sims 4 in the form of foxes. The foxes can sneak onto the Sims' lot and attack the chickens. Sometimes the chicken wins the fight, but other times, the fox manages to kill the chicken. The fox can also sneak into the coop and steal the eggs the chickens laid.
One way how to prevent this is to install the fox alarm. It's also possible to try and befriend the foxes that come into the Sims' property. The player has to beware of foxes especially if they're playing the lot challenge which will have foxes come to their lot that much more often than is usual.
1 Give The Cows The Upgrades
Just like with the chickens, the cows, and their home, the animal shed, can also get a few useful extra bonuses. Once again, it's possible to upgrade their shed so that the cows live longer. It's also possible to install an auto-feeder into the shed so that the Sim doesn't have to worry whether they forgot to feed their cows or not.
The Sims 4: Cottage Living expansion was released on July 22, 2021, and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.