In Stardew Valley, there’s one delightful aspect of farm life you shouldn’t miss out on – raising chickens. Chickens not only bring life to your farm with their cute antics but are also a reliable source of income and resources. Whether you’re looking to expand your poultry empire or simply want to enjoy the daily ritual of collecting fresh eggs, our guide is here to help you become the best chicken caretaker in all of Pelican Town.
Table of Contents
How to Get Chickens
To get a chicken, you first need a coop. Once constructed, visit Marnie’s Ranch and purchase a chicken for 800 gold.
Building a Coop
Gathering the Necessary Resources:
To build your very first chicken coop in Stardew Valley, you’ll need the following materials:
- Wood: 300 pieces
- Stone: 100 pieces
- Gold: 4,000 gold coins
It’s essential to keep in mind that these materials are for the basic coop. There are upgrades available as you progress, each requiring additional materials and gold.
The Building Process:
- Meet Robin: Your first step in building a coop is to visit the Carpenter’s Shop, located in the northeast part of the map, just past the Community Center. Here, you’ll meet Robin, the town’s carpenter.
- Choose a Spot: Once you’ve provided Robin with the necessary materials and gold, she’ll ask you to choose a spot on your farm for the coop. Select an area that’s convenient for you, keeping in mind potential expansion in the future.
- Construction Time: After you’ve picked the perfect spot, Robin will begin the building process. It usually takes her three days to complete the coop. You won’t be able to make any changes or request other buildings until she’s finished.
- Completion: Once the coop is ready, it can house up to 4 chickens. If you’re planning on expanding your poultry family in the future, consider upgrading the coop to accommodate more animals and provide additional features.
Buying a Chicken
- Visit Marnie’s Ranch: Once you have a coop ready and the required funds, head over to Marnie’s Ranch. Located southwest of your farm, Marnie’s Ranch is the primary place to purchase animals in Stardew Valley.
- Select “Purchase Animals”: When you talk to Marnie, an option to “Purchase Animals” will appear. Selecting this will show a list of available animals, including chickens.
- Choose Your Chicken: After selecting the chicken from the list, you’ll be given the option to name your new feathery friend. Make it memorable!
- Place the Chicken in the Coop: Marnie will ask where you want to place your new chicken. You’ll have to select the coop you’ve built. Once done, your chicken will automatically be in its new home.
Caring for Chickens
To care for chickens, ensure they’re fed hay daily. Additionally, petting your chickens each day boosts their happiness and productivity, leading to a consistent supply of fresh eggs.
How to Feed Chickens
The most effective way to feed chickens is using a silo which can store up to 240 pieces of hay. Upon cutting tall grass with a scythe, the hay is automatically stored inside. Not only does this streamline the collection, but the silo’s indicators also help farmers keep track of their hay reserves, optimizing chicken care.
A Silo Requires:
- Stone (100): Commonly found by breaking rocks on the farm, in the Mines, or the Quarry.
- Clay (10): Typically sourced by tilling soil with a hoe or from artifact spots marked by wiggling worms.
- Copper Bar (5): Created by smelting copper ore, primarily found in the Mines.
With these materials and an additional 100g, head to Robin at the Carpenter’s Shop. After selecting “Construct Farm Buildings,” pick the “Silo” option. You’ll then choose its location on your farm. In a few days, your silo will be ready for use. To obtain hay, simply cut tall grass. For those who don’t have the resources to build a silo, you can also obtain hay from chopping down grass or wheat around your farm.
Once you have a collection of hay in your silo, it will go straight to the hopper built into the chicken coop. From there, all you have to do is interact with the hopper, collect the hay and lay it out on the feeding trough. The Chickens will come and eat throughout the day.
Read More: How To Get Hay in Stardew Valley (3 Methods and Benefits)
Other Ways to Make Chickens Happy
Daily petting
Just like many real-life animals, your Stardew Valley chickens appreciate some love and attention. Click on each chicken once a day to pet them. This simple gesture goes a long way in increasing their affection towards you and their overall happiness.
Providing Heating in Winter
Chickens, like all farm animals in Stardew Valley, appreciate warmth during the chilly winter months. Place a heater in the coop during this season. It ensures they stay warm and cozy, boosting their overall comfort.
Letting Chickens Outside
Allowing your chickens to roam outside and graze boosts their happiness. To let them outside, simply right-click on the coop door. Just remember to make sure both chickens are inside before you close the door again, as they get grumpy when left out overnight.
Benefits of Chickens
Chickens have a variety of benefits. They provide a steady income via egg sales or mayonnaise, aid in bundle completions, and help build relationships with villagers through gifting.
Standard Eggs
In Stardew Valley, chickens begin to lay eggs after they’ve matured (this happens on the third day.) Eggs, depending on their quality, can be sold for varying prices. The quality hinges largely on the chicken’s happiness and mood.
Proper care, including feeding and petting, will result in a happier chicken that is more likely to produce higher-quality eggs, optimizing the farmer’s income. As you can see, the little things you do for your chicken can really add up, as the iridium egg is worth double the amount of the standard.
| Quality | Profit |
|---|---|
| Standard | 50g |
| Silver | 62g |
| Gold | 75g |
| Iridium | 100g |
Large Eggs
The potential profit soars when chickens produce large eggs. As with regular eggs, the quality and resultant price of large eggs are directly linked to the happiness and overall well-being of the chicken, emphasizing the importance of consistent and compassionate care.
| Quality | Profit |
|---|---|
| Standard | 95g |
| Silver | 118g |
| Gold | 142g |
| Iridium | 190g |
Mayonnaise
While players can sell eggs themselves, the much more profitable route is to turn them into mayonnaise. This creamy, artisanal product is crafted using the Mayonnaise Machine.
Once a player has access to this machine, the process is straightforward. Simply place a chicken egg, be it regular or large, into the machine. After a short duration, the egg emerges as a jar of mayonnaise.
The quality of the original egg determines the resulting mayonnaise’s grade. For instance, a regular egg will yield standard mayonnaise, while a large egg produces quality mayonnaise. This conversion not only enhances the egg’s profitability but also offers farmers a consistent means to diversify their product range and income sources on the farm.
| Quality | Profit |
|---|---|
| Standard | 190g |
| Silver | 237g |
| Gold | 285g |
| Iridium | 380g |
Bundles
In Stardew Valley, there are three bundles that require eggs and, thus, chickens: the Animal Bundle, the Chef’s Bundle and the Home-Cooked Bundle.
The Animal Bundle
The Animal Bundle requires an array of animal products, and chicken eggs play a key role in this collection. Whether you have a regular egg or its larger counterpart, either can be contributed to satisfy one of the slots in this bundle. Completing the Animal Bundle not only awards the farmer with a chess press but also helps contribute to the refurbishing of the community centre.
The Chef’s Bundle
This bundle represents the diverse palette of the town’s most seasoned chefs, and the humble chicken egg plays an indispensable role here. Specifically, a farmer can use the egg to prepare a classic dish: the Fried Egg. Upon completing the Chef’s Bundle, players will receive three pink cakes as a reward.
Home-Cooked Bundle
The Bulletin Board in Stardew Valley’s Community Center highlights the specific needs of the town’s residents, manifesting as themed bundles. One of these is the Home Cooked Bundle, which requires a collection of items that encapsulate the warmth and comfort of homemade meals. Central to this bundle is the need for ten chicken eggs. It’s a testament to the versatility and ubiquity of eggs in cooking and their significance in the culinary heart of Stardew Valley.
Gifting Eggs and Mayonnaise
In the close-knit community of Stardew Valley, building and maintaining relationships is crucial, and gifts become a primary means of fostering these connections. Chicken products, notably eggs and mayonnaise, are popular gift items among the villagers. Eggs, with their universal culinary appeal, are favored by many, including Alex, Demetrius, Jodi, Kent, Leah, Linus, Marnie, Pierre, Sam, and Shane. These individuals appreciate the versatile nature of eggs, whether they’re cooked for breakfast, baked in pastries, or used in various other culinary delights.
On the other hand, mayonnaise has an even broader appeal among the Stardew Valley populace. Almost every villager enjoys receiving a jar of homemade mayonnaise as a gift. However, it’s worth noting that Sebastian, Sam, Jas, Vincent, and Caroline are the exceptions.
Recipes
In Stardew Valley, eggs and mayonnaise are vital ingredients in a host of delightful recipes. For the sweet tooth, eggs are central to preparing treats like Chocolate Cake, Pancakes, and Cookies. Meanwhile, the savoury depth of mayonnaise is harnessed in dishes such as Fish Tacos and Coleslaw. While these are standout examples, many other recipes in the valley also incorporate these chicken-derived products, underlining their culinary significance in the community.
Chicken Variations
In Stardew Valley, beyond the typical white and brown chickens, two unique variations exist the striking Blue Chickens and the mysterious Void Chickens.
Blue Chickens
These Chickens are a fun and vibrant variation of the standard poultry in Stardew Valley. Their striking hue sets them apart from the common white and brown chickens, making them a delightful addition to any farm for players who appreciate a splash of color in their coop.
The process to acquire a Blue Chicken involves building a rapport with Shane. You’ll need to befriend him (the key to his heart is beer and pizza), until you get to level 8 friendship. Once you’ve reached this level of friendship with him, you’ll see his level 8 heart scene. After this, any egg or chicken you purchase from Marnie’s Ranch has a 25% chance of being a Blue Chicken. It’s important to note that the blue tint is merely aesthetic and doesn’t impact the chicken’s behavior or productivity.
Void Chickens
These chickens are one of Stardew Valley’s most enigmatic and unique poultry breeds. With their striking dark appearance and glowing red eyes, they introduce a hint of the mysterious and otherworldly into the otherwise rustic setting of a farm.
The path to acquiring a Void Chicken isn’t straightforward. It begins with finding a Void Egg. There are a few ways to obtain one:
- A random event where a witch flies over the chicken coop at night and leaves a Void Egg inside.
- The Traveling Cart merchant occasionally sells them.
- Krobus sells them for 5,000g once the player has accessed the Sewers.
Once you have a Void Egg, you can place it in the incubator inside a Big or Deluxe Coop to hatch it into a Void Chicken. If you decide to raise it, the Void Chicken will produce additional Void Eggs every morning.
These Void Eggs can be consumed as food, turned into Void Mayonnaise using a Mayonnaise Machine or simply sold. While Void Mayonnaise doesn’t have a broad range of culinary uses compared to its standard counterpart, it fetches a higher price in the market, making it a valuable commodity. It is also the key to solving the ‘Goblin Quest’, meaning most players will need to obtain one at some point during their farming career.
Read More: How to Complete The Goblin Quest in Stardew Valley
FAQs for Chickens in Stardew Valley
How Many Eggs Do Chickens Lay?
In Stardew Valley, each chicken lays one egg every day. The egg’s quality and type—whether it’s regular, large, brown, or white—depend on the chicken’s happiness and its surroundings. Keeping your chicken content boosts the chance of superior egg yields.
How to Get Rid of a Chicken?
To remove a chicken from your Stardew Valley farm, enter the coop, right-click (or tap) on the desired chicken, and choose the ‘Sell’ option. This action sells the chicken, providing you with some gold and removing it from your property.
What Happens If I Don’t Care for My Chickens?
While chickens in Stardew Valley won’t die from neglect or potential predators, their overall happiness and egg production can significantly decrease. Therefore, if players plan to profit off Chickens, they need to make sure they’re cared for.
Why Aren’t My Chickens Eating?
Players often forget that they need to take the hay from the hopper physically and put it in the feeding trough. This is because chickens cannot eat directly from the hopper. Additionally, if you let your chickens outside near grass or wheat, they’ll graze and won’t need to eat hay from the trough that day.