Any advantage to "strong" livestock?
I tend to look for good/bad traits and physical descriptors in animals to see if I should get them fixed (dogs and cats) or slaughter them (cows, birds, etc). Obviously things like strength, endurance, and agility matter for war animals, but is there any advantage to having good (or bad) traits in livestock? Obviously it's better to have a fat chicken than a skinny one, but what about an agile one?
I'd love to hear how you all go about breeding your own animals!
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Obviously yes, so that when the forgotten beast busts into the ranch lands it's in for a hell of a suprise from all your selectively bred ninchickens.
I don't know if it's true, but the hilarious experiment report on How to Bacon like a pro claims that butchering yields more meat for muscular creatures.
Oh my what am I reading lol
I think it's just as useful/advantageous as with Dwarves. Those types of traits determine how much abuse that entity can take, or determines behavioral patterns, etc.
I need to experiment more with animals!
I thought that, but then I started thinking about instances where you might not want powerful livestock - gelding and overcrowded pastures come to mind. I'm wondering if a durable but weak pig might be preferable to one with high strength...I might have to run an experiment of my own.
My brother, if you are looking for good livestock, let me tell you a great and wonderful secret:
Having done this operation in my most recent fortress, I can confidently tell you that any other livestock operation is a pure waste of time. Be careful of traffic jams (hence the bears room) and single stuck bears holding up your whole military expedition until they can get themselves underway. Other than that, it's pure magic.