Animals in Stardew Valley [Explained]

Being a farming game, it’s natural that Stardew Valley allows you to keep animals in your farmhouse. The game incorporates this as one of its core features since having animal products on your hands is essential if you want to progress in certain quest lines, such as the Community Center. Needless to say, keeping animals and being aware of important information about them, for that matter, is essential to a balanced Stardew Valley experience!

What Is the Point of Having Animals?

Animals are cute, but that isn’t the sole reason you should purchase them from Marnie! Once an animal reaches maturity (usually 1-4 weeks), it produces animal goods. For example, Chickens will give you Eggs; Cows will provide you with Milk, and in an exciting deviation, Pigs will net you Truffles!

My point here is – having animals in the game isn’t pointless. These little guys have many uses besides just keeping your farm more lively! 

How Many Animals Are There in Stardew Valley?

My main focus here will be the animals that produce goods in one form or another. As such, I’ll disregard rarely-seen animals such as birds, butterflies, your cat/dog, and the like. 

You’ll find 9 main categories of animals in Stardew Valley. There also exist several different variants of animals within these categories. This number excludes animals you cannot keep on your farms, such as Crows, Butterflies, Owls, Fireflies, etc. 

Now let’s move on to the categories themselves. 

Coop Animals

Animals in Stardew Valley are either housed in a Coop or a Barn. Following are all the Coop animals in the game. 

Chickens

Once you’ve built their shelter, chickens can be purchased from Marnie for 800g. There are 4 different variants of Chicken: White, Brown, Blue, and Golden. The latter 2 variations are somewhat rare. 

Mature Chickens will produce eggs every day, which can be regular or large eggs in white/brown color depending upon the type of Chicken itself and its friendship level with you. Chickens can be sold, and their sale price depends on the friendship level you’ve attained with the animal. At max, a chicken can be sold for 1,040g!

Ducks

Ducks stay inside big coops and can lay an Egg or drop a Duck Feather. They cost 1,200g and only come in one variant. A higher friendship level will result in a greater chance of receiving a Duck Feather instead of an Egg.

Additionally, Ducks can also be sold, and their sale value depends upon your friendship level with them. The max you can get is 1,560 g. 

Rabbits

Being another type of (deluxe) coop animal, Rabbits produce Wool and Rabbit’s Foot from time to time. They can be purchased from Marnie for 8,000g each. The chance of receiving a Rabbit’s Foot instead of the average Wool depends on your friendship level with the animal. 

Additionally, Rabbits drop Wool independently and do not need to be sheared. A fully befriended Rabbit can be sold for a whopping 10,400g!

Dinosaurs are another type of animal that can also be placed in coops; however, these are more of a specialty than anything. These can be obtained by incubating a Dinosaur Egg. They produce more Dinosaur Eggs every 7 days and sell for 1,300g at the maximum. 

Barn Animals

The following animals are included in the ones that must be kept in a Barn. 

Cows

Cows reside in the ordinary Barn and can be purchased for 1,500g. They come in a white and brown variant and can produce standard or large Milk. The type you eventually receive depends upon your friendship level with the animal. They can be sold for 1,950g at 5-heart friendship.

Goats

These are big barn animals that cost 4,000g to obtain. They produce regular or large Goat Milk every other day, which you’ll need to harvest from a Milk Pail. You can sell a Goat for 5,200g if you’ve achieved maximum friendship with it!

Sheep & Pigs

Both Sheep and Pigs reside in a Deluxe Barn. The former costs 8,000g, whereas the latter goes for a massive 16,000g! Sheep produce Wool (dependent upon their friendship level), which can be harvested using Shears. A mature Sheep with full friendship can be sold for 10,400g.

On the other hand, pigs are the most valuable animals in Stardew Valley. They produce Truffles, the quality of which can be upgraded through the Foraging skill. Additionally, Pigs with a high friendship level can also produce multiple Truffles!

At maximum friendship, each Pig can be sold for an incredible 20,800g!

Ostriches

You’ll have to incubate these late-game animals from an Ostrich Egg. They’ll produce an Ostrich Egg once a week and function like all other animals in the Barn. Adult Ostriches that have a 5-heart friendship level sell for the same gold as that of a Pig – 20,800g

It’s worth noting, however, that even though both animals sell for the same price – Pigs are a much more lucrative option than Ostriches. 

What is the Best Animal?

The best animal to keep, without a doubt, is Pigs. These guys will earn you massive profits in a relatively short period. Additionally, they sell for a ton of money, and the value of their produce (Truffles) can be further increased through the Botanist profession!