Sheep Field

Introduction
Although sheep do not produce any edible food items they do produce two products which are crucial to weavers, blacksmiths, and carpenters in making their goods: balls of wool and hides. Sheep are the easiest animal to farm as they graze on their own and do not require daily feeding.

They produce the best yield during the Fall season (which occurs every September 1 - December 14).

Requirements
Sheep fields are are available to level 1 players and above.

You may chose a Sheep field when initially leveling from level 0 to level 1 in the Level Scribe's Office (Version 2: Viceregal Office) or you may change an existing field to a Sheep field at any time [My Property > My First/Second field]. Please note that if you change your field you will need to pay 50f and you will lose everything you were working on that field.

It is highly recommended you check with your local Mentor or Mayor to find out what type of field your town needs the most to avoid overproduction. Their recommendation will show when you are with the Level Scribe.

Buying Sheep
A sheep field can accommodate up to 4 sheep at a time at a cost of 50f per sheep and can be purchased directly from the Viceroyalty from your field options under [My Property > My First Field] or [My Property > My Second Field]. You can only purchase one sheep at a time. They can be staggered out and bought on different days or if your field is empty then 4 new sheep can purchased on the same day.

Care and Life Cycle
Once purchased, each sheep has it's own health rating which fluctuates randomly based on it's health. Unlike chickens or cows, sheep graze on their own and require no feed to survive.

A healthy sheep can be sheared regularly and may produce 1 - 6 balls of wool per shearing depending upon their health and if you are shearing in season (Fall). Sheep must be sheared together or a job can be posted to hire a worker to shear all the sheep at once. Hiring help costs money, but will also grant the field owner one Worker Point. If you have the money to hire a worker for the day you can see the details of the last 10 job contracts under Town Jobs [Town > Town Jobs] to help you in setting a competitive wage for the job. If you choose to do the work yourself then you can not work another job that day. The wool will appear every day in your Storage Box [My Property > My Storage Box] and can be seen recorded in your Events for the day [Me > My Events].

Starting with Version 3, you may also lose part of your crop from animals looking for a tasty treat. Add a Scarecrow to help drive them away by selecting Add Scarecrow (and having one in your storage box). A Scarecrow also gives +1 Opulence.'

Help to the Pearly Gates
Once a sheep's health drops slightly below 50% it will no longer produce wool, but can still be slaughtered to produce the hides that weavers, blacksmiths, and carpenters need to make certain goods. The healthier the sheep, the more hides will be produced, averaging between 1-3 hides per sheep depending upon season as well. Sheep who die on their own will still produce hides, but not as many as if they were properly slaughtered.

In Version 2, Much like shearing, sheep may be slaughtered separately (1, 2, 3, or 4 sheep in a day). In Version 3, you may only slaughter all your sheep or a job can be posted to hire a worker to slaughter all the sheep at once. Hiring help costs money. The upside is that you may get a worker point if you hire a Peasant and you will always get a worker point if you hire another player. Yields from hiring may be better than if you slaughter the animals yourself.

Conclusion
Balls of wool and hides will appear your storage box [My Property > My Storage Box]. The goods can be moved to your Inventory and then placed on the market at your desired price if you are in town.

If you are out of town, you must have a Steward to be able to sell crops on your home market. You can purchase a Steward from the town market. Your steward can sell from your storage box.

Also, don't forget that others may be a good source of feedback on their experiences with Sheep. You may find it very helpful to talk with Weavers and other Sheep farmers to get a handle on the intricacies of the field.

Quick Reference
Back to Fields