How to Feed Animals in Stardew Valley

One of the most important features in Stardew Valley is being able to take care of livestock as well as your crops.

In order to do that, you’ll have to pet them every day, as well as feeding them, but what do these farm animals eat? Here’s how to feed animals in Stardew Valley.

Where to Get Feed in Stardew Valley

As a general rule, all of the animals that you can raise on your farm are only going to need to eat Hay. Each animal will require only a single piece of hay per day, so you can keep track of how much you need and how much you’re going to need if you have to stock up. There are a couple of different ways in which you can get your hands on hay, but one is definitely more consistent than the other.

The primary way that you can get hay is from using a Scythe on the tall grass around your farm. As long as you’ve got a silo built somewhere on the farm, you’ll automatically collect and deposit hay as you cut the grass. It’s recommended for you to leave at least one small patch of grass on your farm so that it can continue to spread, otherwise you’ll have to wait for the start of the next season or buy Grass Starter.

If you already cut down your grass and still need some way to feed your animals, don’t fret, you’re in luck! You can go to Marnie‘s shop from 9-4 on any day other than Monday or Tuesday and buy it from her for 50 Gold a piece. You can buy as many as you can afford, but take note that a silo can only fit 240 pieces of hay, so anything more than that will have to go in a chest until you’ve got more room.

How to Feed Animals in Stardew Valley

Once you’ve got hay for all of your critters, you’re not done just quite yet. As long as there’s enough hay in the silo, go into your coop or barn and go up to the feeder which will be to the right of the feed trough along the back of the room. You’ll know that you can get hay out of it because there will be some popping out of the front of it, waiting to be fed to your animals.

Interact with the feeder and the game will automatically remove as many pieces of hay as you need for the animals in that building and put them in your inventory. You can then put the hay down one by one into the trough and you’ll be all set — just don’t forget to pet your animals before you go! They love the interaction and it’ll encourage them to produce higher quality goods as time goes on.

If you’re getting tired of feeding all of your animals by hand, don’t worry, it’s not permanent. Once you’ve got a Big Coop or Big Barn, you can upgrade them to the Deluxe versions which will not only unlock further animals to raise, but it’ll also give you an Autofeed System. That means that as long as you’ve got hay in the silo, when you go into your farm buildings you’ll find the trough already fully stocked with food and you’ll just have to pet your animals.

That’s all there is for how to feed your animals in Stardew Valley. Before you know it, it’ll be a part of your routine that you won’t even think twice about, until you upgrade your farm a bit more. For more Stardew guides like the best gifts for the wizard or where to get a red cabbage, be sure to stick around.