Shepherd

"Domesticates wild animals and harvests them for food and materials."

Job Information[ | ]

The shepherd is a job villagers can take on that allows them to find and herd small animals such as sheep and rabbits. A shepherd is promoted from the Trapper once the trapper is at least level 3, and requires a Shepherd's Crook, which is crafted by the Carpenter. Shepherds will tend to captive livestock, allowing the animals to reproduce and provide valuable resources used by the Cook and the Weaver.

Compassion is the key attribute for the shepherd. A higher compassion attribute will result in greater buffs towards animal reproduction speed and resource production.

Pasture Zone[ | ]

Through the "Zones" tab on the toolbar, a pasture can be designated. This is where the shepherd will bring all creatures that he/she finds. Livestock will not stay in the pasture on their own, and it is a good idea to have the carpenter craft some picket fences and a fence gate to pen them in. If the pasture is not fully enclosed, then livestock will wander off and the shepherd will have to retrieve them. Like farm plots, pastures will only hold one type of animal. In order to have all three types of livestock, you must create at least three pastures.

The size of a zone determines how many animals can be kept in it. The minimum size of a pasture is 10x10 squares. Having any side length be less than 10 is not possible, regardless of how large the other dimension is. The maximum size of a pasture is 50x50 squares.

Livestock[ | ]

Once a pasture has been designated, the shepherd will scour the countryside looking for animals to catch and bring back. All types of livestock are available in all biomes, including the desert. The shepherd will make an effort to put two matching animals into a pasture before moving on to the next empty pasture. Two is the minimum population for any type of livestock, and for any size of pasture. A minimum size (10x10) pasture will hold exactly two animals of whatever type was selected for it.

However, if given sufficient extra space, animals will reproduce. The required space and the frequency of breeding is shown below. A compassionate shepherd can increase the speed of reproduction, but cannot affect the space requirement.

Critter	Minimum area required for a third animal	Increment for each additional animal after that	Breeding Speed
Sheep	ca. 525 squares	ca. +208 squares	36h
Rabbit	250 squares	+100 squares	18h
Poyo	250 squares	+100 squares	24h

Once kept in a pasture, animals will no longer feed themselves. They will grow hungry, and must be fed by the shepherd to prevent death by starvation. Special animal feed created by the cook is required for this. You cannot successfully use a shepherd without the support of a cook and a farmer, unless you plan to buy a lot of feed from traders.

The act of feeding the animals is what applies the shepherd's compassion-based buff to the animals.

Products[ | ]

Sheep kept on pastures will be shorn by the shepherd, creating wool for use by weavers. The wool will regrow over time, faster when buffed. When slaughtered, they drop raw mutton, which is a cooking incredient.
Poyos kept on pastures will regularly lay eggs, more often when buffed. The eggs are a cooking ingredient. When slaughtered, they drop poyo meat, which is another cooking ingredient. Additionally, they drop poyo feathers, which weavers use to make quivers for archers.
Rabbits reproduce faster than any other animal, especially when buffed. When slaughtered, they drop pelts and rabbit jerky, just like those produced by the trapper. However, they don't have any periodic products, like the other two livestock types.

To have an animal slaughtered, the player must select it and manually give the order. Shepherds will never slaughter animals automatically, even when the pasture is full. This means that the only food items automatically produced by shepherds are poyo eggs. Unless the shepherd focuses largely on poyos, a trapper is likely able to generate more automatic food income (in addition to automatic pelts). However, poyo meat and mutton cannot be obtained by the trapper, and they are the highest quality cooking ingredients available. If the player attentively manages their animal population, regularly slaughtering excess animals to make room for reproduction, the shepherd can generate large amounts of high quality food that will satiate and improve the mood of the entire village.

Perks[ | ]

Perks for the Shepherd have been added as of Alpha 8. Experience is gained when taming an animal or when harvesting resources from an animal.

Level	Name	Description	Effects
Level 1	Speed Up 10%	The shepherd is now more adept at getting the flock to walk a tiny bit faster.	The speed of the shepherd and the flock move 10% faster.
Level 3	Extra Bonuses	The shepherd's skill produces greater yields in animal products.	Additional wool will drop when shearing.
Level 4	Animal Magnetism	Wild animals are more likely to appear whenever the shepherd is looking for them.	The shepherd will be able to locate new livestock for the herd quicker.