In Dwarf Fortress, one of the most important tasks is to feed Dwarves. Food is a necessary resource in Dwarf Fortress for feeding your dwarves and clans. Your dwarfs will hunger if you don’t feed them correctly, and things will turn unpleasant if you don’t. Let’s get into this guide to understand the ways in which you can feed Dwarves in Dwarf Fortress.
You can obtain food through fishing, farming, harvesting plants, raising and killing livestock, trapping, trading, or hunting. Dwarves require food twice a year. They may become weak and die of starvation if you do not feed them. To energize them, you will need to provide food and drink, as well as enough sleep time.
You can get food by using the methods listed below:
Farming
With newer editions, farming is becoming increasingly simple. You can collect plants in the area where you are playing. Plant farming may make it easier for you to provide food for the Dwarves. Honey can also be obtained for your Dwarves.
Fishing
Fishing is the most convenient way to obtain extra food. You can accomplish this by assigning your dwarves to become a fisherdwarf. Once you’ve done it, they’ll start fishing in nearby bodies of water like brooks, ponds, and rivers. You can catch fish by fishing in the game’s small ponds and lakes with your Fishing Rod. But keep in mind that fishing takes time. So, if you want to go fishing, you’ll need plenty of time.
Fish must be prepared at the Fishery before being consumed, and you’ll need to build a Fishery and a kitchen with your Dwarves. To do so, navigate to your building menu and select Workshops. The Dwarves will be able to then eat warm, processed food rather than raw food.
You can also designate specific fishing areas for your dwarves. If you don’t want your dwarves fishing in dangerous areas of the map, this feature is extremely useful.
Hunting
Hunting can be dangerous. You will need to go into the forest to hunt animals. Trapping animals is possible, but it takes time, and hunting is unsafe. This method, like fishing, has some necessities for your dwarves to hunt. This profession also increases the accuracy of your dwarves’ crossbows, which will help you later when defending your fortress from attacks, so that’s a plus point.
The first step is to enable hunting for specific dwarves. Your hunter must also be skilled in ambush and marksmanship. This is due to the fact that a dwarf with high ambush skill can sneak closer to the target and accurately shoot their bow to land a lethal hit.
Another thing to remember is that your hunter will need a bow, quiver, and ammunition. These items can be made at Craftsdwarf’s Workshop. Finally, you will need to have a forest in your area. You can check it by using the unit tab. This may be riskier, so be careful.
Breeding
Breeding occurs in Dwarf Fortress when males and females of the same species are near each other. However, there may be some reasons why they stop reproducing.
Your animals may stop reproducing because you have too many adults or young ones. The chicken or goose will not lay eggs unless you construct a nest box. To hatch, the eggs must remain in the nest box without being affected by any other animal. This can be accomplished by either locking the nest boxes or excluding the eggs from your stockpile.
Another issue is that some of your animals are not interested in reproducing. By pressing Y and selecting the Creatures Menu, you can quickly check your animals. You can later butcher this animal for food when needed.
In the game, you can breed livestock to feed the Dwarves and the colony. This is a simpler option, but it requires more effort to breed the livestock. Eggs and milk from livestock can also be obtained.
Trading
Apart from all the other ways, you can also trade food. There is a way to trade precooked meals in the game so try that and get food for dwarves in an easier way. You can trade resources in exchange for food.
That’s all for the ways you can feed Dwarves in Dwarf Fortress. For more similar guides for the dwarves’ well-being, check out how to make a temple in Dwarf Fortress.
