Animal Care
Ranching is an important part of life in Harvest Moon and you can own Chickens, Cows, Sheep, a Dog and a Horse, but each of these is unlocked in a different manner. All Animal supplies and any Animal that can be purchased are sold by Mirabelle. You will find her home and shop next to Taro's House in West Town.
Mirabelle's Animal Shop
Some items are available from the start, but all Animals must be unlocked. Gannon must complete a Chicken Coop before you will be able to buy Chickens. A Barn must be built before Cows will be offered and you must have expanded your Barn in order to unlock Sheep.
Animal Shop Menu:
Bird Feed: 10
Fodder: 20
Pet Food: 10
Animal Medicine: 1000
Cow Miracle Potion: 3500
Sheep Miracle Potion: 3000
Bell: 500
Brush: 3000
Milker: 2000
Clipper: 2000
Buy a chicken: 1500
Sell a chicken:
Buy a Cow: 5000
Sell a Cow
Buy a Sheep: 4000
Sell a Sheep
Each type of animal in Island of Happiness is unlocked at a different stage of the game. You must perform specific actions or experience specific events in order to unlock each.
Unlocking Chickens
The first Animal that can be obtained is a Chicken. In order to be given your first Chicken, you must order a Chicken Coop from Gannon. When this is completed, Taro will give you a Chicken. Once this occurs, you will find that Chickens have been added to the Menu of the items you can purchase from Maribelle.
Unlocking Cows
When you order an Animal Barn from Gannon, you will be given your first Calf by Taro. When the Calf grows into an adult cow, you will be able to milk her daily once you purchase a Milker from Maribelle.
Unlocking Sheep
The Sheep is the only Animal that will not be given to you as a gift, but when you have expanded your Barn, Sheep will be available for purchase from Mirabelle.
Obtaining a Horse
You will receive your Horse in the course of an event with Chen and Charlie. They will bring a horse to you and offer it to you. Accept and you will find that you have a new form of Transportation. The horse is very useful in Island of Happiness as the map is quite large and you need to be able to travel quickly from one area to another until the Teleport Stone is unlocked at Chen's Market.
Obtaining your Dog
When you cross the bridge to the far west on a rainy or snowy day, you should experience an event wherein Maribelle asks you if you will help her find a stray dog. At the end of this event, you will havv a dog of your own.
(note: you must be friends with Maribelle first in order to trigger this event)
Feeding your Animals
Each Animal, including your Horse and Dog, requires one portion of food daily. There are three different varieties of food:
Pet Food: To feed your Dog and Horse
Bird Feed: To feed your chickens
Fodder: To feed your Livestock, e.g. Cows and Sheep
You must use the stylus to collect Feed from the Bin and then dump it in the proper slot. You then use the stylus again to transfer the remaining portions back to the Bin.
Animal Care varies from Animal to Animal.
For a chicken; Pick it up daily as in other HM games
For a horse: Ride it daily even if you simply hop on and hop off quickly. This will give you a heart display. Brush the horse daily. The first time you brush him in any given day, he will display a red heart. If you brush him again, you will see the 'with music' icon each time, indicating his happiness with this attention.
For a cow or sheep: Talk to your Cows/Sheep daily for a heart display, then brush them. As with the horse, when you brush an animal the first time, you will see a red heart. Subsequent brushings will be met 'with music'.
The amount of affection points gained when you use the Brush depends on the number of Wonderfuls set in the Tool.
Ranch Tip from Julia: Animals look sad on rainy days becasue they can't go outside.
Touchscreen Animal Care Mini-Games
Use of the Touchscreen in the Petting Mini-Game
In HM DS and Cute DS, you could pet all animals daily by equipping the Touchglove and using the stylus. In Island of Happiness, the Petting Mini-Game is random. When you see an icon of a hand over any nimal, it signifies an opportunity to pet it by using your stylus.
Other Touchscreen Mini-Games
For Cows, milking usually is done manually, but if there is an icon of a Milker over the Cow's head, you need to use the Touchscreen to Milk the Cow. If your Cow has a reasonable number of hearts, you can obtain S Rank Milk by using the Touchscreen. With a Cow who has only one or two Hearts, you
probably will obtain a high level of A Rank Milk.
Where as for sheep, shearing usually is performed manually but if there is an icon of Clippers over the Sheep's head, you need to use the Touchscreen to Shear the Sheep. Doing so can yield S Rank Wool from a Sheep with 3 or more Hearts. Otherwise, you probably will obtain A Rank Wool.
Animal Births:
Poultry
Place an egg in your incubator to increase your Poultry population. An incubated egg will hatch in about three days, although the time can vary. Chicks born on your ranch will be born with two to three hearts. A chicken purchased from Mirabelle will have no hearts.
A chick need not be fed but must have a feeder in place when the egg is hatched. If you do not have sufficient feeders, you will not be able to place an egg in the incubator. Incubators as well as feeders must be ordered individually from Gannon. You can have two incubators and eight feeders in a small Chicken Coop.
Food placed in any feeder will not be wasted. When the chick becomes an adult chicken, the food will be eaten. Food does not disappear or rot once it is placed.
Raising Livestock
Livestock
It is slightly less expensive to impregnate your Animals rather than purchasing more Animals in order to increase your stock, although you will not be able to obtain product from any pregnant animal, thereby offsetting any money saved with lost profits. The real benefit of raising your own Animals is in heart levels. Any Animal born on your ranch will be born with half the number of hearts that its Mother has. An Animal purchased from Mirabelle will have no Hearts.
Gestation period is about 3 weeks. The Animal will be delivered by Taro at 6.00 a.m. and you will help with the birth.
Calves and Lambs require a portion of food each day. If you do not have sufficient feeders in your barn for the unborn calf/lamb, you will not be able to use Miracle Potion until you do.
Sheep Pregnancy and Sheep Contest
If you wish to use Miracle Potion on any Sheep, she must have a full coat of wool and be unsheared. If you wish to enter her in the Sheep Contest, she must be unsheared on the day prior to the Festival when Mirabelle comes to your house to ask for your entry. To be eligible, a Sheep must be an adult, neither sick nor pregnant and unsheared.
Animal life Expectancy:
Chickens: 5 Years
Sheep: 6 Years
Cows: 7 Years
Your Dog and Horse will not be affected and will live throughout the game.
Newborn Heart Level of Chick: Egg Quality Number x 5 divided by 2.
Newborn Heart Level of Livestock: Heart Level of Parent divided by 2.
When the Stress Bar is filled to any extent, the Brush and Touchscreen Events are the only activities that can lower the Stress.
Brush -5 Stress
Any Touchscreen Activity: 0 to -10