Farming Simulator 22 Livestock Guide: Most Profitable Animals, Feed, & More

(Estimated Read Time: 10 minutes)

Selling harvested crops isn't the only method to earn a living in Farming Simulator 22. Animal husbandry is another money-making method to help you maintain and improve your farm. But what livestock are available in Farming Simulator 22, and how do they work? Here, we'll cover all the livestock in the game and everything you need to know to integrate them into your farm.

Farming Simulator 22 Livestock: An Overview

All animals can be obtained from the in-game shop except for deer. The animals you can get in Farming Simulator 22 are the following:

• Bees
• Chickens
• Cows
• Dogs
• Horses
• Pigs
• Sheep

It’s important to mention that this guide will only focus on livestock, farm animals that can provide labor and produce goods, as well as poultry. Although you can see and/or keep other animals, namely deer and dogs, they don’t generally provide a return on investment (ROI). Also, despite horses being livestock, they won't be covered in this guide because their primary function in Farming Simulator 22 is to improve map mobility. With that, here are the livestock and poultry in Farming Simulator 22:

Bees

Caring for bees can be ideal for new Farming Simulator 22 players since they don’t require upkeep. So, the beehives will eventually pay for themselves.

Costs and Housing Requirements

A beehive becomes more expensive as it grows in size. Thankfully, each purchased beehive already comes with bees.

• Beehive (1 Langstroth hive): $1,100
• Beehive (4 Langstroth hives): $4,400
• Beehive (elongated): $6,600
• Beehive (10 Langstroth hives): $12,500
• Beehive (33 Langstroth hives): $19,000

Additionally, beehives require a honey pallet location, which automatically gathers the resources from the insects for you. This location typically takes 25 minutes to produce 1 unit of honey for each beehive.

Feed

Bees are the only livestock in Farming Simulator 22 that don’t require food and water.

Chickens

Chickens in Farming Simulator 22 come in 2 types: hens and roosters. Only the hens lay eggs. On the other hand, roosters are typically optional as they only provide visual appeal. Players don’t need to get roosters for the chickens to reproduce.

Costs

• Young Hen: $5
• 6-month-old Hen: $50
• Rooster: $5

Housing Requirements

Farming Simulator 22 chickens require a pasture or a coop. The only differences between these options are the size and cost. The pasture can fit 30 chickens and costs $6,000, while the coop can house 360 chickens for $79,000.

Feed

Players can feed chickens using harvested wheat, barley, or sorghum. Alternatively, buy chicken feed from the in-game shop. Look for this product in the Big Bags section.

Cows

Like chickens, only specific cows produce milk. In particular, the milk-producing breeds are Brown-Swiss and Holstein. On the other hand, Angus and Limousin aren’t dairy cows and are generally used for breeding. Selling Angus and Limousin cows and keeping the Brown-Swiss and Holstein breeds is advisable.

Costs

The price for each cow depends on the animal’s age and breed. These costs are as follows:

• Young Brown-Swiss: $200
• Brown-Swiss (12 months): $1,100
• Brown-Swiss (18 months): $1,550
• Young Holstein: $200
• Holstein (12 months): $1,100
• Holstein (18 months): $1,550
• Young Angus: $300
• Angus (12 months): $1,150
• Angus (18 months): $1,575
• Young Limousin: $300
• Limousin (12 months): $1,150
• Limousin (18 months): $1,575

Housing Requirements

Three housing categories are available for cows to live in Farming Simulator 22: pastures, barns, and barns with robots. Each housing option has its unique features and costs.

• Pasture: Houses up to 15 cows and costs $75,000. Cows in this housing option require food and water and will only produce milk.
• Barn: Houses up to 45 cows and costs $254,000. Cows in this housing option only require food and will produce manure, milk, and slurry.
• Large barn: Houses up to 80 cows and costs $518,000. Cows in this housing option only require food and will produce manure, milk, and slurry.
• Barn with robot: Houses up to 80 cows and costs $722,500. Cows in this housing option only require food and will produce manure, milk, and slurry. Additionally, players don't need a Mixer Wagon to deliver ingredients, thanks to the robots.

Feed

Cows in Farming Simulator 22 can be fed with one of three options: grass, hay, or total mixed ration (TMR). Feeding cows grass only provides 40% productivity, while hay delivers 80% productivity. Feeding cows TMR is advisable since it can increase productivity by 100%. Note: Mix hay, silage, and mineral feed in a Mixer Wagon with straw as filler to produce TMR.

Pigs

Pigs in Farming Simulator 22 can yield good profits. However, caring for this type of livestock can be time-consuming since these animals require different crops. Still, some players may breed and raise pigs and then sell them for profit when they become adults. Note that breeding pigs require their health to be at 100%.

Costs

All pigs have the same prices, costing $200 for a 0-month-old and $525 for a 6-month-old, regardless of their breeds. In Vanilla Farming Simulator 22, players can choose among three pig breeds: Berkshire, German Landrace, and Bentheim Black Pied.

Housing Requirements

Like cows, pigs can be placed in three housing options: pastures, standard pigsty houses, and large pigsty houses.

• Pasture: Houses up to 30 pigs and costs $28,000.
• Standard pigsty: Houses up to 108 pigs and costs $109,000.
• Large pigsty: Houses up to 270 pigs and costs $164,000.

Feed

As mentioned earlier, pigs require different types of food for optimal health. Thankfully, you don't need to use the Mixing Wagon to mix the different pig feeds. Instead, simply unload the various pig feeds into the correct area of the pigsty. The different foods that pigs eat in Farming Simulator 22 are the following:

• Base: Corn or sorghum (provides 50% productivity)
• Grain: Wheat or barley (provides 25% productivity)
• Protein: Canola, soybean, or sunflower (provides 20% productivity)
• Root crop: Potato or sugar beet (provides 5% productivity)

Some players may find mixing pig feed a hassle. Instead, purchase pig feed at the in-game store and add that to your pasture or pigsty’s feeder.

Sheep

Like pigs, sheep in Farming Simulator 22 have no functional differences. Although you can get different breeds of sheep: Bentheim, Stenschaf, Black Welsh Mountain, and Swiss Black-Brown Mountain, each sheep will produce wool and can be sold for up to $1,000 upon reaching 36 months old.

Costs

Sheep costs are the same for each breed. The only difference in their prices is their age. In particular, players can purchase a 0-month-old sheep for $200 and an 8-month-old one for $488.

Housing Requirements

Three housing types are available for sheep in Farming Simulator 22: pastures, barns, and large barns. Sheep placed in either housing option requires food and water. All healthy sheep will produce wool.

• Pasture: Houses up to 15 sheep and costs $26,000.
• Barn: Houses up to 25 sheep and costs $51,000.
• Large barn: Houses up to 65 sheep and costs $97,000.

Feed

Sheep can eat grass or hay. Also, these food options provide the same productivity to all sheep.

Other Important Information

The currency used in this guide is USD ($). However, the value for all items will be the same regardless of the currency used. Also, construction and placement prices can change depending on the layout of the land. Plus, buying livestock and poultry from the in-game shop is more expensive if you opt for instant delivery. Manually getting the animals removes the delivery fees, but it's typically a more time-consuming task.

What are the Most Profitable Livestock in Farming Simulator 22?

Note that you can check on the status of your livestock in Farming Simulator 22 by accessing the in-game menu (the "Escape" key by default for the PC version) and then selecting the Animals tab. With that, the most profitable livestock in Farming Simulator 22 is the cow. Farmers can have excellent ROI by selling milk and cows. Note that you can sell newborn cows to the market, and these animals can still fetch a reasonably good amount of money despite their young age. The next profitable livestock in Farming Simulator 22 is the pig. Despite this animal generally needing more food than others, selling adult pigs can still yield significant returns. Falling slightly short of second place is the sheep. Players can gain great returns from selling wool and adult sheep, partly thanks to the animal's low maintenance costs. Next in line is the bee. Placing beehives needs only upfront expenses. Players don't need to maintain the hives and should only wait for the insects to develop honey. The last and least profitable livestock in Farming Simulator 22 is the chicken. Although the costs of getting chickens are low, some players may look at the ROI of raising the poultry and selling their eggs as laughable compared to other income-generating methods.