Although your pets may need a little nudge to make the magic happen, breeding is a feature in expansion packs for The Sims 4 that feature animals in them. Not every animal that appears in packs can be bred, but the ones that can still might prove a little tricky.
In this guide, we’re looking at how to breed animals in The Sims 4 packs that feature them. The majority of your family’s fuzzy or feathered friends can be bred to keep the lineage going just like your family’s legacy, and our guide walks you through how to do it.
How To Breed Cats And Dogs
Cats and dogs are breedable with The Sims: Cats & Dogs expansion. Female cats and dogs may produce litters of between one and three offspring.
This comes down to the luck of the draw and is dependent on how many family slots are currently available when mom gives birth.
Each kitten and pup will take up one family slot each, so if you’re looking for a big happy furry family, you’ll have to make sure there is space to welcome the newest members.
The Mating Cycle For Cats & Dogs
You may have suspected that only female pets can give birth, which will happen one day after they become pregnant. Female pets will indicate they are in heat when little hearts circle around them, possibly even in their thought bubbles.
Pets generally need a little encouragement at this point, to keep from overpopulating your Sims worlds. Interacting with a female pet at this stage should prompt an option to “Encourage to Mate,” which allows you to set the gears in motion between the selected pet and an available mate of your choosing.
Breeding isn’t always a success, though, so you may have to wait until your pet’s next heat cycle to try playing cupid again.
- If the mating was successful, the pets rub noses and hearts swirl around them during the act, and both gain a positive moodlet afterward.
- If the mating was unsuccessful, the pets react aggressively toward one another, and each gain a negative moodlet after.
Pet Labor and Giving Birth
In due course, the pregnant female pet will be visibly distressed with symptoms such as panting and pacing.
Don’t panic! This is merely the indication the pet has gone into labor.
There is no need to have your Sim rush them off to the veterinary clinic in Brindleton Bay - pregnant pets instinctively know what to do and will lie down to let nature take its course.
After the puppy or kitten is born, you'll be able to name your new pet just like you would when human Sim babies are born.
Professional Breeding
Puppies and kittens can be sold via the phone under the “Hire Service” tab, if you're not planning to keep the whole litter.
Selling pets is different from putting a pet up for adoption and is only a prompt available for puppies and kittens, which means your Sims could make breeding a viable side business or even a full-time at-home career.
How To Breed Chickens
With The Sims 4: Cottage Living, chickens are also breedable, but breeding works a bit differently for our feathered friends.
You'll need to purchase a chicken coop, in which your Sims may keep up to eight chickens.
Of course, chickens will lay eggs no matter what, but naturally, you need to have a rooster in the hen house if you'd like your eggs to hatch.
Any fertilized eggs will need to be placed back in the chicken coop, where they must incubate under a hen for 24 hours.
If you’ve got the Wild Fox lot challenge active, you’ll need to protect your coop from the sly bandits who will try to make off with the eggs.
For this, you can install a fox alarm on the hen house, or even depend on your trusty llama to ward them off with their imposing attitudes and impressive projectile spittle.
How To Breed Rabbits, Cows, And Llamas
Unfortunately, you cannot breed cows and llamas in The Sims 4: Cottage Living - the livestock function more like objects in the game.
You’ll buy them from the in-game store, where you can select from a handful of color variants for your chosen pet.
You’ll find cows and llamas where you purchase the sheds your Sims will stable them in.
There is no rabbit breeding (and in retrospect, that’s probably a good thing, as that could’ve gotten out of hand sooner than later).
Instead, your Sims can attempt befriending the happy hoppers and even dress them up in little knit sweaters.