Critter Feeder

The Critter Feeder is a storage building used to supply food and materials to eligible critters. When stocked, it gives nearby critters a consistent food source, which keeps them closer to the feeder and reduces wandering. This makes it useful for corralling animals in a controlled area, especially when you want them to stay near ranching infrastructure rather than roaming through the colony.

Only certain critters can use a Critter Feeder: Hatch, Shine Bug, Pokeshell, Shove Vole, and Divergent critters. For each critter type, you can set which materials that species is allowed to take from the feeder. The building only stores the chosen materials or foods, so it can be configured to provide different diets for different species without mixing everything together.

A few critters do not use the Critter Feeder at all. Pip, Drecko, and Gassy Moo eat growing plants instead of items stored in the feeder; Puft and Slickster use gas as their food source; Pacu use the Fish Feeder instead; and Morb does not eat anything. As a result, the Critter Feeder is only relevant for critters that can actually consume stored solids.

Food stored in a Critter Feeder can still go stale over time. If left inside long enough, it will eventually turn into Rot Pile, so the feeder is not a safe long-term pantry for perishable foods. This makes it better suited to supplying critters with stable, expendable feedstock than to storing valuable food indefinitely.

• Critters tend to stay near their food source, so placing a feeder in or near a ranch helps keep them from wandering far.
• A stocked feeder can make enclosures easier to manage because critters spend more time near the desired area.
• The feeder’s storage behavior is handled by the Storage errand, not the Supply errand.
• Because the building only holds selected materials, it can be used to tailor diets for different critter species.
• Perishable food placed inside will eventually spoil into Rot Pile, so avoid loading it with anything you do not want to lose.