Forum Discussion

Re: Mini Goats & Sheep keep running away from my unplayed household

@SmartAss_Loser I'm wondering a few things...

  • When you said you tried to hire a ranch hand, can you clarify what you mean by that it hasn't worked? Were you unable to hire the ranch hand, or is the ranch hand showing up but not taking care of the goats and sheep? A hired ranch hand should in-and-of-themselves keep the goats and sheep well cared for... I suppose unless there are too many animals on the lot for the ranch hand to take care of alone?
  • As mentioned above, the number of animals (especially horses and foals) you can maintain on the ranch, even with a ranch hand there all day, will need to be proportional to how well you and your Sims can manage them. Start small and feel out what your limitations are, and only keep as many on the ranch as you can handle well.
  • It seems to help if you both add wild grass to the lot and have the 'Wild Prairie Grass' lot trait, as my horses did feed themselves somewhat autonomously at those growing grass places. That didn't work for all of their feeding, but some of it.
  • Caring for foals is touchy business, and you have to really keep an eye on it.
  • Do you have Mods or CC?
    Spoiler
    Exit the game. Move the Mods folder from your "The Sims 4" folder [Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4] to your desktop (save it for reference) and delete the localthumbcache.package file in your “The Sims 4” folder. Then check in a new game save to see if this issue is still occurring. You can test without saving in order to identify which CC/Mods are causing the issue. Then remove or add updated version(s) of the Mod/CC causing the issue.
  • Is your game fully updated? (There were some issues with ranch hands at first that got fixed in a patch.)
    Spoiler
    How to update your game:
    • open Origin
    • click ‘Game Library’
    • right-click Sims 4 > Update Game.
  • You could try a game repair.
    Spoiler
    How to run a game repair:
    • In Origin (EA App), click ‘Game Library’ (or "My Collection"), then right-click Sims 4 (or look under the three dots), and choose Repair Game (or 'Repair')
    • Let it run until it has completed all repairs. It will do the base game first, then run through each of your DLCs (Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs and Kits).

3 Replies

  • SmartAss_Loser's avatar
    SmartAss_Loser
    New Novice
    2 years ago

    @SheriGR wrote:

    @SmartAss_Loser I'm wondering a few things...

    • When you said you tried to hire a ranch hand, can you clarify what you mean by that it hasn't worked? Were you unable to hire the ranch hand, or is the ranch hand showing up but not taking care of the goats and sheep? A hired ranch hand should in-and-of-themselves keep the goats and sheep well cared for... I suppose unless there are too many animals on the lot for the ranch hand to take care of alone?
    • As mentioned above, the number of animals (especially horses and foals) you can maintain on the ranch, even with a ranch hand there all day, will need to be proportional to how well you and your Sims can manage them. Start small and feel out what your limitations are, and only keep as many on the ranch as you can handle well.
    • It seems to help if you both add wild grass to the lot and have the 'Wild Prairie Grass' lot trait, as my horses did feed themselves somewhat autonomously at those growing grass places. That didn't work for all of their feeding, but some of it.
    • Caring for foals is touchy business, and you have to really keep an eye on it.
    • Do you have Mods or CC?
      Spoiler
      Exit the game. Move the Mods folder from your "The Sims 4" folder [Documents > Electronic Arts > The Sims 4] to your desktop (save it for reference) and delete the localthumbcache.package file in your “The Sims 4” folder. Then check in a new game save to see if this issue is still occurring. You can test without saving in order to identify which CC/Mods are causing the issue. Then remove or add updated version(s) of the Mod/CC causing the issue.
    • Is your game fully updated? (There were some issues with ranch hands at first that got fixed in a patch.)
      Spoiler
      How to update your game:
      • open Origin
      • click ‘Game Library’
      • right-click Sims 4 > Update Game.
    • You could try a game repair.
      Spoiler
      How to run a game repair:
      • In Origin (EA App), click ‘Game Library’ (or "My Collection"), then right-click Sims 4 (or look under the three dots), and choose Repair Game (or 'Repair')
      • Let it run until it has completed all repairs. It will do the base game first, then run through each of your DLCs (Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs and Kits).

    @SheriGR What happened with the ranch hand was I switched to the father's household, had him hire one, and stayed with the household for an in-game day to make sure the ranch hand was functioning but when I switched back, I still got the messages. the number of animals is manageable too and he doesn't have any foals. He does have wild grass and all the things he needs to care for the animals. I have lots of mods and I haven't gone through them yet but I don't think I have anything that would affect animal care, especially for an unplayed household.

  • SheriGR's avatar
    SheriGR
    Hero
    2 years ago

    @SmartAss_Loser 

    When I play I stay/play on the same lot with an infant on the lot, or while trying to iron out the care of needy animals, etc. Maybe you could try that and see if it makes any difference on the happiness or odd notices for the animals?

    I mentioned the Mods and CC because if a Mod or CC is not functioning properly anymore ('broken'), it can cause errors in the game, and it (they 'type' of Mod/CC) does not necessarily need to be related to what you're doing. (For example, a broken eyelash CC or broken pregnancy Mod could cause a graphics or functionality glitch in the game that has nothing to do with eyelashes or pregnancy.)

  • SmartAss_Loser's avatar
    SmartAss_Loser
    New Novice
    2 years ago

    I don't want to play with that household anymore though, when I moved the daughter out and started playing her I expected the animals to not be her problem anymore and for them to be autonomously taken care of or just not have needs anymore or however it works just like any other non played household in the game. I still want the father to have those animals because that's part of the little story I've made for him I just don't know what to do to make those animals not my problem anymore without getting rid of them.


    @SheriGR wrote:

    @SmartAss_Loser 

    When I play I stay/play on the same lot with an infant on the lot, or while trying to iron out the care of needy animals, etc. Maybe you could try that and see if it makes any difference on the happiness or odd notices for the animals?

    I mentioned the Mods and CC because if a Mod or CC is not functioning properly anymore ('broken'), it can cause errors in the game, and it (they 'type' of Mod/CC) does not necessarily need to be related to what you're doing. (For example, a broken eyelash CC or broken pregnancy Mod could cause a graphics or functionality glitch in the game that has nothing to do with eyelashes or pregnancy.)