Animal breeding
Cows and sheep: offspring genetics, herd growth and income, livestock vendor prices
Pregnancy
10 min
Young grows up
1 h
Adult lifespan
2 d
Milk
1/ 5 minDung
1/ 10 minYoung at the vendor
300Parents
Every gene has two copies — click to change. The better one is expressed; the other is hidden but passed on.
Mother · cow
Father · bull
Dung
Longevity
Yield
Fertility
Hardiness
How the parents are related
An inbred young has every gene weaker (gene position × 0,5) — even a Good one works like Ok.
Offspring
Inbreeding chance
0%
“Perfect” chance
0%
Dungaverage ×1
Ok 100%
How often it drops dung: Good ×1,6, Bad ×0,6
Longevityaverage ×1
Ok 100%
How long it lives as an adult: Good ×1,5, Bad ×0,65
Yieldaverage ×1
Ok 100%
Milk/wool per harvest and how often: Good ×1,6 to both, Bad ×0,6
Fertilityaverage ×1
Ok 100%
How often it breeds and the litter size: Good ×1,6, Bad ×0,65
Hardinessaverage ×1
Ok 100%
How well it copes short of food, water or room: Good ×1,5, Bad ×0,7
How it works
- Each of the five genes has two copies: Good, Ok or Bad. The better one is expressed.
- Letters match the gene discs in game: D — Dung, L — Longevity, Y — Yield, F — Fertility, H — Hardiness. Disc colour is the copy: green Good, grey Ok, red Bad.
- A young gets one random copy from its mother and one from its father — Mendel's peas.
- Every animal carries two lineage markers; a young that gets two identical ones is inbred and its genes work at 0,5 strength.
- In wild animals each copy is Good with 20% chance and Bad with 30%.
- Cattle and sheep genes are shown on the animal's panel in game.
FAQ
How to breed cattle in Rust: pregnancy, growth, price?
Cattle: pregnancy 10 min, the young grows up in 1 h, an adult lives 48 h. A young one costs 300 scrap at the livestock vendor.
How to breed sheep in Rust: pregnancy, growth, price?
Sheep: pregnancy 10 min, the young grows up in 1 h, an adult lives 48 h. A young one costs 150 scrap at the livestock vendor.
How do animal genes work in Rust?
Each of the five genes has two copies and the better one is expressed; a young gets one from each parent. Good Fertility is ×1.6, Yield ×1.6, Longevity ×1.5. An inbred young's genes work at 0.5 strength.
Answers are calculated from the current public build data and update with the game.