Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven Ranching Guide - Taming, Breeding, and Butchering

Forget about indoctrination for a second because we are pivoting to agriculture, and yes, it is just as bloody as the rest of the game.

The Woolhaven expansion tries really hard to trick you into thinking it is a cute farming sim. You get fluffy animals, you build fences, and you can even pet the wildlife. But do not let your guard down. I spent hours building the perfect pasture only to realize that managing livestock is a logistical nightmare that requires rare resources and constant vigilance. If you want to run a successful ranch without losing your mind, you need to know exactly how to unlock the feature and, more importantly, how to exploit it for profit.

Unlocking The Ranch

You don't just get a ranch handed to you. You have to summon the rancher first.

The process is a bit obscure. You need to find the "Wool of the Rancher" item during your travels and bury it. This summons Baraq, a new NPC who essentially acts as the gatekeeper for this entire mechanic. But he won't help you for free. He demands a specific set of materials to repair his own ranch before he lets you build yours.

You will need to fetch him two Charged Shards from Ewefall and two Cursed Yewbark from The Rot. Once you have those, you have to consecrate them into Pure Yewbark. Hand that over, and he will finally give you the blueprint for the Ranch and your first animal, a Baby Yakish.

Building Your Slaughterhouse... I Mean, Farm

The actual construction is finicky. You have to connect the fences from one yellow square to another to create a closed loop.

I recommend building a massive enclosure right from the start. Space is money here. The more space you have, the more animals you can shove in there. Once the fence is up, you drop in your animals. You have to feed them, pet them, and take them on walks to raise their levels. It takes about a day for them to grow up, at which point the real work begins.

Managing Your Livestock

There are two main reasons to do this: Wool and Meat.

Wool is the currency of this expansion. You get it by shearing your animals once they are adults. You will need mountains of this stuff to buy items and complete quests, so I suggest keeping a few animals alive specifically for haircuts. However, if you are low on food or just feeling cruel, you can send them to the Butcher's Block.

LIVESTOCK LOGISTICS

Here is the breakdown of how to handle your new four-legged friends (or food).

Action	Requirement / Notes
Shearing	Requires adult animals. This is the only consistent way to get Wool. Upgrade the ranch to have followers do this automatically.
Breeding	Requires a Hutch and 1 Sin. It costs a rare resource, but it saves you from buying new animals from Baraq.
Butchering	You can harvest them when they die of old age, ascend them, or assign them to the Butcher's Block. Efficient, if a bit grim.

The Wolf Problem

Just when you think you are safe, the game introduces Wolves.

These things will raid your ranch and eat your investment. I found this incredibly frustrating until I realized you can automate the defense. Some followers have specific traits that make them fight wolves, so assign those violent little guys to ranch duty.

Later on, you can build a Wolf Trap. You bait it with meat, and it snaps shut on any predator trying to sneak a snack. It adds a tower defense layer to your farming that keeps you on your toes. Honestly, seeing a wolf get snapped in a trap is satisfying enough to justify the cost of the meat bait.

Got a hot take on this? I know you do. Head over to r/neonlightsmedia to discuss it.

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