Manure as an Animal Byproduct

[marmarmar34]

Currently, compost is the only viable source of Nitrogen fertilizer, which is insanely expensive and time consuming to make. I suggest adding manure as a byproduct for goats, seeing how their droppings would be the best qualified for fertilizer. 

If balance is an issue, I suppose the droppings could be put the same process as compost to make manure.

[Heegrim]

Good idea! 

Maybe the amount of time it takes to compost dung could be half as much as rot if balance is an issue. There is basically no way of getting compost in the first year unless you run around collecting an insane amount of berries for the first couple months (nevermind also needing to craft a barrel).

Running around looking for poo from wild goats (and maybe sheep/boars as well) would be way more fun.

[Tabbot95]

I'm fine with this as long as there's an option to have saltpeter "nitre beds"

[LadyWYT]

On 2/12/2026 at 12:27 PM, Leo Steeves said:

Running around looking for poo from wild goats (and maybe sheep/boars as well) would be way more fun.

Pigs...eh, maybe. But sheep and goat poo? Not really worth the effort, unless you already have them contained in a pen. Same goes for chickens. For running around collecting it in the wild, it's more ideal for look for where large herbivores have been--preferably those that gather in herds, like bison, buffalo, elephants, etc. Not only do large herbivores produce more poo, but the herd itself makes enough poo to fertilize a field or two, if you find a herd that is.

Would also note that when said poo dries out, it could be used as fuel as well. Might be a little gross, of course.

[PineReseen]

I like this idea. More ways to make compost is a good thing, and while berries are a pretty good source, the supply is pretty dependent on when you harvest the berries, and when they grow back. And besides, manure is a big part of compost, isn't it?

[MKMoose]

I would propose a slightly different implementation. Instead of directly implementing manure, add a block like straw bedding (4 pixel thick layer, potentially stackable like snow). It could be used as decoration anywhere, but would have a special function when placed near animals. Over time, when medium to large animals are nearby, they would convert this block into something like dirty bedding, which could then be picked up and used as fertilizer directly or composted, or alternatively used as fuel, perhaps only after drying out.

Obtaining compost this way from animals would be more intentional and interactive, and a bit less gross, if somewhat less realistc. The straw bedding by itself would be a neat decoration as well (historically it was more for sleeping, but we have the straw bed already), and animals could also prefer sleeping on bedding over bare ground.

I'll also mention that fertilizer obtained this way should ideally provide different nutrients from regular compost, to create an incentive to feeding animals (which would presumably increase production of manure) instead of just composting all crops the normal way.

A direct implementation of manure, as mentioned by @LadyWYT, would make a lot of sense when bovids and other large herbivores are implemented.

 

On 2/14/2026 at 9:05 PM, Tabbot95 said:

I'm fine with this as long as there's an option to have saltpeter "nitre beds"

Keep in mind that realistic applications of nitraries were heavily driven by the demand for gunpowder which we don't yet have in the game (at least not counting blasting powder). It would be a cool addition regardless, and it could also go well in line with my suggestion that fertilizer obtained from animals should be different from regular compost.

Nitre beds seem to be a relatively modern and slightly more complex thing (here's LeConte's "Instructions for the Manufacture of Saltpetre" from 1862), but a simpler and much easier to implement process lies in simply burying manure in the ground, watering it and waiting until saltpeter comes up to the surface, then also boiling the product collected from the ground to purify and concentrate it (as on the Wikipedia page for saltpetre works).