Sims 4 Cottage Living and How to Raise Chickens

I have to say that I am really enjoying the Cottage Living expansion. The animals are fun and the activities involving them are entertaining. I started with chickens and it took me quite a while to figure out how to get them to become Golden and Evil. Both breeds are basically, created the same way, but the problem involves getting the Golden Treat and the Midnight Treat for the first time. Until you get the treat, you have no way of feeding it to your chicken, and as such, have no recipe to create the treat. I finally figured out several ways to get these treats. Make certain to grow extra CowBerries to use for making the treat.

The garden shop in Finchwick Village sells many treats, but the most rare are the Golden and Midnight Treats.  The only time you might be able to buy them from the garden shop are on Saturday, during the Fair event. However, there is only a small window of opportunity, because the shop stops selling items at 7:00 pm and the Fair doesn't start until 3:30 pm. Getting lucky to get there at the right time, and finding either of these treats is the starting point.  

Another way to get either of these treats is by befriending the wild rabbits or the flock of wild birds in  The Bramblewood or Old New Henford sections in the Henford-on-Bagley World. Start early in the day and be prepared to spend some time there. Bring a few gifts, like eggs, produce, flowers, canned foods, drinks, etc. to befriend the wild animals, along with talking, watching, and listening to them. Once you have befriended some of the wild rabbits or birds, you can purchase a rabbit and/or bird stump to put onto your Sims' home lot, so that you can continue to interact with them on a daily basis to the point that they start giving you daily gifts of rare and unusual items. In time, you will even be able to get the animals to help with gardening chores.  

The flock of birds stump will give you one gifting option per day, while the rabbit stump will have three or more rabbits that you can interact with each day and more opportunities to receive rare gifts. The rabbits do age out over time, and you need to rebuild relationships with the new young rabbits that move in.

Once you obtain the Golden or Midnight Treat, I recommend that you purchase a new hen (not rooster) and feed the treat to that hen. Golden Treat will create a Golden Hen, while the Midnight Treat will create an Evil Hen, with flames for eyes. As soon as the hen changes, you should initiate the process of making friends with the hen so that it is Happy or Very Happy every day, and will lay Golden Eggs (from the Golden Hen) or Obsidian (Black) Eggs (from the Evil Hen).  Roosters, of course, don't lay eggs, and, well, you will need these eggs in order to create a supply of treats that you can use for other things. Another very useful treat is the "Friendly Treat" that you can use to feed your special hens to improve your Sims' relationship in order to keep the hens in the happy and very happy levels. You don't treat or interact with the Evil Chicken any differently than the other chickens when trying to improve the relationship to the Sims. Mostly what I do is have my Sims talk to their chickens at least once per day using the interaction options. I don't worry about trying to maximize the relationship at first, as the daily talking and feeding Friendly Treats will do the job just fine.  I don't bother with the hugging and petting relationship options, as sometimes the birds will peck at the Sim, causing an anxiety fear. Talking and Joking never cause that fear. 

So, that's how to create a Golden Chicken and also how to create an Evil Chicken in Cottage Living. Golden Chickens will age out after about three weeks of old age, but the Evil Chicken stays young for a very long time. Having these chickens also provides specific perks. I only keep one Golden and one Evil hen along with the rest of the henss in my Sims' Coop at various stages of life since they need to be replaced every few weeks. 

I have my Sims trade their hens before the Grim Reaper shows up, and then purchase a new hen at that time to keep the coop stocked with eggs of all kinds by using the other treats. Happy and Very Happy hens of the white, brown and black breeds, will lay blue, orange, or green eggs without treats.  Special treats are needed for the other colors, like rainbow and chocolate eggs. The spicy treats will cause a hen to lay black eggs, just like the Evil hen's eggs

PS - I don't bother hatching or purchasing chicks. They don't do much and age out faster than simply purchasing a young adult hen. Almost all the chicks my Sims hatched in the coop were rooster chicks, and a few aged out and died before even becoming young adults meaning that they only ate food and took up space until they died of old age as a chick.

Sims 4 - Sim Can't Harvest Wild or Household Garden Plants

 My question was, "Sims 4 - How do I Harvest Plants when they won't Produce?" Not really able to find a solution, it appears to be one of those glitches that occasionally pops up. 

Background to the Problem

I had used the Create-a-Sims personality that allows you to answer some questions and the AI in Sims will create a Sims that matches the profile. This usually puts your new Sim into a career two or three levels above the starting level. My Sim came in as a Gardener, level 3, Seed Scatterer, with a level 3 garden skill. The primary personality trait was Alluring, along with Bookworm, Noncommital and Perfectionist. 

I selected a small starter home in Oasis Springs. I have Seasons and chose Spring. With my Sim's free starter seeds and the planter box (career rewards), proceeded to start planting. My Sim planted mushrooms and carrots in the garden box, with sage in the backyard, along with some grapes and a  banana tree that would not be available until later in the year. Sage should produce all year, and carrots should produce in the spring and fall. 

All seemed fine until the next day. The plants had started to mature, but nothing, absolutely NOTHING could be harvested. Typically, Wild Sage and Daisies can be harvested after an evening in that neighborhood (by 5:30 am). I had my Sim wander around the neighborhood looking for anything to harvest and eventually down to the community garden, past Zest's home, and still nothing. Spent the day doing other things on that Monday. Thankfully, the only work objective was to purchase seeds and level up to skill level 4 in Gardening. Easy enough, and handled a few other activities to whittle away the day for my Sim. 

Tuesday (Day 3), I figured my Sim should be able to harvest something. By that time, my Sim should have been able to harvest wild strawberries, sage and daisies, along with the plants in the community garden for spring, from the lemon tree, and carrots.  Got up at 5:30 to try to harvest the garden in the backyard, but absolutely nothing could be harvested. Again, all the wild plants in the neighborhood could only be viewed, but not harvested. Headed down to the community garden again. Yay!  My Sim could harvest anything in the garden boxes that were mature; the lemons, carrots, sage and daisies. So I assumed we were finally getting somewhere. Perhaps the next day (Wednesday) my Sim could harvest their own garden. 

Wednesday (Day 4), no garden plants could be harvested still. My Sim could water, weed, spray for bugs, fertilize, talk to plants, and hire a professional, but nothing to harvest either in the backyard or in the wild around the neighborhood. Again, my Sim could harvest in the community garden, and did. 

I did not know IF this was because my Sim had come in as a level three gardener, or if it had something to do with the Sim's Personality. Saving you the details, after creating a different Sim (new game) that came in as a level 3 Gardener, and moved into the same house, by Monday, that Sim was able to harvest backyard and wild plants. So it was obvious it had nothing to do with career. That new Sim had different personity traits; Collector, Good, Art Lover and Self Assured.  

SOLUTION FOUND

Went back to the earlier Sim with the harvesting deficient, and had the Sim invite a friend to move in. After an evening, by 5:30 am, Thursday morning, the Sim was able to harvest their own plants in the backyard and in the wild. So, whatever was the issue/glitch, it seemed to be fixed with a new Sim in the household to kickstart their ability to harvest their own plants, along with harvesting plants in the wild. After that, I had the friend use the computer to split from the household and move back into their original home. (PS if you have the friend split back into their household, you will end up in that friend's family - you will need to click on Manage World to get back to your original Sim's household. You can save the game if you want, but I didn't and everything switched to my Sim's household just fine.)

Sims Eating Harvested Fruits or Vegetables Update - Moodlets

 "Living off the Land" 

Happy Moodlet +2 (3 hrs)

(From eating harvested fruits or vegetables)

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"Nature's Revenge"

Uncomfortable Moodlet +2 (3 hrs)

(From eating harvested fruits or vegetables)

When eating harvested (uncooked) produce, the Sim may feel happy, then uncomfortable, or go straight to uncomfortable, especially if the produce is normal, nice, or even excellent quality.  

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When the happy moodlet pops up, well, that's the all is okay with needs as the hunger need improves immediately without other issues.  Eating produce (harvestables) that is perfect or magnificent is less likely to cause an upset stomach, but there is no guarantee with that, anymore.  

When uncomfortable moodlet pops up, the hunger need will improve a little but the bladder need will diminish quickly, sometimes with an urgency to use the toilet, even while sleeping.

Since EA updated Sims 4, consuming only harvested food is no longer a sustaining safe option for the Hunger need. Throw a slice of cake, or a bowl of cereal into your Sim's personal inventory before heading out for a long day of activities to eat before it spoils and before your Sim becomes famished. 

Missing Electronic Drafting Tablet

My Sim graduated from College with a Communications Degree and that allowed my Sim to enter a career as a Charity Organizer, Civic Planner, Journalist, Management, or Public Relations at a higher level.

In my case, my Sim had maxed the Public Relations career while going to college. My Sim decided to take the Civic Planner career field, but after doing that, my Sim needed an Electronic Drafting Tablet. However, the tablet was missing from the household inventory and also missing from their personal inventory.  My Sim tried to get one from the Build Mode, but it would not allow my Sim to have access even though my Sim had met the requirements level. The "unlock" description was red meaning that it was not unlocked.

Finding no solutions readily available online. The way my Sim finally got access to the missing Electronic Drafting Tablet was to visit one of the Community Centers in Evergreen Harbor.  I usually choose The Quarry Building's Lot.  Once my Sim was there, I chose the Build Mode. Go to Electronics in Buy Mode's Object by Function. Find the Electronic Drafting Tablet under the "Misc" option of Electronics (three dots in a square). You should note that the writing is no longer in red, but is now green. That means that it is available to your Sim now. Pull out the tablet and place it on the lot where your Sim can pick it up. 

Then go back to Live Mode in the game while still on the lot. Click on the tablet and select the option to Draft ... Blueprint. After that, my Sim placed the tablet into their personal inventory as soon as the Sim completed the task. I did it again to get a spare one, just in case. 

My guess is that, in order to complete a lot of the Work from Home Assignments for Civic Planner, my Sim will NEED to be living in Evergreen Harbor. But, I don't want to move my Sim to one of those neighborhoods just yet. 

Hoping that helps you find the missing Electronic Drafting Tablet if your Sim is not living in Evergreen Harbor after choosing the Civic Planner or Civic Designer careers. 

Discover University - RoomMates

 If your version of Sims 4 allows roommates, i.e. Discovery University, then you are in for an interesting and eclectic treat. The basic needs of a roommate is a spare bed and nightstand next to the bed. 

Roommates have an uncanny knack of locking themselves out at all hours and inopportune times. When you see the roommate standing out in front of the house/apartment with a key in their thought bubble, that means they have gotten locked out. You also may receive a call while out on a date or errand, asking you to come home as soon as possible (now would be better) to let them in. If your Sim (as landlord) does not immediately act to help out, you can click on the locked out roommate to establish an interaction, and click through to "Roommate" then click on the Roommate options to "Help Out." 

Roommates throw parties, eat your leftover food, leave trash out, leave food to rot on coffee tables, use your computer, watch your TV, play music in the middle of the night, and any other annoying situation that they can get into. If you have a garden, they will harvest it before you get the chance, first thing in the morning. But, on occasion, they will also help by cleaning, cooking, taking out the trash, or tending the garden. It is a real mixed bag of behaviors.  

Roommate's Needs

The perk is that you don't have to maintain your roommate's needs, but that's just it.  If your home does not "meet their needs" they will move out.  My Sim once used a roommate's bed, and that was enough to cause the roommate to move out. Make certain that the roommate has an assigned bed that others don't "accidentally" use. The roommates need a "quality" bed.  If your Sim cannot afford an expensive bed, use the Handiness upgrades to improve the bed quality for the roommate. Roommates seem to sleep a lot, in their bed and on sofas.

Roommate Actions

Some roommates have more needs than others. Some will need a lot of specific activities or room ambiances that are not always obvious. The roommate will give a warning that their needs are not being met, but they will not tell your Sim what their needs are.  They may confront your Sim or they may leave nasty notes laying around. Your Sim will likely become angry as a result.  Some roommates are "frisky" in their behaviors and display public affection that might upset your Sim. If you click on the Roommate Interactions, you can usually tell what they are doing in the moment that upsets you.  Your Sim always has the option to Kick Out a roommate. 

Rent

At least twice per week you will receive some rent, but not on Monday's Bill Day. Rent is typically received about mid-day on Sundays and Wednesdays. It is never enough to pay for the full house bill, but each roommate will pay about 10% - 25% of your overall bill. 

Invite a Roommate

If you have a spare bed in your home, you click on the individual Sim, select "more choices" and the option to invite a roommate should pop up.  Roommates cannot be people who have homes or families to take care of.  I have Seasons, so I tend to invite Santa (Father Winter) as an easy option.  If you have multiple roommates, I have learned that Santa can be pretty much of a control freak, leaving nasty notes for your Sim and your other roommates complaining about boundries, which is pretty ironic. My Sim currently has the Father Winter and the Bunny as roommates.  My Sim did try to get the Robot to become a roommate, but it would not come up as an option. 

Your Sim can place Roommate Ads, but then will need to wait for applicants to show up within the week.  Sometimes, the replies never show up. People who knock on your door will have "Potential Roommate" over their heads when you hover your mouse over them. Then your Sim can interact with the roommate prospect to learn more about their traits. Some prospects may not be a good fit. Once you invite the roommate to move in, the ad will disappear. 

City Living - Social Media Career - Chat about work twice with Co-Workers - Issues

If you have Sims 4's City Living expansion pack, and you select the Social Media Careers so that you can work from the office or home options, it's an easy career with little time or effort. Unfortunately, there is a Work from Home "glitch" that has been there since 2016 (based on my research). 

You will be asked to interact with a co-worker. There is one co-worker that you should be able to find under the Relationships/Coworkers group. That's Penny Pizzazz.  However, as you work in this career longer, you can develop other coworker relationships by going into the office and selecting the connections (to improve social needs) after you have left for the office. 

To explain better about meeting needs while at work, visit this At Work page. 

Just be aware that, currently, there is a specific work from home assignment that your Sim will never be achieving.  That's the Chat about Work Twice with Co-Workers that suggests, "Run any of the following interactions: Gossip about Office Romance, Make Fun of Corporate Goons, Brag about Job Title, Offer Career Advice."   

These interaction options are not available under the Social Media Career. These options, if I remember correctly are associated with Business Career, but you can't tap into the Business in order to meet this "at home" obligation for Social Media. In otherwords, don't beat yourself up trying to find these interactions for the Social Media Career, because, as of this point, they are not available. 

I have tried a variety of methods, such as forming a group with my co-worker. I have become best friends with my co-worker, I have met my worker in San Myshuno, and I have even found other co-workers.  None of these interactions work for this specific assignment. 

The Sims Update Techs may fix this in the future, but for now, this is one home assignment you cannot do. I simply invite my co-workers over to chat for an hour to fill some social needs, then send them home. Sometimes my Sim's boss is disappointed with their work performance, but usually they are not at long as my Sim is gaining "popularity" and followers. 

Below, I took screenshots of all the Social Media Work from Home "Friendly Social" interactions that my Sim has available with a coworker, and as you can see, the only one, really, is "Persuade to...."  My Sim and their co-worker got some great photos together of my co-worker dressed as a raccoon.

Notes:  

Another Social Media Work from Home Assignment that trips people up is the one that instructs your Sim to "Get to Know Sims in..." various sections of San Myshuno, such as Uptown, Spice Market, Arts Quarter, and Fashion District. What they really want you to do is to Introduce your Sim to another Sim and then "Get to know" that Sim, under the Friendly Interactions. 

Write a Trending Blog for Followers - Having a Focused moodlet with high Charisma skills and Writing skills is helpful.  Sometimes, the Sim may need to post a few flopped blogs, walk away, and come back to try again. Another moodlet that can help is Playful. 

Brighten the Day of Co-workers twice. Easy enough if you know who your co-workers are. As mentioned above, find your co-workers and invite them over to chat for an hour. 

Participate in UGT of GeekCon. Wait for the GeekCon event to start in the Fashion District and look around for the "Ultimate Gaming Test" to participate. Just hope that the GeekCon is not happening during a rain storm. Your Sim may need to have fairly high Video Gaming skill to participate. 

Hoping this helps.

Seasons - Attend a Holiday Ceremony Calendar Event

In the Seasons Pack, I like to create holidays and experiment with a lot of the events on the Calendar. I also like to edit some of the existing Holidays. For example, I remove the themed decoration from all the holidays because they are less than fulfilling. I will add other events to the holidays to fill in for that. 

For Thanksgiving, I added the Attend a Holiday Ceremony event instead of the Holiday Decorations.  This one was confusing as it is not really clear how to attend.  It took several times before I figured out how to attend a holiday ceremony. The event shows on the list as two hands clasped together.

To attend the ceremony, click on the phone and select the car for Travel. At the top of the options, there would be "Attend Holiday Ceremony..."

At the point, the Sim will get up and walk to the front of the house and vanish, similar to when a Sim goes to work. There will be the usual Sims timer around the face of the Sim in the lower left corner while the Sim is off attending the ceremony. Some call this "going down the Sims Rabbit Hole" because we have no clue what is actually going on.

After the Sim returns, there will be a moodlet that shows up, explaining how the ceremony went, and that is that.