Before you start breeding buffalo in FS25, you need a place to keep them. Some maps already have pens, in which case you can go straight to buying the animals. But if you do not have a pen, place it yourself.

In the construction mode, go to the section with animals, and then choose one of the options for cow pens.



The game does not provide a separate category for water buffalo, so cow pens are used. A total of six types of pens are available in the base version of the game. Some of them are designed exclusively for breeding, without the possibility of getting milk, while others support both breeding and milking. There is even an improved version with automatic feeding, but it should be considered separately - it is a topic for a separate conversation.

When installing a pasture, it will be necessary to bring water, so that the animals had something to drink. You can also expand the size of the pasture, choose a form of fencing or plant the area with green grass.




By expanding the pasture, you increase its capacity - the standard one is designed for 7 heads, but by changing the configuration, you can raise the limit to 28 or more. But the volume of the feeder in this case remains the same.

In hard-roofed barns, the cost of water is automatically included in the costs and it is supplied automatically. This type of pen allows you to breed animals and get products from them at the same time - in our case buffalo milk. The choice depends on your preferences and requirements.

Buying water buffalo: how and where

Once the pen is set up, you can buy and settle buffalo there. There are two ways to buy animals.

Buying directly from the pen is the easiest way. Approach the pen and open the purchase menu. Select the number of buffalo you want to buy.



There are animals of different ages to choose from: young, juveniles and adults. For example, if you want to raise buffalo from scratch, you should start with the youngest ones.

If you buy through the pen menu, you will be charged a transportation fee, and the more animals - the higher the total amount.

The second method is to use a trailer to transport the animals. In this case, you don't pay for the setup fee, so it is more economical. But on the other hand, it is more complicated and you will need to spend more time to transport the animals yourself.



To do this, use a special animal transportation trailer that is bought at the store. Load it at the cattle station and transport the buffalo to the pen yourself. If it is designed for, say, 12 cows, it will hold the same number of buffalo.

By the way, in case of large pens with a capacity of more than 100 animals, it is better to use the transportation method, as it will be more profitable.

After delivery to the pen, you only have to drive to the desired location and unload the animals by confirming the action via the menu.

Caring for water buffalo: health, growth and productivity

Now that the buffalo have settled into their new home, the main stage comes with the care and provision of all the animals' needs. Their health, growth rate, productivity and, as a result, your profits depend on it.

Let's start with the basics - health and age. Buffalo do not die of hunger or thirst, but without nutrition and care they will not grow and produce. Young stock housed in a pasture will gradually mature if there is at least a grass cover in the pen. Productivity remains zero under these conditions, so they will not produce milk or offspring.

Keep health and productivity levels high so that buffalo will produce offspring. It takes 10 game months to fully mature these animals, and if done correctly, you will get as many buffalo as you had originally.

Drinking water is only required for pastures. In closed barns it is automatically supplied, but in open paddocks it has to be filled manually. A water wagon is needed.



You need to fill it with water from a reservoir or water tower and drive it to the buffalo paddock. There is a special sign near it, indicating where to load the water.

Water affects the overall health of the animals in the pasture. Without it, health does not grow, which means that neither growth, breeding nor milk is worth waiting for.

Feeding buffalo

What you feed your buffalo depends on its growth rate, its ability to reproduce and of course its milk production.

There are different types of feed in FS25, and each of them has its own characteristics. At the very bottom in terms of quality are Meadow and regular Grass. They give only 40% efficiency and this is not enough to increase productivity and health. These feeds can only be used to keep animals alive during the growth phase if you don't care about speed or milk yield.

Next are Silage and Hay. Both bring 80% efficiency, but in fact, with regular feeding can increase productivity up to 100%. This is the optimal choice for those who want to squeeze out the maximum without going into the production of complex mixtures.

At the top is the total mixed ration (TMR). It is the most nutritious and balanced food, giving the animal everything it needs. But the paradox is that under game conditions, the effectiveness of TMR in practice is not much different from silage and hay. Especially if you don't have the resources or desire to prepare it. However, if you are looking for full realism or want to optimize every element of your farm, consider TMR.

How is feeding done? The pen has a certain feed capacity and the animals eat it from top to bottom: TMR first, then hay, then silage, then grass and lastly meadow grass. This means that if you want buffalo to eat the best, you need to load the feeders in the correct sequence.

If maximizing productivity and milk is the goal, you should use hay, silage or TMR. If you're just raising young stock and don't plan on getting milk, grass or meadow greens will suffice.

Manure, bedding and slurry: what, where and why

Water buffalo breeding is not only about milk and offspring, but also about the by-products: manure and slurry (slurry). These materials are good for fertilizing fields or turning in for recycling. But for them to start accumulating, certain conditions must be met.

In open pastures, animals do not produce waste. There is no opportunity to set bedding there, which means there is nothing to collect. Use an open barn! Two additional parameters appear in it: straw and liquid manure.

In order for the buffalo to produce solid manure, they need to be provided with straw bedding. Without it, they will only produce liquid manure. If you need slurry, you can do without straw.

If you decide to collect manure, you will need a special storage - a manure heap extension.



It is placed next to the barn and collects waste. Do not confuse a manure heap with a silo. The former collects waste, the latter is just a storage facility. The unit must be tied to a specific paddock, otherwise it will not work.

No additional equipment is required for liquid manure. It automatically accumulates in the barn and can be taken away through the appropriate outlet. To transport or use the slurry, a special barrel must be attached - it can be found in the “Tanks” section of the store.

Both manure and slurry are used as fertilizers. They can be used to replace standard chemicals, enriching the fields in a natural way. If you don't want to use them in your farm, you can always sell them - but the profit will be minimal. Fertilizers are valuable first and foremost in their own fields.

Buffalo milk and selling products: how to earn money from livestock farming

When water buffaloes reach maturity and are in good condition, they start producing milk - this is one of the main sources of income in the game if you are breeding buffaloes.

Milk is only available in pens that have a milking system, i.e. indoor barns. If the buffalo live on pasture, they will not give milk, even if you feed them the best fodder.

To collect milk, you must drive up to a special point near the pen and use a milk tanker. Such a trailer can be purchased in the store, it is marked with the icon of a milk drop. The tanker is suitable for both cow and buffalo milk.

After collecting the milk, you can sell it or use it in production. To sell, you need to select raw Buffalo Milk rather than “bottled milk” in the menu, find the nearest processor (such as a dairy) on the map, and deliver the product there. The price per thousand liters of milk depends on the month - the maximum profit, as a rule, in January, so if storage allows, it makes sense to wait.

Another way to make money is to sell the animals themselves.



When a buffalo reaches adulthood and its health is at an all-time high, it starts to be worth more than when you bought it. This is how you can make money simply by breeding and reselling.

There are two ways to sell animals: directly through the pen menu - but with a deduction for transportation fees, or with a livestock trailer if you want to keep the full value. The first method is easier, the second more profitable.

In the end, proper buffalo husbandry allows you to earn a double income: through milk sales and proceeds from mature animals. It all depends on the strategy - you can specialize on breeding, on milk or combine both.