The Sims 4 Cottage Living: Guide to Animal Treats & Their Effects

Tired of trying to wrap your head around the many different treats available in the Expansion Pack “Cottage Living”? Are you looking to boost your production or simply complete your collection of animal products? This guide has you covered, from the basic information up to the more advanced stuff.

Guide to Animal Treats & Their Effects

Released the 22nd of July 2021, “Cottage Living” introduces an England-inspired world called “Henford-on-Bagley”, where your Sims can live surrounded by nature and its wonderful scenery, all while attempting to learn how to handle a garden, bond with chickens, llamas, cows, and craft cooking ingredients from scratch.

This guides delves deep into the second point, specifically explaining the benefits of animal treats: tiny craftable, grain-like food that boosts animal production, animal social bar or turns it into another creature entirely.

The game only really tells the player the basis on animal treats during the tutorial quests from Henford-on-Bagley citizens, so I’ve prepared this guide detailing the uses and the benefits of each type of treat, included how to get them.

From now on, I will assume the reader knows that, in order to unlock the recipe for a treat, they must first obtain the treat itself from other means (which I will put under the “How to Get” section) and use it on an owned animal of their choice: afterwards, the treat can be normally crafted from the fridge using the ingredients listed in “Crafting”.

Enjoy!

Animal Party Treat

Rarity: Common
Crafting: [1x] Any Mushroom, [1x] Any Berry
Effects: On all animals, completely fills the social need of the animal it was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, trading animals for treats, gift from wild creatures.

This is probably the easiest treat to get, along with the Friendly Treat. Allthough I didn’t find much of an use to it since my Sims were constantly taking care of their animals, it’s still kind of convenient since it doesn’t require your Sims to spend their time interacting to their animals at all, especially cows and llamas.
The crafting is easy, too, since you can find wild berries and mushrooms all throughout The Bramblewood.

Chocolatey Treat

Rarity: Uncommon
Crafting: [1x] Custard, [1x] Chocoberry
Effects:
– Chickens: when given to hens, they will lay a Chocolate Egg instead of the regular white egg.
– Cows: gives the player a bottle of Chocolate Milk along the normal production of regular milk collected from the cow the treat was given to.
– Llamas: gives the player one additional Brown Wool, along the normal production of regular wool collected from the llama the treat was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, trading animals for treats, gift from wild creatures.

While Chocolate Milk isn’t that useful by itself, since most chocolate-themed recipes require you to use either chocoberries or chocolate syrup, there are a few errands that may ask you to submit uncommon varieties of milk and/or eggs in order to complete them. As for Brown Wool, a few stitching patterns end up costing less simoleons if your Sim has different kinds of wool in their inventory, so I’d recommend investing on just a few Chocolatey Treats if you’re looking to start your family with little to no simoleons.

Fishy Protein Treat

Rarity: Common
Crafting: [1x] Any Fish
Effects: On all animals, adds one additional unity of products on the next batch.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, trading animals for treats, gift from wild creatures.

Surprisingly enough, Fishy Protein Treats are a great way to put your Fishing skills to use: they’re easy to make and, if later in the game you manage to lay your hands on a Golden Hen, you can feed it these treats to get some extra eggs you can sell for around 300-450 simoleons each. Overall, I suggest making sure the lot you’re playing on has a pond nearby to catch some fish (as in the case of 3 Olde Mill Lane).

Flirty Treat

Rarity: Uncommon
Crafting: [1x] Strawberry Jam, [1x] Sugar
Effects:
– Chickens: when given to hens, raises the odds they will lay a Hatchable Egg on the next harvest.
– Cows: gives the player a bottle of Strawberry Milk along the normal production of regular milk collected from the cow the treat was given to.
– Llamas: gives the player one additional Pink Wool, along the normal production of regular wool collected from the llama the treat was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, gift from wild creatures, winning a Flinchwick Fair (random prize).

The Flirty Treat is actually a pretty good way to boost the number of hens and roosts in your possession, provided you have access to a strawberry bush early in the game. Once you lay your hands on a Golden Hen or an Obsidian Hen, the Flirty Treat is also a great way to increase your chances to get Hatchable Golden Eggs or Hatchable Obsidian Eggs, which will produce other chickens of their kind. This is an extremely useful mechanic to exploit, giving how incredibly easy it is to produce the Strawberry Jam needed for the recipe, plus you will almost certainly be able to unlock the recipe by buying a sample from the random daily batch of treats at the Gardening Shop or by simply getting it as one of the prizes for scoring first at a Flinchwick Fair.

Friendly Treat

Rarity: Common
Crafting: [1x] Any Fruit or Vegetable
Effects: On all animals, increases the relationship bar between the selected Sim and the animal the treat was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, trading animals for treats, gift from wild creatures.

As mentioned earlier in the guide, the Friendly Treat is the easiest one to get, since the first errands prompted by Henford-on-Bagley citizens will almost always grant a Friendly Treat as part of the reward. Since the crafting is very simple, too, this treat can also be referred to as the “tutorial” treat, meaning to show the player how treats can change the way animals behave. I recommend hoarding on a batch and using them to immediately boost relationships, primarly with hens – to get a chance for them to lay a Golden Egg – then with cows and llamas, to improve your odds of winning the Flinchwick Fair.

Fruity Treat

Rarity: Common
Crafting: [1x] Apple Jam, [1x] Blueberry Jam
Effects:
– Chickens: when given to hens, they will lay a Blue Egg instead of the regular white egg.
– Cows: gives the player a bottle of Enriched Milk along the normal production of regular milk collected from the cow the treat was given to.
– Llamas: gives the player one additional Blue Wool, along the normal production of regular wool collected from the llama the treat was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, gift from wild creatures.

One blue egg is required in order for your Sim to cook a Blue Confetti Cake, this if you’re playing with the “Simple Living” lot challenge: however, Blue Eggs are one of the three required ingredients to craft a Rainbow Treat, so the Fruity Treats are not to be underestimated. Fruity Treats don’t have much use on cows, since Enriched Milk can also be obtained from them by a special interaction with a cost of 25 simoleons, given that the selected Sim has a higher enough relationship bar with it.
Blue Wool is useful when it comes to the Stitching skill, since it can lower the price for certain patterns, making it a worthy investment on llamas when considering how easy found apples and blueberries are.

Golden Treat

Rarity: Rare
Crafting: [1x] Golden Egg, [1x] Cowberry Jam OR Honey
Effects:
– Chickens: when given to hens or roosters, they will transform into a Golden Chicken. Golden Hens always lay Golden Eggs (which have a chance to be hatchable) and, by interacting with them and asking for their help, both Golden Hens and Golden Roosters will instantly evolve any plants in your garden to their maximum quality. Golden Eggs can also be made into the “Scrambled Golden Eggs With Bacon” recipe, which can be eaten to grant a Sim the same powers for a few hours via the special “Golden Pulse” interaction.
– Cows: gives the player a bottle of Golden Honey Milk along the normal production of regular milk collected from the cow the treat was given to. This milk can be drank by a Sim to grant them a +3 Dazed moodlet and the ability to use the “Golden Impulse” themselves for three hours.
– Llamas: gives the player one additional Gold Wool, along the normal production of regular wool collected from the llama the treat was given to. The Gold Wool is super useful for cutting the patterns’ costs while stitching and is also a great option to easily win the wool competition hosted by the Finchwick Fair.
How To Get: Completing errands (rarely), Gardening Shop (only during Finchwick Fair), gift from wild creatures.

Golden Treats are one of the most powerful and game-breaking feature Cottage Living has to offer. Feeding Golden Treats to hens basically assures the player a daily supplies of Golden Eggs, which are worth a lot of simoleons and can be used in the special recipe to use the Golden Pulse to your heart’s content. Plus, one doesn’t really expect the recipe to be this easy to make, requiring a Golden Egg (which can be obtained from regular hens as well, if the relationship bar is maxed out, they have high happiness and with a bit of luck) and Honey as a viable option instead of the rarer Cowberry Jam.
Your best bet is to use almost every Golden Treat you get on hens: Golden Eggs grant the same effects as Golden Honey Milk when cooked, but have more uses, such as them being hatchable.

Healthy Treat

Rarity: Common
Crafting: [1x] Any Fruit or Vegetable, [1x] Any Lettuce
Effects: On all animals, increases the lifespan of the animal it was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, trading animals for treats, gift from wild creatures.

This treat is a must have if you tend to get irrationally attached to virtual animals, like I did.
Jokes aside, it’s quite simple to make, the only hassle being the oversized lettuce, since those crops take a lot of time to grow. The Healthy Treat also has one major issue, being it becoming absolutely useless once the player turns off animal aging in the Gameplay Settings. However, if you like to play following the natural flow of life and death like I do, this treat will surely come in hand.
Be aware though that it will never make your animal immortal, it will only give a short boost to its lifespan: once the Grim Reaper comes, make sure that your beloved pet has lived a fulfilling life.

Midnight Treat

Rarity: Rare
Crafting: [1x] Obsidian Egg, [1x] Cowberry Jam
Effects:
– Chickens: when given to hens or roosters, they will transform into an Evil Chicken. Evil Hens always lay Obsidian Eggs (which have a chance to be hatchable) and, by interacting with them and asking for their help, both Evil Hens and Evil Roosters will guard your home of potential enemy vampires, foxes and even the Grim Reaper: they will fight death, quite literally, and have a chance of succeding, meaning the Grim Reaper will choose to spare you. Obsidian Eggs can also be made into the “Scrambled Obsidian Eggs With Bacon” recipe, which can be eaten to grant a Sim the special “Evil Glare” interaction: this can be used on other Sims to give them the same moodlet and powers.
However, be careful: a mean interaction with an Evil Chicken may result in your Sim getting in a fight with it. The first time they will only get a Dazed moodlet as a result, but if they are mean to Evil Chickens again while that moodlet is active (much like the Cowplant), they will get attacked and die for good.
– Cows: gives the player a bottle of Obsidian Milk along the normal production of regular milk collected from the cow the treat was given to. This milk can be drank by a Sim to grant them a +3 Anrgy moodlet and the ability to use the “Evil Glare” themselves for three hours.
– Llamas: gives the player one additional Black Wool, along the normal production of regular wool collected from the llama the treat was given to. Black Wool can be used to spare a few simoleons on stitching patterns, plus is a quite viable option to easily win the wool competition hosted by the Finchwick Fair.
How To Get: Completing errands (rarely), Gardening Shop (only during Finchwick Fair), gift from wild creatures.

The Midnight Treat was the hardest to get, to me, it just wouldn’t appear during fairs or as a rare reward. But I must say, it was worth the few extra hours of effort, given how much Obsidian Eggs sell for and the laugh I get every time my vampire Sim eats the special recipe and his eyes glow bright red. It’s also very convenient if you plan on upgrading other shelters first and don’t want to waste precious upgrade parts to keep foxes at bay. Overall, I recommend getting a couple of Evil Chickens as an additional way to cheat death, too.

Pumpkin Treat

Rarity: Common
Crafting: [1x] Any Pumpkin, [1x] Sugar
Effects:
– Chickens: when given to hens, they will lay an Orange Egg instead of the regular white egg.
– Cows: gives the player a bottle of Pumpkin Spice Milk along the normal production of regular milk collected from the cow the treat was given to.
– Llamas: gives the player one additional Orange Wool, along the normal production of regular wool collected from the llama the treat was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, gift from wild creatures.

Since Pumpkin Spice Milk seems to be pretty common as a random item to deliver during errands, and since Agnes Crumplebottoms instructs the player to plant some pumpkins as well, I find Pumpkin Treats quite handy during the early stages of my rural life. Not to mention, Orange Eggs are one of the three ingredients required to make the Rainbow Treat, so you might want to always have some pumpkins stored in your fridge. Aside from that, Orange Wool is also quite common among stitching patterns, so it’s a safe way to save some simoleons during the hardest days.

Rainbow Treat

Rarity: Rare
Crafting: [1x] Orange Egg, [1x] Blue Egg, [1x] Green Egg
Effects:
– Chickens: when given to hens, they will lay a Rainbow Egg instead of the regular white egg.
– Cows: gives the player a bottle of Rainbow Milk along the normal production of regular milk collected from the cow the treat was given to. Drinking the Rainbow Milk grants a unique +1 Playful moodlet.
– Llamas: gives the player one additional Rainbow Wool, along the normal production of regular wool collected from the llama the treat was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands (rarely), Gardening Shop (only during Finchwick Fair), gift from wild creatures.

Although the game’s dialogue states that Rainbow Eggs can be used to quickly craft Rainbow Treats, it doesn’t seem to be the case. Bug or removed feature? Anyway, while Rainbow Eggs are worth less than Golden Eggs and Obsidian Eggs, they remain a safe choice to win the egg competition hosted by the Finchwick Fair. I find Rainbow Wool to be the most practical use of Rainbow Treats, though, since there are quite a few stitching patterns that would greatly benefit from it, while Rainbow Milk only really finds its practical use during Finchwick Fair.
It’s not the hardest treat to make, but to me it was definitely the most annoying one, both to get and to craft afterwards, since it requires the player to have fresh uncommon chicken products beforehand.
However, the visual effect of your cows and llamas turning rainbow when given this treat is by far the coolest!

Spicy Treat

Rarity: Uncommon
Crafting: [1x] Spicy Mushroom, [1x] Any Vegetable
Effects:
– Chickens: when given to hens, they will lay an Obsidian Egg instead of the regular white egg.
– Cows: gives the player a bottle of Fire Milk along the normal production of regular milk collected from the cow the treat was given to.
– Llamas: gives the player one additional Red Wool, along the normal production of regular wool collected from the llama the treat was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, gift from wild creatures.

Did the first effect surprise you? Well, let’s say that, given how easy mushrooms are to find all throughout Henford-on-Bagley, I was baffled too when my hen laid an Obsidian Egg. This is definitely the easiest way to get an Evil Chicken without using a Midnight Treat, but it takes a lot of luck, since it might take a few tries and many Spicy Mushrooms before one of the Obsidian Eggs turns out hatchable. While I’ve never found any particular use for Fire Milk aside from random deliveries during errands, Red Wool seems to be quite common in stitching patterns.

Veggie Treat

Rarity: Common
Crafting: [1x] Any Lettuce, [1x] Any Aubergine
Effects:
– Chickens: when given to hens, they will lay a Green Egg instead of the regular white egg.
– Cows: gives the player a bottle of Mighty Plant Milk along the normal production of regular milk collected from the cow the treat was given to. This is extremely useful if you’re playing with lactose intolerant Sims and you need to avoid them getting sick while trying to cook something with what you get from your farm, because those Sims won’t get sick from this plant-based variation of milk.
– Llamas: gives the player one additional Green Wool, along the normal production of regular wool collected from the llama the treat was given to.
How To Get: Completing errands, Gardening Shop, gift from wild creatures.

Definitely a hassle to craft since it requires you to grow two different oversized crops, I must say that it’s worth a shot. I myself have a lactose intolerant Sim in my household, and when I realized regular grilled cheese wasn’t an option anymore, I was ready to deem lost one of the easiest foods to make. Luckily, Sims can drink this kind of milk directly or use it in lactose free recipes.
As for Green Eggs, they are one of the three ingredients needed to craft the Rainbow Treat, so maybe growing two oversized crops might be a challenge you’ll eventually have to face.
Green Wool doesn’t seem to be that common in stitching patterns, but I’ve found it fairly useful anyway.

Bonus: How To Easily Get Rare Treats

It took me a while to properly write this extra section, since I wanted to make sure I had explored ALL possible ways to help my readers make the best out of their gameplay time.
While some people managed to get rare treats from errands, the odds are very low: I’ve completed around 30 errands as of now and none of them has ever given my Sims a rare treat in the reward batch.

I then realized I had been overlooking one of the core aspects of Cottage Living gameplay: wild creatures.

While exploring Henford-on-Bagley’s woods, you’ll sometimes come across tree stumps or tree trunks: those are, respectively, rabbit dens and bird nests.

By interacting a bit with each of them, you’ll eventually unlock both items in Build Mode, meaning you can now place those in your lot and have some very fluffy neighbours!

By building up the relationship bar of rabbits and birds (the latter being easier due to the whole nest having just one relationship bar, while rabbits have individual ones), they’ll begin offering you daily gifts, which can be redeemed through the special interaction.

Here’s the catch: the higher your Sim’s relationship bar with those creatures, the rarer gifts they’ll bring, including all available rare treats in-game.

Of course, the gift could also be a level 3 skill book or a rare fish, in which case you’d have to try again the next Sim day, but I took some time interacting with every rabbit I could find, ending up with ten rabbits and a bird nests, totaling eleven daily gifts. Needless to say, I was able to get all treats quite quickly.

If you wish, you could do the same with foxes, even though they tend to spawn less often than rabbits, so I found the latter a more convenient option.

Previously, I’ve mentioned that rare treats are available during Finchwick Fairs, too: while this is true, it took me almost a year in-game to catch them being sold during the event at all, but it was completely due to my bad luck. I managed to get the Rainbow Treat, and the next fair the game surprised me by selling all three of them at once.

It is then completely possible to be lucky and lay your hands on all kinds of treats within a Sim week.
Screenshot below for proof, please excuse the Italian text.

Conclusion

Will you build your own army of Evil Chickens to fight the Grim Reaper with? Or do you aspire to win each and every Finchwick Fair, to show off your ribbons?

Whatever you will make of your story, I hope this guide will come to use during your journey.

Let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments, I’m always ready to answer all your doubts.

Thank you for reading this far, happy simming!