Stardew Valley Guide: Acquiring a Coop and Maximizing Its Benefits

Chickens play a vital role in enhancing your farm’s prosperity in Stardew Valley. Compared to barns, chicken coops are more affordable and essential for both income generation and cooking needs. In addition to chickens, these coops can also accommodate ducks, rabbits, and even dinosaurs depending on the upgrades you choose to implement.

Constructing a chicken coop should be one of your initial building projects in the game due to its relatively low cost and its utility in raising various animals. Once established, there are numerous strategies to boost your earnings with chickens, enabling you to reinvest in the coop and create a sustainable profit cycle.

Last Updated: April 22, 2025, by Artur Novichenko: Chickens not only enliven your farm but also offer substantial financial benefits. With the right strategies, you can expand your coop’s capacity and enhance the care for your animals right from the early game.

How To Get A Coop

In the game’s early stages, gathering the necessary materials is straightforward. You can obtain wood and stone by chopping trees and mining rocks using an axe and pickaxe, respectively. The initial chicken coop allows you to house up to four chickens, but don’t worry—more spacious, upgraded coops are available as you progress.

Additionally, choosing Meadowlands Farm is a strategic option for players focusing on animal husbandry, as this farm type starts you off with a chicken coop and two chickens.

Using The Regular Coop

Once your coop is operational, your next step is to purchase four chickens from Marnie’s Ranch for 800 gold each. Proper care is crucial, so ensure you have a steady supply of hay or provide them with an outdoor area to graze (note that grass isn’t accessible in winter). Hay can be bought or harvested from grass using a scythe, though you’ll need to construct a silo for harvesting hay.

Each chicken produces either a brown or white egg daily, which can be sold for 50 gold each. Foster a friendly relationship with your chickens by petting them, as this will increase their affection levels and lead to larger eggs that sell for 95 gold each.

If possible, invest in a mayonnaise machine. This allows you to convert eggs into mayonnaise, which sells for 190 gold—almost four times the price of regular eggs. It’s also worth noting that selling eggs or mayonnaise often yields higher profits compared to using them in cooking. For instance, an omelette, which requires both milk and eggs, sells for only 125 gold, equating to the same total value of the raw materials used.

Upgrading The Coop

With the profits from your eggs and mayonnaise, you can begin upgrading your chicken coop. This process unlocks new possibilities, allowing you to house ducks, rabbits, and even dinosaurs, including the option to use an incubator for hatching eggs.

The Big Coop upgrade permits the care of eight animals and introduces ducks and dinosaurs (which must be hatched). The Deluxe Coop upgrade increases capacity to 12 animals, incorporates a rabbit housing feature, and includes an auto-feeding system.

Requirements For A Big Coop:

• 10,000 gold
• 400 wood
• 150 stone

Requirements For A Deluxe Coop:

• 20,000 gold
• 500 wood
• 200 stone

Acquiring Animals Beyond Standard Chickens

Upgrading your coop allows you to diversify your farm’s inhabitants beyond chickens. Here’s how to obtain various types of animals:

Void Chicken

A Void Chicken, which produces Void Eggs, requires incubation of a specific egg. You can acquire a Void Egg through:

• Purchase from Krobus for 5,000 gold.
• Purchase from the Traveling Cart on Fridays or Sundays for up to 1,200 gold.
• A random event can occur where a witch may drop a Void Egg near your coop at night.

Ducks

Once your coop is upgraded, ducks can be purchased from Marnie’s Ranch for 4,000 gold each.

Rabbits

Rabbits require the Deluxe Coop upgrade before they can be bought at Marnie’s Ranch for 8,000 gold.

Dinosaurs

Similar to Void Chickens, dinosaurs must be hatched from a Dinosaur Egg, which can be a rare find through various means such as artifact spots in the mountains or treasure chests while fishing. Once you acquire an egg, simply incubate it to hatch your very own dinosaur!

Maximizing Profit with Gold

To optimize revenue from your coop, prioritize the Tiller farming skill at level five and later select the Artisan skill at level ten. This artisan perk increases the selling price of all artisan goods—like mayonnaise—by 40%.

Assuming you develop strong relationships with your animals and adopt the Artisan path, the following table outlines the potential profits:

Based on these insights, chickens emerge as the most lucrative animals for your coop, given their daily production cycle. The ultimate focus for your farm should be a chicken-dominated coop, particularly when enhanced by artisan techniques.

Maximizing Profit Through Gifting

Several characters in the game appreciate gifts crafted from coop animal products. Keep the following connections in mind to enhance your friendships:

Characters that Like (+45 Affection) Coop Products:

Characters that Love (+80 Affection) Coop Products:

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