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Author Topic: What to do with trapped vermin?  (Read 2894 times)

Lazy_Perfectionist

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What to do with trapped vermin?
« on: December 15, 2007, 05:05:00 pm »

So I've set up shop next to a scarely wooded volcanic mountain/badlands/hills with little water.

I started out with two muskox and no cats. Cats are evil, and any immigrants with cats will be executed in the most indwarfane way possible- or dropped in lava. There are a few trees, and I brought spare logs, so I'm not desperate. However, I have no trained woodcutter, and my carptenter spends most of his time doing other things. Most relevant is that he also happens to also be the trapper and animal trainer. I've got four wooden animal traps and four wooden cages (for later. Inside those traps happen to be three live rats and one lizard. I happen to be in close proximity to a open, fairly calm magma vent and a very small watery pond that will eventually freeze over.

First question: What is the quickest way to dispose of the vermin inside, permanently? I considered the 'dump' command + magma, but I want to keep the cages.

Second question: How would I go about putting up a holding area for the vermin I want around for later?

Third question: Do vermin spawn only, or spawn and breed? Is it possible to farm lizards/butterflies, or am I stuck with only capturing them?

Fourth question: Any reason for me to tame the vermin?

Fifth question: Any suggestions for what to do with them?

Sixth question: There's regular packs of roaming camels/horses who come onto to map. Any suggestions on the best way to cage them? Or can I use the capture Live Animal command from the Kennel for that?

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 Bloat325, ADDITIONAL LIQUID TYPES, (Future): Candidates for new flowing "liquids" include sand, oil, mud, blood of various sorts, slime, farm products like grain and beer for the beer fountain. Only a limited number of materials from plant raws like beer

Ralje

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Re: What to do with trapped vermin?
« Reply #1 on: December 15, 2007, 05:38:00 pm »

What is the quickest way to dispose of the vermin inside, permanently? I considered the 'dump' command + magma, but I want to keep the cages.

(V)iew the contents of the cage, and you can select the vermin to be dumped separately.

Second question: How would I go about putting up a holding area for the vermin I want around for later?

Does creating a animal stockpile work?

Third question: Do vermin spawn only, or spawn and breed? Is it possible to farm lizards/butterflies, or am I stuck with only capturing them?

If they have no gender, then I don't believe so.. Do trained vermin linger by food piles?

Fourth question: Any reason for me to tame the vermin?

1) Experience for your Animal Trainer.
2) Cheap (and ugly) kobold-theif detectors.
3) Offer them to Elf merchants. They'll get a kick out of it  ;)
4) If a dwarf likes vermin, you can build it in their room.

Fifth question: Any suggestions for what to do with them?

Dump them in magma, or a 2-tile deep channel (I think they climb up the walls otherwise..)

Sixth question: There's regular packs of roaming camels/horses who come onto to map. Any suggestions on the best way to cage them? Or can I use the capture Live Animal command from the Kennel for that?

The command only works for small creatures, so use cage traps for bigger animals.

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Lazy_Perfectionist

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Re: What to do with trapped vermin?
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2007, 07:01:00 pm »

Thank you Ralje. Viewing the cage, then viewing the rat before dumping solved my immediate problem quite nicely. Don't even need a trainer for the disposal.

I'll keep my lizard, but the rat is definetly going to feed the magma.

Animal stockpile only seems to keep captures that are in their cage/trap.

However, thanks to you telling me how to dispose of the rat without the cage, I think I can figure out something with a 2x1 pit two z-levels deep. I'll put a hatched staircase in for later access.

Now that I've taken care of my immediate cage shortage, I think I'll experiment with pits and taming. See if rats are good for anything- i think I once did get lizard meat, but I'm not sure about that.

Since I can't issue a command from the kennel to capture a large, breedable animal, do you have any suggestions for capturing herbivores? If I'm pointed in the right direction I'll generally wiki out the details. I'll experiment meanwhile and see what I can do. Maybe I'll need a few mechanisms, or wall the horses in first so I don't have to chase them down.

Thanks again.

If anyone wants to suggest an overly elaborate death trap for feline collaborators, I'll set it up and share the results. I should be able to handle a simple execution well enough, though. But if you think the only thing keeping cats from eating us is a size issue, and wish to build a better cat trap!

I'm curious whether cats will go after trained or trapped vermin. My only idea at the moment involves putting a wild vermin at the bottom of a pit near the magma vent. When a cat comes in after it, I shut the hatch and open a channel for the lava to wipe them both out.

Feel free to invent the better cat trap- though it doesn't have to be an old fashioned trap, just an entertaining means of execution.

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 Bloat325, ADDITIONAL LIQUID TYPES, (Future): Candidates for new flowing "liquids" include sand, oil, mud, blood of various sorts, slime, farm products like grain and beer for the beer fountain. Only a limited number of materials from plant raws like beer

Jreengus

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Re: What to do with trapped vermin?
« Reply #3 on: December 15, 2007, 07:35:00 pm »

not sure if vermin will go through door, if they dont this may work, not 100% certain.

code:
 
##~##
##~##
>.DV#
#####

#=wall
~=water
>=up stair
.=floor
D=pet passable door
V=vermin


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