Your farm isn't just for crops, and you can actually build a barn in Stardew Valley to house animals like cows and pigs. They can be a great source of income, however, in order to buy animals you will need to have the appropriate housing for them. Some smaller animals, like chickens and ducks, live in coops but bigger creatures like cows will need a barn. So here is all you need to know about building and upgrading a barn in Stardew Valley.
Read More: Stardew Valley: How to cook
How to build a barn
Building a barn for your animals is quite simple. So the first thing you need to do is to collect these materials:
- Gold (6000) - Sell crops, fish, seashells, or anything else you can forage to earn enough money.
- Wood (350) - If you've already cleared your farm of trees, you can head down to the forest in the south to fell some.
- Rock (150) - Use a pickaxe to break rocks around your farm, in the forest, or in the mines, to get this material.
When you have these materials, go to the house up by the mountain and see Robin in the carpenter's shop. If Robin is there, you'll be able to interact with her and select "construct farm buildings". But be sure to check out our extensive Stardew Valley character hub so you can work out when Robin will be manning her shop.
To find the barn, click the arrows below the image of the building to search through the options until you come to the barn. When you find it, click on the little hammer icon under the material list to confirm that you want to build this. You'll then be subsequently taken to a screen that shows your farm, and you can select where you want your new barn to be. Moreover, construction on the building will start the next day and you will need to wait 2 more days for it to be completed.
How to upgrade the barn
Your barn-building potential is not realised with just the first build. In fact, the structure can be upgraded twice. So here is the order in which barns can be upgraded;
- Barn
- Big Barn
- Deluxe Barn
As such, each upgrade will allow you to house different barn-dwelling animals like goats or sheep, and additionally, it will allow you to keep more of them since there's far more space. But you need to speak to Robin in the carpenter's shop to upgrade the building each time.
Building a barn can allow you to have more sources of income in Stardew Valley, but it also adds to your ever-growing farmer's life. So while you are building your dream farm, be sure to take a look at our guide on how to build a silo. We also have a guide that shows you how to build a coop for ducks and chickens.