FarmVille Cows ask: Should cow breeding go the way of pigs and sheep?

Zynga's FarmVille Cows fan page asks us a very interesting question this evening - Would you like to see Cow Breeding in FarmVille change to be similar to Sheep and Pig breeding, or are you fine with the randomized system currently in place? They ask the question via a quick poll that you can answer on their official fan page. It's a yes or no question, and as of right now, the overwhelming majority of users are stating that yes, they would like to see Cow Breeding change.

Actually, it's a bit of an odd setup. It seems as though the Cows (err, Zynga) have forgotten that Cow Breeding exists in the first place. Sure, it's not a great system, as it relies solely on luck when having both Cows and a Bull inside a Dairy Farm, but you can receive calves through that manner. The question's wording here makes it seem as though Breeding is impossible in the game altogether, but we can only imagine, then, that the question refers to the Love Potion / Sheep Breeding method of Breeding, rather than anything more simplistic.

Am I reading too much into this? Perhaps, but if, at the end of the day, this poll allows me to manually breed as many pink and purple calves as I want, then over-dramatize events I will!

Would you like to see Cow Breeding change in FarmVille to a more manual process? What about Horse Breeding? Are there any other animals you would like to breed?

FarmVille: Breed or adopt pigs to receive points and unlock new patterns

A huge update has been added to the Pig Pen and Pig Breeding feature in FarmVille. It's not a huge update in terms of changing how you breed pigs, as that has remained the same; rather, this upgrade adds a point system to the feature. As you breed pigs, or even adopt pigs from friends, you'll receive points. As you level yourself up as a "Pig Breeder," you'll unlock new patterns that could potentially be passed down to piglets. I guess now we know why all of those awesome patterns were recently added to the game.

Right now, it seems like there are just two ways to earn points: either by successfully breeding a Boar and Sow and raising a Piglet, or by sharing a Piglet with friends and having that Piglet adopted. While you might feel tempted to immediately start breeding your pigs, know that this feature is slowly rolling out to users, so you won't want to waste your Love Potions until you know you'll actually earn points.

Meet us behind the break to see what new patterns are available and to see just how much breeding you'll have to do to earn them. While the actual ability to earn points for breeding is still slowly rolling out, every user has access to the adoption points. You'll earn 3 points for simply adopting a Piglet, while your friends will also earn 3 points when you do. Remember, even if you put a Piglet up for adoption, no one earns any points if no one actually adopts the animal. As you work your way through the levels, you'll have access to new patterns:

Level 5: Checkered Pig Pattern
Level 10 Heart Pig Pattern
Level 15 Flower Pig Pattern
Level 20: Racing Stripe Pig Pattern
Level 25: Spiral Pattern
Level 30: Moon Pattern

Since this addition relies on lots and lots of breeding to earn points, and the easiest way to guarantee success is by using Love Potions, you can be sure that Zynga has added new ways to earn Love Potions as well. For one, you'll be able to unlock prizes in addition to the new patterns as you level up, with some prizes being free Love Potions. In addition, you'll be able to - wait for it - sacrifice pigs to the Pig Breeding altar to receive Love Potions as well. Ok, perhaps it isn't as sinister as all that, but you can "trade-in" existing pigs (say, if a Piglet didn't turn out looking as cute as you'd like) for Love Potions all the same.

To give you a better idea of how you'll level up, let's take a look at leveling from the first level to Level 2. You'll earn three points for each Piglet you breed on your land, and as you breed Piglets you'll earn either Love Potions or Bottles as prizes. For this example, you'll earn two bottles for the first two successfully breeding attempts you complete, and will then earn a Love Potion for making it to level 2. To be clear, you must breed three times (or earn nine points) to make it to level 2.

From there, it's more of the same, as you earn two Bottles and one Love Potion per level. That may not sound like much, but remember to trade in your excess pigs and you'll do just fine.

Have you received the update to Pig Breeding on your farm? Even if you haven't, will the addition of a points and level system make you want to breed more Pigs? Would you like a similar system to come to Sheep Breeding?

FarmVille: Green Spots Boar and Yellow Spots Boar now available for Pig Breeding

In celebration of the changes currently rolling out in FarmVille's Pig Breeding feature, Zynga has released an unusual afternoon update to the market, which sees two new Boars added to the animals tab. You can now purchase either the Green Spots Boar or the Yellow Spots Boar for 30 Farm Cash. Oddly, the names of these creatures only tell half of the story, as your Green Spots Boar is actually predominately orange, and the Yellow Spots Boar is practically entirely purple (not that I'm complaining - just look at how cute they are!).

Both of these Boars will allow you to breed similar looking Piglets, and you have even more incentive to do so now, as you'll soon be able to earn points for each Piglet bred and kept on your farm. Remember, even if you happen to receive a rather nasty looking Piglet, you'll also be able to trade that "dud" in for Love Potions - not a bad deal.

Are these Boars worth 30 Farm Cash? You tell us - will you purchase of these for your farm, or are you more of a Sheep Breeder?

FarmVille Pig Pen / Pig Breeding Goals: Everything you need to know

Tonight's FarmVille update brought with it a three part goal series surrounding all things Pig - from the simple Pig Pen to Pig Breeding. Goal one is called "To Catch a Piglet," and is incredibly simple to complete:

Complete your Pig Pen
Visit 5 Neighbors
Plant an Apple Tree

Luckily, you don't have to actually do anything once you get to your neighbors' farms, so just visit five low-level players (as their farms will load faster) and move on. The Apple Tree can be purchased from the store for just 325 coins from the market. For finishing this first goal, you'll receive an Orange Tiger Boar, 200 XP and 1,500 coins. Excuse me for a moment while I squeal over how cute this little fella is.

Meet us behind the break for how to complete the next two goals in this series.


For the second goal, "A Few Piglets More," you'll need to help Angus learn more about pig breeding. You'll do this through breeding some pigs of your own. Remember, this is actually a fairly good requirement, even if it does require some Love Potions to finish quickly, as it will help you earn points and potentially unlock patterns via the new points system.

Breed 5 Piglets
Harvest 200 Spinach
Get 6 Piggy Toys

The Piggy Toys are earned through a general news post that you can post to your wall, asking all of your friends at once to help you. Meanwhile, notice that it doesn't say anything about actually growing the Piglets to adults, so you can just breed them and move on if you don't have enough Bottles on hand right now. For completing this second goal, you'll receive 200 XP, 5 Love Potions, 10 Bottles and 1,500 coins.

Finally, the third goal is called "Bringing Up Piggy," and it asks you to raise a few of those Piglets that you bred in the last quest.

Raise 3 Piglets
Buy 1 Pig Topiary
Harvest your Pig Pen

Hopefully, you haven't already harvested your Pig Pen for the day, as you'll need to wait until the next day for it to recharge. Either way, you'll need 30 Bottles in total to raise your three Piglets, while you'll need 1,700 coins to purchase a single Pig Topiary. For completing this final goal, you'll receive 200 XP, 1,500 coins, and a Pig playing in a mud pit.

All told, these are three fairly simple goals, if the final two are a bit time-consuming. Hopefully, breeding these five Piglets will help you get well on your way to unlocking new patterns for future breeding attempts, and you'll be able to fill your farm with cute little Pigs of all colors and patterns!

What do you think of tonight's goals? Have you already built a Pig Pen on both of your farms, or will you be stuck from the very first goal?