Poultry Egg Station
Complete guide to the Poultry Egg Station in Starsand Island, an automation station that automatically collects eggs from chickens, ducks, and ostriches in coop enclosures, covering unlock cost, placement, compatible animals, and integration with other ranching automation.
Overview
The Poultry Egg Station is a ranching automation device in Starsand Island that automatically collects eggs from chickens, ducks, and ostriches housed in coop enclosures. Without this station, players must manually walk through each coop and pick up eggs one by one, a daily chore that becomes tedious when managing multiple coops with many birds. The Poultry Egg Station handles this task passively, storing collected eggs in its internal inventory until the player retrieves them.
How to Unlock
The Poultry Egg Station blueprint is available at the Intermediate Rancher profession tier. After completing the Junior Rancher trials at Green Pasture Ranch and advancing to Intermediate Rancher, the blueprint appears in the ranch supply terminal. The blueprint costs 4,500 coins, a one-time purchase that allows unlimited crafting of the station.
The Intermediate Rancher tier is typically reached after raising several animal species, producing a quota of animal products, and completing the initial ranching trials. The Rancher Trial Walkthroughs article details the requirements for each tier.
Crafting Recipe
After purchasing the blueprint, the Poultry Egg Station is crafted at Worktable I. The materials are moderately accessible at the Intermediate Rancher stage of the game.
Material | Quantity | Source |
|---|---|---|
Hardwood | 8 | Chop Hardwood trees |
Copper Sheet | 2 | Process at the Cutter |
Fiber | 6 | Harvest Fiber Plants |
Iron Ingot | 2 | Smelt Iron Ore at the Furnace |
Compatible Animals
The Poultry Egg Station collects eggs only from egg-laying poultry species. It does not collect products from mammals or non-egg-laying birds.
Animal | Product Collected | Collection Frequency |
|---|---|---|
Chicken | Chicken Egg | Daily |
Duck | Duck Egg | Daily |
Ostrich | Ostrich Egg | Every 2 days |
Chickens and ducks produce eggs daily, making them the most consistent sources. Ostriches produce eggs every two days, but Ostrich Eggs are significantly more valuable both for selling and for use in cooking recipes. All three species must be housed in a coop-type enclosure (not an open pasture) for the station to function.
Egg Quality and Happiness
The quality of eggs collected depends on the animal's happiness level. Happy chickens produce Large Eggs instead of standard Eggs, happy ducks produce Premium Duck Eggs, and happy ostriches produce Golden Ostrich Eggs. Happiness is influenced by feeding, enclosure cleanliness, social grouping, and items like the Music Box. The Poultry Egg Station collects whatever quality of egg the animal produces; it does not alter quality in any way.
Placement and Operation
The Poultry Egg Station must be placed inside a coop enclosure that houses egg-laying poultry. Placing it outside an enclosure or in an open pasture will not collect any eggs. One station can serve all poultry within the same coop, regardless of how many birds are housed there.
Once placed, the station operates automatically at the start of each in-game day. It scans the enclosure for any uncollected eggs and transfers them into its internal storage. The internal storage holds up to 30 eggs before reaching capacity. If the storage is full, the station stops collecting until the player empties it.
To retrieve collected eggs, interact with the Poultry Egg Station and select "Collect All" to move all stored eggs into your inventory. You can also pick up specific egg types if the station holds a mix of chicken, duck, and ostrich eggs.
Integration with Other Automation
The Poultry Egg Station is one of several ranching automation devices in Starsand Island. Together, these stations eliminate most of the daily manual labor involved in animal care.
Automation Station | Function | Unlock Tier |
|---|---|---|
Feeding Trough | Automatically dispenses feed to animals | Junior Rancher |
Cleaning Pod | Automatically cleans enclosure | Intermediate Rancher |
Poultry Egg Station | Automatically collects eggs | Intermediate Rancher |
Wool Shearing Station | Automatically shears wool from sheep/alpacas | Senior Rancher |
Milking Station | Automatically milks cows/goats | Senior Rancher |
Music Box | Increases animal happiness passively | Senior Rancher |
With a Feeding Trough, Cleaning Pod, and Poultry Egg Station all placed in the same coop, the daily routine for poultry care reduces to a single task: visiting the Poultry Egg Station to collect eggs. Feed restocking and cleaning happen automatically, and eggs are gathered without any manual pickup.
Multiple Coops Strategy
Players who raise poultry in multiple coop enclosures need one Poultry Egg Station per coop. A common ranch layout is to separate chicken, duck, and ostrich coops for easier management and breeding. Each coop gets its own egg station, feeding trough, and cleaning pod.
If you house mixed poultry species in a single large coop, one Poultry Egg Station handles all of them. However, separating species makes it easier to manage breeding pairs and track egg production per species.
Tips
Check the Poultry Egg Station every 2 to 3 in-game days to prevent the 30-egg storage from filling up. A full station means lost production.
Place the station near the coop entrance for easy access during your daily farm rounds.
Pair the Poultry Egg Station with a Feeding Trough and Cleaning Pod in the same coop for a fully automated poultry operation.
Prioritize building this station for coops with the most birds. A coop with 8 chickens produces 8 eggs per day, which is tedious to collect manually but trivial with the station.
Ostrich Eggs are valuable; make sure your ostrich coop has a Poultry Egg Station so you never miss a collection cycle.
The station does not consume power or fuel. Once placed, it runs indefinitely with no maintenance cost.
If you plan to sell eggs as a primary income source, consider building a storage chest right next to each Poultry Egg Station. Collect eggs into the chest, then sell in bulk trips to maximize efficiency.