#datapack

Special thanks to Eirian beloved for the datapack assistance @kunehokki

And the actors for granting me their lovely appearances:

A REDESIGN!!

now, you may be looking at that and thinking "hey now, mek. not ALL chickens look like that" and you would be RIGHT! of course, there would be over variants of this chicken (different breeds, if you will) that you would find in other areas; each would have their own behavioral trends, but thats not what im referring to.

what i am getting at is them all having different little cosmetic differences that make them more easily distinguishable, for instance:

9 different comb variations! (even bald rep!)

9 different wattles!! (look at them, so majestic!!)

8 different tail feathers!!! (do not pluck!!!)

do you know what that means?? that means there would be a whole... uh... one second

648 different chickens!!!!!

you know how to any random joe schmoe, a pile of chickens is a pile of chickens, but to Farmer Dale, thats Chirp, Chooch, Chiki, Cha-Cha, and Char all ganging up on Cheery? now (if you care to) you can be the farmer who can tell all their chickens apart, even without a nametag!

"but mek," i hear you ask, "why do i care which chicken is which? theyre all the same!!" well, first off, they arent in my heart. you may jot that down if you please. secondly, NOT ANYMORE THEYRE NOT!!

MECHANICS

my current plan is to give each mob 3 core stats that it can vary from other mobs of its variant in. of course, other variants of the same mob would probably have different base stats of course, but lets keep it simpler for now. some examples of base stats could be as follows:

cows could vary in hearts, protectiveness, and milkiness. sheep could vary in hearts, wooliness, and coziness. pigs could vary in hearts, comfy pose, and inquisitiveness.

and chickens? well, heres what im workin on so far:

EGGINESS - by default we can change it so that chickens generally pop an egg out every day as the average. we can even make it so that its about once every 10 minutes if you go to sleep on time every night. (oooh, interesting)

TIDINESS - increases the amount the chicken will set aside a little self-care time. the average can be around twice a day. why is this important? well, because when a chicken preens itself, it heals whatever damage its taken and drops a feather!! (finally, a reliable way to get them without hurting them!)

BROODINESS - broodiness is a new status a chicken can be in that has a chance of happening every full moon, lets say around a 5% chance. if the chicken does become broody, then itll hang around its nest more, produce more eggs, and become territorial. coming by to take a broody chickens eggs may get you a peck or two!! it might be best to be a little more careful until the new moon comes around and it calms down.

now, there were some things in that list that seem to hint to other mechanics. ill go more into their behavior now:

chickens generally spend most of their time either pecking around in the grass for seeds, nesting, perching, preening or interacting with other chickens. which action they will default to depends on the time of day. these can be generally split into time they are foraging, nesting, perching, and doing social things.

FORAGING - a wandering state. chickens will walk around and peck the ground every so often, eating seeds or bugs or whatever. there is a small chance of chickens leaving biome specific seeds (foreshadowing) around whenever they peck/scratch at the ground.

NESTING - most often done in the morning and evening, if the chicken has a nest claimed the chicken will go to its nest and relax. it will alternate every so often between sleeping, preening, maintaining their nest, and wandering around a small area around their nest. if the chicken does NOT have a nest claimed, it will choose a nearby one. if there is no nest nearby, it will either start making one or skip to the perching state. a chicken deciding to make a new nest will search for a suitable spot, prioritizing elevation, cover, and specific adjacent blocks. (i do also plan on making it so you can make nests for them/move them with silk touch)

PERCHING - while perching, chickens will seek a "comfy" spot to sit. "comfy" spots are dependent on the weather. if it's sunny, a comfy spot is an high up spot that is exposed to sunlight. if its cloudy, it is just a high up spot. if its rainy, the chick en prioritizes cover. if its snowy, it will prioritize cover near other chickens, foliage, or a light source for warmth.

SOCIALIZING - chickens will seek out other chickens, and sometimes other mobs or even players, and exhibit one of a few different behaviors; these include clucking at them, preening them, and following them around.