The Slime Hutch has undergone some significant changes in the newest Stardew Valley patch 1.6 and players can actually make a reasonably large profit by farming Slimes.
Stardew Valley has a number of farm buildings for purchase, most of which serve the purpose of rearing farm animals. The Slime Hutch technically falls into that criteria, but it’s used to raise Slimes. These monsters can be either bred or culled outright for their drops.
Construction of the Slime Hutch unlocks several new gameplay mechanics involving the breeding and mating of Slimes. Considering raising slimes wasn’t financially viable prior to version 1.6, this is a night-and-day difference.
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Stardew Valley 1.6 makes raising, breeding, and farming Slimes viable
The Slime Hutch received a variety of buffs in Stardew Valley version 1.6 that make it a scalable source of revenue and worth doing for veteran players. This was achieved in a few different ways.
The exterior size of the Slime Hutch has been significantly reduced from 11×6 tiles to 7×4 tiles on the map, bringing it in line with the other animal-rearing buildings such as the Barn. This reduced footprint now makes the Slime Hutch more appealing on map types with limited farm layout space. The interior size has remained the same, measuring 16×8 for a total area of 128 tiles. Six of those tiles are permanently locked by the presence of four water troughs and two props.
While the free Slime Incubator takes up a tile, it can now be either moved or removed entirely, since patch 1.6.
The Slime Hutch can house up to 20 Slimes, though only 10 tiles need to be dedicated towards space for the monsters to occupy. The remaining 111 tiles can be used for any other purpose, including corralling the Slimes, storage, and automation of Slime breeding functions.
How to breed Slimes
Slimes are bred by incubating Slime Eggs for 4,000 minutes in the Slime Incubator. Coopmaster, the level 10 Farming Skill unlock in the Rancher profession, can halve that incubation time. The first egg is supplied for free by Marlon immediately after purchasing the Slime Hutch.
Construction of the Slime Hutch activates a 1% chance that any Slime killed will drop a Slime Egg of its color. These eggs have a sale value of between 1,000g to 8,000g depending on color, but players should avoid doing this until filling their Slime Hutch.
Once enough Slimes are present inside the Slime Hutch, the monsters will produce a Slime Ball each day. Each Slime Ball occupies a single tile space, but will not spawn on crafted flooring. This quirk can be used to safely limit where Slime Balls appear, by strategically laying down flooring only within a penned area containing the Slimes.
Slime Balls can be opened to spawn between 10 and 21 Slime items. They also have a 33% chance to drop Petrified Slime. 100 Slime items can be put into the Slime Egg-Press equipment, which will create a single Slime Egg after 1,200 minutes. These Slime Eggs can potentially be of any of the four major color groups, green, blue, red, and purple, with green having the highest chance to spawn.
How to get a Slime Egg-Press
The Slime Egg-Press crafting recipe unlocks at combat level 6. The Bookseller may also sell a ready-to-use Slime Egg-Press in exchange for two Monster Compendiums, but only after the book’s power has been claimed once. With a mere 0.05% chance to drop from monsters, this is a less than reliable way to acquire the Slime Egg-Press.
Slimes can mate with each other to produce offspring in the Slime Hutch. Male Slimes are visually distinct from female Slimes, with males having an antenna with a small ball at the end. The male will pursue the female, and if both display a red heart, the mating will successfully produce a baby Slime.
The color of the baby Slime is random but is influenced by the colors of the parent Slimes. Player presence within the Slime Hutch will lead to more frequent Slime reproduction as well as faster maturing of Slime babies.
How to make money with the Slime Hutch in Stardew Valley
Players can make money with a Slime Hutch in Stardew Valley by cultivating Slime Balls and selling the items that drop from them.
In order to spawn a single Slime Ball each day, there have to be at least five Slimes within the Slime Hutch, and at least one of the water troughs must be full. The latter can be accomplished with a Watering Can, but can also be automated by placing a Sprinkler within the appropriate range.
With a full complement of Slimes, a Slime Hutch can produce up to four Slime Balls per day. The Slime Hutch is good for the controlled rearing of Slimes and is the only guaranteed source for Slime Balls. These offer the highest chance (33%) to obtain Petrified Slime, outside of Geodes (3.125%).
Aside from that, it is preferable to construct a freeform Slime corral outside in the open. Fencing of some kind will be necessary, as Slimes can escape overnight.
Slimes reared out in the open will only reproduce if the farm map is of the Wilderness type. It is also possible to unlock Slime reproduction in-session on any map by visiting the Dark Shrine of Night Terrors in the Witch’s Hut, and offering up a Strange Bun to trigger the spawning of monsters on the farm.
There is no discernable population cap on Slimes raised outside, and if allowed to reproduce fruitfully, an exterior Slime pen can breed hundreds of Slimes for culling and collecting their color-specific drops. Everything from Wood to Iridium Ore can potentially be harvested by breeding Slime.
Slimes can be bred and farmed without a Slime Hutch
Players can corral wild Slimes on their farm by using fences or other items to trap them in the fields.
The Slimes bred in the Slime Hutch are as hostile as the ones in the wild and will damage the player. While the Slime Charmer Ring will effectively protect against damage from Slimes, the requirement of killing 1,000 Slimes.
There are a number of ways to raise Slimes without ever coming into contact with the monsters. Fencing is the obvious choice of course, but it decays over time. The Gold Clock can mitigate that but is an end-game building priced at 10 million g’s. Statues and decorative plants do not decay, but have no real utility.
Use Chests, Kegs, and Preserves Jars to trap Slimes for impromptu Slime farming
Stardew Valley players can create a jerry-rigged Slime farming operation using items. The best options are Chests, Kegs, and Preserves Jars which serve a dual purpose of corralling the Slimes without requiring upkeep, while also serving as storage or production.
The Slimes do not require direct contact with the water troughs, and so the minimum 10 tiles required to keep them penned can be dedicated to any one of the corners, or along any wall. Good sprinkler positioning can negate the need for daily watering trips to the Slime Hutch. The Slime Incubator can now be picked up and moved, and only really needs to be inside the Slime Hutch while incubating Slime Eggs. The Slime Egg-Press does not need to be inside the Slime Hutch either.
Placing crafted flooring exclusively within the Slime pen will force Slime Balls to spawn in any bare open tile outside it, making harvesting the drops hassle-free. While only a maximum of four will spawn per day, the Slime Balls do not decay, and can safely accumulate for a few days until the player returns.
This freeform setup can serve as a passive, practically hands-free income source.
