Hunting — Animals

Overview

Hunting is the most reliable method for obtaining high-calorie animal fat and meat, which are essential for maintaining the "Stuffed" energy status in DayZ. Mastering this skill ensures a sustainable food source, drastically reducing your dependence on scavenging in high-risk residential areas.

How It Works

Animals in DayZ follow set spawn points across the map, triggered by player proximity. Once you track an animal, you must kill it using a firearm or bow, harvest its meat using a sharp tool, and properly cook it before consumption to avoid food poisoning. The game calculates meat yield based on the animal species, with larger game like stags and cows providing significantly more calories than chickens or rabbits.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Locate an animal spawn area using the iZurvive map tool to identify frequent encounter zones like meadows or forest edges.
2. Approach your target while crouched or prone to minimize noise, as animals will flee if they detect movement or sound.
3. Aim for the head or upper chest to ensure a clean, one-shot kill; body shots often cause the animal to run away, requiring you to track blood trails.
4. Once the animal is downed, equip a sharp tool such as a Combat Knife, Hunting Knife, or Kitchen Knife.
5. Stand over the carcass, look at the body, and hold the primary action button to "Skin and Quarter" the animal.
6. Interact with the carcass again to "Quarter" the animal to yield individual steaks and bones.
7. Collect the meat, fat, and bones before moving to a secluded area to prepare your fire.

Tips

• Use a suppressed weapon like an Mlock or VSS to kill animals without alerting nearby players to your position.
• Always harvest the animal fat; it is the most calorie-dense item in the game and can be used as fuel for cooking meat in a pot.
• Check the wind direction; animals have a detection radius, and if you are downwind, you can often get within 20 meters without them fleeing.
• Use the bones to craft improvised fishing hooks or bone knives if you are lacking metal tools.
• When cooking, never eat meat with "bloody hands" or you will contract Salmonella; wash your hands at a water pump first.

Common Mistakes

• Chasing a wounded animal across open terrain, which makes you a loud, easy target for snipers.
• Attempting to hunt in high-traffic areas like military bases, where gunfire will draw infected and hostile survivors.
• Forgetting to wash hands after skinning, leading to instant sickness that drains your hydration and energy rapidly.
• Failing to properly cook meat; raw or partially cooked meat carries a high risk of illness.

Related Items

• Hunting Knife
• Blaze Rifle
• Improvised Shelter
• Matches
• Cooking Pot
• Animal Fat

Related Guides

• Skinning
• Cooking
• Fire Crafting
• Tracking and Stealth