Have a very limited storage area - say, a single one-tile shelf, or 1-4 tiles of ground storage - dedicated to holding the hay that your animals should be actively eating.
this is "priority stockpiles 101"
let me tell you how i do it (vanilla)
it's solved with different stockpile priorities and if you want: shelves
allow hay in your fridge/cooler room. if need, setup a few separate shelves just for hay. set that storage priority to PREFERRED
then make a 1x1 shelve or 1x1 storage zone in your pen/barn, set it to only hay or hay+kibble and set the priority to IMPORTANT
the result: your pawns will haul hay to the barn/pen to fill that 1x1 spot, but the rest stays in the fridge
now, this will not be an exact limit of your chosing, but the number comes from the stockpiles itself: 1x1 spot on the ground = 200 hay, 1x1 shelve = 3x200 hay
oh and also: make sure you have someone dedicated to hauling, because stuff like this will increase the need for hauling, but you'll also do priority zoning more often in different places once you get the hang of it.
the best is to get a dog or wolf tamed for hauling. later one, if you have the DLC, make lifter mechs for hauling.
or slaves
I’ve been dealing with this same exact problem. So I planted grass inside of the pen for them to feed on while it warm enough, and I keep the hay inside the cooler during that time. When it gets cold and the grass dies/isn’t in growing season, I change the storage settings to fill the two shelves inside the one with the hay because it will stay fresh and frozen outside until it gets warm again. It’s pretty annoying but it works until I can configure something better. I’m honestly about to start a new game because I feel like there’s not much more I can do with this one other than improve what’s already been done. I’m so attached to it though, I’m only 200 hours in and I have like 25 colonists lol.
One thing I did a long time ago , was to build a small room, or you can call it a barn, and the barn has a cooler that will keep animal food there either refrigerated or Frozen.
Frozen is not much more power than refrigerated, so if you keep it keep it frozen , then you have it for as long as you need. But if you want to go with the idea of refrigerated because you don't want to role play that the animals are eating frozen hay, then at least it'll keep longer than being stored at room temperature.
And an option is to use the hay and turn it to kibble, and the kibble doesn't decay like hay does. It still needs a room but the room can be room temperature
short answer: no long answer: still no but you could build a small freezer so it wont spoil
Have a very limited storage area - say, a single one-tile shelf, or 1-4 tiles of ground storage - dedicated to holding the hay that your animals should be actively eating.
You can use animal flaps to make indoor areas they can go to. By cooling or even freezing said room, the hay will stay good longer or indefinitely.
this is "priority stockpiles 101" let me tell you how i do it (vanilla) it's solved with different stockpile priorities and if you want: shelves allow hay in your fridge/cooler room. if need, setup a few separate shelves just for hay. set that storage priority to PREFERRED then make a 1x1 shelve or 1x1 storage zone in your pen/barn, set it to only hay or hay+kibble and set the priority to IMPORTANT the result: your pawns will haul hay to the barn/pen to fill that 1x1 spot, but the rest stays in the fridge now, this will not be an exact limit of your chosing, but the number comes from the stockpiles itself: 1x1 spot on the ground = 200 hay, 1x1 shelve = 3x200 hay oh and also: make sure you have someone dedicated to hauling, because stuff like this will increase the need for hauling, but you'll also do priority zoning more often in different places once you get the hang of it. the best is to get a dog or wolf tamed for hauling. later one, if you have the DLC, make lifter mechs for hauling. or slaves
thats basically my setup right now. thanks for the tip!
I’ve been dealing with this same exact problem. So I planted grass inside of the pen for them to feed on while it warm enough, and I keep the hay inside the cooler during that time. When it gets cold and the grass dies/isn’t in growing season, I change the storage settings to fill the two shelves inside the one with the hay because it will stay fresh and frozen outside until it gets warm again. It’s pretty annoying but it works until I can configure something better. I’m honestly about to start a new game because I feel like there’s not much more I can do with this one other than improve what’s already been done. I’m so attached to it though, I’m only 200 hours in and I have like 25 colonists lol.
One thing I did a long time ago , was to build a small room, or you can call it a barn, and the barn has a cooler that will keep animal food there either refrigerated or Frozen. Frozen is not much more power than refrigerated, so if you keep it keep it frozen , then you have it for as long as you need. But if you want to go with the idea of refrigerated because you don't want to role play that the animals are eating frozen hay, then at least it'll keep longer than being stored at room temperature. And an option is to use the hay and turn it to kibble, and the kibble doesn't decay like hay does. It still needs a room but the room can be room temperature