Rust's LIVESTOCK Update Adds Cows, Sheep, and Milking
Rust's economy already runs on player-versus-player raids and scarce resources, so livestock and a stable merchant add a second, quieter resource loop that the update pairs with genetic traits and breeding systems borrowed from its plant mechanics.
Key Facts
- Facepunch Studios released the LIVESTOCK update for the PC (Steam) version of Rust on October 2, 2026.
- The LIVESTOCK update adds cows and sheep, which produce milk and wool, and both can be sold to ranch NPCs.
- Milk in Rust can be refrigerated for four hours to unlock skimming, which yields skim milk and cream.
- Wool can be sold to merchants for up to 400 units at once, with up to three offers; declining the third offer stops trade for 15 minutes.
- The LIVESTOCK update also adds a biofuel generator, new fencing, and small animals including frogs, rabbits, squirrels, sea turtles, crabs, and jellyfish.
Reporting from 2 sources: Automaton, Game Spark.
Facepunch Studios released the LIVESTOCK update for the Steam version of Rust on October 2, 2026. The update adds cows and sheep to the open-world survival game. Players can raise the animals for milk and wool, and they can still harvest meat, bone, and hide from them the way they do with existing creatures. Milk can be drunk as an item or refrigerated for four hours, which unlocks skimming and produces skim milk and cream, with cream described as the stronger consumable. Sheep produce wool, and grown animals can be sold to ranch NPCs; wool offers are based on the amount brought in, up to 400 units, and animal offers are based on genetic quality. Both sale types allow up to three offers, and declining the third makes the merchant refuse trade for 15 minutes. New fences, a biofuel generator, and small animals including frogs, rabbits, squirrels, sea turtles, crabs, and jellyfish also arrive.
Cows and sheep both produce dung, and like other animals they can be harvested for meat, bone, and hide. Several ways to capture wild livestock exist, and the methods differ in efficiency, though all are intuitive to understand.
Livestock carry genetic traits and needs like plants, and can be bred to seek out god clones. The gene behavior is not identical to plants, so existing techniques may not always apply.
Milk and cream feed into new crafting recipes. Milk generally extends the duration of tea effects, while cream increases their strength.
The biofuel generator converts organic matter, including raw meat and rotten meat, into low-grade fuel, but it requires manual stirring. The next stir comes about 30 minutes after materials are inserted. Connecting an IO notifies the player when it is time to stir, and higher-calorie items yield more low-grade fuel.
The update also overhauls sandbag barricades and adds explorable power grid route rooms, alongside bug fixes and comfort adjustments. A new cosmetic DLC, the Plague Doctor Hazmat Suit, releases with the update. Rust is 50 percent off for the Steam Autumn Sale, and the game is available on Steam.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.