The best Auto Butcher setup in Probably Stolen is Age mode set just past adulthood for fish, and Weight mode in steps of 400 g for rats, with every safety toggle left on. Keep the default breeder protection, mark or name the animals you never want taken, and empty its tray daily so no cuts are lost.
The machine’s own text says it “harvests the animals of its cage or fish tank that match its settings, every night, into its 10 x 10 tray”. Here is how to set it for each animal, as of patch 1.0.0.12. Questing Goose Studio’s patch notes do not document the Auto Butcher’s modes or defaults, so treat our settings as a starting point and check the machine’s menu in your game.
How the Auto Butcher Works
- It runs every night after the animals have eaten and grown, and the Butcher button runs it straight away.
- It uses no power and takes up 3 x 3 cells.
- It always spares breeders. By default it keeps the two youngest females and the youngest male.
- It never takes marked or named animals. Mark your best breeders and anything you want to keep, such as a Sturgeon.
- Its tray holds 10 x 10. Cuts that do not fit are lost, which is the most common way to waste meat with it.
The Four Modes
| Mode | What it harvests |
|---|---|
| Off | Nothing |
| Carcasses only | Animals that have already died |
| Weight | Animals at or above the weight you set |
| Age | Animals at or above the age you set |
Best Settings for Fish Tanks
On a fish tank, Weight runs from 100 g to 5,000 g (default 600 g) and Age from 1 to 100 days (default 20).
Use Age mode for Tilapia. A grown Tilapia weighs about 450 g, under the 600 g default, so a Weight setting left on default may never catch one. Age is simpler: set it between day 8, when a Tilapia becomes an adult, and day 27, when old age starts. The default of 20 already sits in that window, and 10 to 15 turns the tank over faster.
Eels: Age 15 to 30. Eels are adults from day 10 and reach old age at day 36. They never breed, so harvesting them on time costs you nothing.
Sturgeon: mark it, or turn the machine off. A live Sturgeon grows caviar, which is worth more than its meat. Our guide to when to butcher fish explains how to milk it with the Surgery Toolset first.
The fish toggles:
| Toggle | Default | Our setting | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spare egg layers | On | On | Keeps the females that refill the tank |
| Fillet carcasses | On | On | Turns fish that died of old age into fillets instead of waste |
| Cuts to dispenser | Off | On only for carnivores | Sends fish cuts to the tank’s dispenser while it has room, to feed Eels or Sturgeon |
| Collect roe | Off | Off | Collecting roe stops the tank from breeding |
Best Settings for Rat Cages
On a cage, Weight runs from 100 g to 1,000 g (default 400 g) and Age from 1 to 30 days (default 10).
Use Weight mode at 400 g or 800 g. Rat meat is cut by weight: one Raw Meat (Standard) per 400 g, then Raw Meat (Small) per 200 g, a Morsel per 100 g and a Small Morsel per 50 g. Setting the threshold on a multiple of 400 g means each rat comes out as full Standard cuts instead of a pile of morsels. Since young rats grow fastest, 400 g turns the colony over quickly, while 800 g suits a line bred for Growth.
The cage toggles all default to on, and they should stay that way:
- Spare pregnant. Keeps the next litter coming.
- Cull sick. Removes ill rats before they spread disease.
- Cull prion. Prion disease never goes away, and our rats guide explains why it ruins a colony.
Never route rat cuts back into rat feed, since rat meat is what spreads prions.
Where to Get an Auto Butcher
It costs about 400 Credits. Dr. Jackson sells it on every visit once you own the Ranching or Aquaculture upgrade, the Retired Rat Rancher always brings one, and the Retired Aquafarmer brings one on some visits once you have Aquaculture II. Our shop upgrades guide covers Wild’s Network, where those upgrades and retired suppliers come from.
Tips That Save Meat
- Empty the tray every morning. A full tray throws away the night’s extra cuts.
- Sell fast. Put fillets and meat in your display window for food buyers, or use them as feed.
- Feed well. A fish only ages on fed nights, so a hungry tank never reaches your Age setting.
- Clean the water. Our heavy metals guide covers keeping a tank healthy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Auto Butcher setting for Tilapia? Age mode, somewhere between day 10 and day 20. A grown Tilapia can stay under the default 600 g Weight setting.
Will the Auto Butcher kill my breeding fish or rats? Not by default. It keeps the two youngest females and the youngest male, and it never takes marked or named animals.
Why is the Auto Butcher not taking anything? Your threshold is probably above what the animals reach. Lower the Weight, or switch to Age mode.
Does the Auto Butcher need power? No. It uses no power and runs every night on its own.
Why did I lose some cuts? The 10 x 10 tray was full. Cuts that do not fit are lost, so empty it daily.