Why can't I catch birds?

[Juno7]

Well then...Playing with Sims in Appaloosa Plains was perfectly fine, I could catch every type of minor pet.

Then I went to Sunset Valley, placed a few pet spawners around on some lots, and started to play with one of my Sims. I could catch rodents, turtles, lizards, and snakes just fine, but whern I got to a bird (both small and large) the only option I had was to watch. Even with the most common birds I had no choice to befriend or catch. Every bird was like this.

...So. Why do you think this is? I'd really love to have birds in Sunset Valley.

[Listen-to-my-Geekness]

I don't know the answer to this, but I'm going to try it myself and see if it works for me. Might be a mod or other sort of download interfering with it, or possibly just something wrong with the game/computer itself.

[Shimrod101]

My sim has never been able to catch the birds. The cat catches them and brings them home.

[maven2379]

My sim caught a bird the other day, I told him to go befriend the bird, and when I checked in on him a little later on he had the bird on his shoulder. It was just the parrot that you can stock the bird cage with, but now he has a pet bird.

My other sims on the other hand are not as lucky and none of them have actually caught a bird yet, they don't even get the option to "catch" the bird usually the only option that pops up is "watch" the stupid thing. Of course I haven't really tried all that hard to catch a bird either, only a couple times when my sim was out and about and I saw a bird once it was a falcon, and I don't remember what it was the second time.

[VerDeTerre]

That is sooo cool, maven! I want a bird! Too bad we couldn't catch the falcon and going hunting or catch a bird that could carry messages. I think I must want some other type of game that takes the Sims and then crosses over to something more adventurous. *sigh*

[Srikandi]

There are birds in The Sims Medieval that can attack enemies (falcons) and search for treasure like Pets dogs (parrots).

The birds in Pets are catchable, though... though I think you need to complete a collection challenge to get the rarer ones. I've caught both large and small birds using the "befriend" interaction, though I've also run into a few birds where that wasn't available (yet).

And large birds at least are not completely inert -- they will fly around the house, ride around on your shoulder and you can teach them to say a lot of different things, and build charisma at the same time :)

[BGatot]

I think some species of the birds are just not catch-able. But there are birds that are catchable. I guess when it's catchable then you'll see the 'befriend bird' option, which will let your sim catch the bird. Though they seem to die too easily, seemingly for unknown reason.

[VerDeTerre]

...there are birds that are catchable...they seem to die too easily, seemingly for unknown reason. :(

I haven't really played with any of the smaller animals. The horses and the unicorn have taken up most of my time and I just started playing with cats and dogs. There's still so much to explore!

[varpunen]

Though they seem to die too easily, seemingly for unknown reason.

This is why I/my sim stopped collecting birds. They die after only a few days. I love birds and I even had a parrot in real life once but it seems that my simmies will have to do without. I rather see those birds alive in the wild, than dead in my sim's livingroom. :(

Come on EA, large parrots live longer than horses, for crying out loud. :wtf:

[KajaB]

Xml mod anyone?

[~MadameButterfly~]

There is a mod for this (the pets dying too fast) over at Crazy Town. Requires registration, I believe.

http://www.the-isz.com/theisz/index.php?/topic/10159-minor-pets-age-escape-feeding-tweaks-requires-pets-ep-update-11-5-11/

[anie_1981]

There is a mod (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=459699), that lets minor pets live very long (combined with other option). I have it, and not a single one died since then. And that's importand for me, because I wanna teach all my large birds to say all the words. My grey parrot, Arthas, needs to learn the last one :) And about a catching bird thing, there is a hidden skill, called "Wild Animal Friend", or so. If you don't have high enough level, you won't cache rare bird.

[tangie0906]

I downloaded the faster skill/hidden skill mod from this site and played my animal lover sim for awhile. There appear to be 6 levels to the 'animal friend' hidden trait. Sims with the Animal Lover trait will learn the skill faster.

Interacting with the wild animals, including using the 'watch' interaction, increases the hidden skill. There may also be a common to rare sequence that involves the experience your sim has, but my sim has only caught one hedgehog so she doesn't have much experience catching the minor critters.

[varpunen]

There is a mod (http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=459699), that lets minor pets live very long (combined with other option). I have it, and not a single one died since then.

I hadn't noticed that. Thank you, Anie_1981. :) *happily runs away to catch some birds*