With the inclusion of the new pipe-able resource, I've begun experimenting with cave ranching or... well... modern-style feed lots. Basically, by keeping my animals in a sunless area, safe from the weather & predators, & then using the new nutrient paste system to process nearly any biomatter into artificial food for my animals.

And it works! But...

It can be grossly inefficient. An automatic feeder meant for prisoners to feed themselves drops a 0.9 nutrition meal, which is fully consumed regardless of whoever eats it. Which is silly & wasteful when a piglet needs less than 0.4 nutrition to stay alive. Plus, there's the problem that sometimes, when animal populations get too big, they begin to form long queues of hungry animals, sometimes risking starvation because the queue is random every time it's open. Now, the solution to the queue problem is, of course, to build more feeders BUT THAT ONLY MAKES THE WASTE PROBLEM WORSE.

May I propose a solution? Nutrient pellets from a nutrient pellet dispenser. Nutrient pellets would basically be kibble, minus the shelf life of course, dispensed akin to meals are the existing tap structure. Or! Nutrient pellets can just fill up a feeder-like structure called the nutrient trough. A multi-square structure that, true to name, allows multiple animals to amble up & eat at once.

Nutrient pellets can be something only created at the trough or the dispense, & require the nutrient paste resource to make. Each pellet is 0.05 nutrition at a weight of 0.04kg, so it's super space/weight inefficient for caravans, lasts only 8 hours when not refrigerated/frozen, & a hassle to haul long distances due to stack size limitations in hauling. But like hay it comes in maximum stacks of 200 so not even a Thrumbo can knock out a full stack in one sitting.

For further balance I propose it take, like, 10.8 nutrition in (12) meals to create a full stack of pellets equal to 10 nutrition. Why? Because something is lost when the pellets are mechnically shaped in the machine, & a tiny bit of nutrition is used to form a smelly enticement that humans typically find revolting. Think about the odors from dog food, except medicine-y & metallic, but your dog goes super nuts for it. So inefficiencies in production are introduced to partially offset the efficiencies gained by consumption, & there can be a very serious mood penalty for human consumption that transcends trans-humanist tenants.

I'm prepared to be shot down, even tho I've seemingly given this way too much thought, lol.