Build a Greenhouse

If you’re going to farm, one of the best ways to keep seagulls at bay is to build a simple “greenhouse” around and above your crop plots. To defend attacks, you’ll need to build a 2x2 structure with 4 walls and 4 wooden roof pieces; seagulls can clip through 4 wooden roof corner pieces.

Of course, you can build a larger structure, but 2x2 will house 4 small plots and 2 medium plots, a good starting point for farming. Large plots won’t really benefit from anything around them at all. 

Regardless of the greenhouse size you ultimately settle on, the problem with greenhouses is that they take up a good amount of space on your raft. They aren’t the most aesthetically pleasing solutions either. An alternative is the tried and true scarecrow. 

Unlock the Scarecrow

To unlock the scarecrow, research planks, palm leaves, nails, and plastic at the Research Table. Once the scarecrow is unlocked, look for the blueprint under the Food/Water tab in your inventory. You’ll need the following materials to build it:

5 Planks. 3 Palm Leaf. 3 Nails. 3 Plastic.  

Scarecrows act as a buffer between seagulls and crops, and they can be attacked three times before they are destroyed, and you’ll have to build another one. It’s a vicious, grating cycle. To keep that from happening too often, you can shoo the birds away by simply approaching them, stabbing them with a spear, or shooting them with a bow and arrow. The latter two options will give you some feathers and raw drumsticks if you kill the bird. 

Eventually, you can unlock the advanced scarecrow, which is able to withstand the seagulls’ attacks. The blueprint can be purchased with Trash Cubes and Trade Coin at Trading Posts on large islands after reaching Tier 3 reputation. 

Now that you know how to deal with seagulls eating your crops and defend their attacks, you’ll have a farm for passive food and water sources on your raft. Fishing may be simpler and require less supervision, but farming is a nice change of pace for those patient enough to take it on. For more, head over to our Raft guides hub.