7 Days to Die 3.1 “Henpocalypse”: Chickens, New Recipes and Server Settings
The 7 Days to Die 3.1.0 update, officially named Henpocalypse, is now available in the stable branch. Its headline feature is a complete chicken farming system, supported by new recipes, gameplay adjustments and several fixes for multiplayer and dedicated servers.
The update also expands the Sandbox configuration system. Server administrators can now adjust chicken production, survival needs, infection risk, stack sizes and creature population settings in greater detail. Existing custom presets should be checked after the update, as some older Sandbox Codes may no longer apply every option correctly.
Chicken Farming Comes to the Apocalypse
Henpocalypse introduces a new activity built around capturing and raising chickens. Players must first catch a wild bird, carry it safely back to their base and place it inside the new Chicken Coop workstation.
Once installed and fed with Rekt’s Chicken Feed, made from corn and rotting flesh, the chicken produces a renewable supply of eggs and feathers. The coop can be upgraded through three dedicated tool slots:
- Brooding Lamp: speeds up production and chicken maturation.
- Chicken Run: allows chickens to hunt for insects, reducing feed consumption by 50%.
- Nesting Box: unlocks breeding and adds nesting slots.
Chicken stress: carrying a captured chicken gradually increases its stress level. At 100%, the player drops the bird and a special event may be triggered, ranging from attracting hostile zombies to facing angry chickens. This mechanic can be adjusted through the Sandbox settings.
Four New Recipes with Temporary Bonuses
Chicken farming supports four new food recipes. Each one provides a specific temporary advantage, making the new system useful beyond the regular production of eggs and feathers.
Chicken Nuggets
A filling meal that temporarily removes encumbrance penalties.
Chicken Wings
Temporarily increases melee damage and grants infection immunity.
Ash Chicken Stew
Restores plenty of food without producing a smell that attracts zombies.
Roadrunner Chicken Jerky
Provides a moderate amount of food and temporarily increases running speed.
Gameplay Changes and Dedicated Server Fixes
The update includes several smaller gameplay changes. Zombies can now detect, chase and attack rabbits and chickens. Solar Cells have been added to loot tables so they remain obtainable on worlds where traders are disabled, and trader and loot lists now include the Diamond Blade Tip mod.
Version 3.1 also resolves a number of technical issues relevant to multiplayer communities and server owners, including:
- server-side memory stream exceptions;
- incorrect server browser filters and totals;
- corruption caused by rapidly loading and unloading multiple chunks;
- clients being unable to view results from the command;
- multiplayer invitations not working correctly.
The New 7 Days to Die 3.1 Server Settings
The following options have been added to the Sandbox configuration system. On a dedicated server, these settings are included in the generated Sandbox Code, which can be copied into the property inside .
| SETTING | PURPOSE | SERVER IMPACT |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken Coop Time | Controls production speed. | Changes how quickly coops complete a production cycle. |
| Chicken Coop Yield | Controls output per cycle. | Adjusts the quantity of eggs and feathers produced. |
| Chicken Coop Input | Controls feed consumption. | Adjusts the amount of feed required for each production cycle. |
| Chicken Stress Event | Controls stress-related events. | Lets administrators tune the consequences of carrying a stressed chicken. |
| Infection Chance | Controls the chance of infection. | Makes survival more forgiving or more punishing. |
| Hunger Multiplier | Controls food consumption rate. | Changes how frequently players need to eat. |
| Thirst Multiplier | Controls water consumption rate. | Changes how frequently players need to drink. |
| Stack Size Multiplier | Controls item stack capacity. | Increases or reduces stack sizes, with a maximum of 30,000 items per stack. |
More detailed creature population controls
Density and respawn settings are now separated between day and night, as well as between enemies and animals. This makes it possible to create a relatively quiet daytime experience while dramatically increasing danger after sunset, without applying the same population rules to wildlife.
Increasing enemy density or respawn rates does not automatically multiply rare biome-specific zombies such as Chuck or Rancher.
What Server Administrators Should Check After Updating
The new day/night and enemy/animal separation changes the structure of Sandbox presets. The Fun Pimps warns that an older custom code may become invalid and cause some or all settings to return to their default values.
Before restarting a public or community server, administrators should:
- back up the current world, save data and configuration files;
- update the dedicated server to version 3.1.0;
- recreate the desired options from the Sandbox settings menu;
- copy the newly generated Sandbox Code into ;
- restart the server and verify that the active rules match the intended preset.
Connection issue after the update? Make sure the dedicated server is using the Default Public Version branch, which now corresponds to version 3.1.0 stable. The game client and server must use compatible versions.
Henpocalypse may have a playful theme, but its new configuration options give server owners considerably more control over progression, survival pressure and creature populations. The main precaution is simple: do not assume that an old Sandbox Code still behaves exactly as it did before version 3.1.
Prepare your 7 Days to Die server
Discover the upcoming VeryGames hosting solution and manage updates, backups and server configuration from a centralized control panel.