FarmVille Sneak Peek: Halloween animals like to play dress up

If you're both an animal collector and a fan of Halloween, I've got some exciting news for you! A whole slew of new themed animals look to be coming to FarmVille in the near future, if images spotted by FarmVille Freak are anything to go by. Of course, there's no telling exactly when or how these items will come to the game, although we can make a few guesses. It's likely that most will be released in the store for coins, while others may be prizes for Halloween themed goals that have yet to be released. Either way, here's a sneak preview of these items to get you excited about things to come.

In the image above, you have the Space Chipmunk (c'mon, just say that - it even sounds awesome!), Candle Deer, Bat Cat, Hunter Duck, Ghost Goat, Trick or Treat Donkey, Lobster Corgi, Skeleton Horse, Skeleton Sheep, and Candy Corn Sheep. While this group is pretty large on its own, don't forget about the unreleased decorations that we also think are coming, and don't forget that there have to be tons of trees in the works as well (I mean, there's no guarantee, but how can Zynga resist?).

While details about each of these items, and the role they'll play in the store/game are still unknown, you can be sure we'll make you the first to know when they start to release. Just be warned: if these items are released in the store as limited edition items, they'll likely cost Farm Cash. Have that wallet ready!

Check out the rest of our Halloween 2011 coverage right here.

[Image Credit: FarmVille Freak]

What do you think of these Halloween-themed animals? Which one is your favorite? Will you pay Farm Cash for any of them?

FarmVille Cow Pasture Goals: Everything you need to know

Even though last night's FarmVille update brought with it the new Cow Pasture animal habitat, the corresponding goal series didn't appear for many users (myself included) until today. Luckily, we don't seem to have lost any time in the process, as these goals give us a full two weeks to complete them. Interestingly, with the launch of these goals, some users have lost access to previous habitat goal series, so we can only hope that Zynga will sort things out with time. In the meantime, however, here's a look at these Cow Pasture goals, so you'll know what to expect as you move through them.

Cow Cookies

    * Get 6 Cow Treats
    * Place 1 Cow Pasture
    * Harvest 100 Grain Crops


If you're having trouble deciding which crops fit the "Grain" distinction, just head into the store's crops section and click on the "Grains" tab to automatically sort the store to show you just grain crops. Pick the one you like most (perhaps one that takes the shortest time to grow) and plant away. Finishing this first goal gives you 50 XP, a Red Heart Cow and 2,500 coins.

The Tethered Heifer

    * Get 6 Cow Tethers
    * Buy 2 Cow Topiaries
    * Harvest 30 Plain Cows


Just ask your friends for these Cow Tethers and then buy two Cow Topiaries from the store - they cost just 300 coins each. After that, you'll need to harvest 30 original, regular cows (of the brown and white variety) to finish this last step. If you've long outgrown such "normal" animals and need to buy some in the store, you can also do that for 300 coins each. They can be harvested once per day, so make sure you have enough on hand to not slow yourself down too greatly while waiting for them to become ready to harvest. Finish this goal and you'll earn 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Grey Yak.

Lickety Split!

    * Get 6 Salt Licks
    * Complete the Cow Pasture
    * Place 3 Green Hay Bales


To see what you'll need to complete the construction of a Cow Pasture, check out our guide. The Salt Licks can be earned by posting a general help request on your feed, while Green Hay Bales cost 125 coins each in the store. For making it past this goal, you'll receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a Black Shorthorn Cow.

Born and Grazed

    * Get 9 Cow Collars
    * Achieve Level 1 Mastery of Cow
    * Harvest 125 Strawberries


If you're into animal mastery, you'll likely already have the Cow mastered to this point, but if not, just keep those 30 cows you had (or purchased) earlier and harvest them until you reach that point. As for the Cow Collars, they are also earned via a general request posted on your news feed. As for the Strawberries, please note that Super Strawberries do not count, and you'll simply waste your time by planting them. These must be the original Strawberries only. After completing this goal, you will have cross the halfway mark and will receive 50 XP, 2,500 coins and five units of Animal Feed.

Milk Master

    * Get 9 Milk Buckets
    * Harvest one Cow Pasture
    * Harvest 150 Vegetables


It doesn't matter which kind of vegetable you choose to harvest here, so feel free to plant something you need bushels for, or just something you've yet to master to complete two tasks in one. The Milk Bucket request is a general one to your news feed, while harvesting the Cow Pasture can happen once every day. Finish off this goal and you'll earn 50 XP, one Grey Jersey Cow and 2,500 coins.

Moovin' In

    * Get 9 Brass Cow Bells
    * Place 10 Cows in a Cow Pasture
    * Harvest 150 Fruit Crops


If you haven't removed your Dairy Barns from your farm (which is a voluntary process, mind you), you can simply pull cows out of them and place them into the Cow Pasture until you've reached ten (don't worry - you can always put them back later). Finally, to collect the Brass Cow Bells, you'll need to - you guessed it - post a general request on your news feed for all of your friends to help. Finishing this final goal in the series gives you 50 XP, 2,500 coins and a B0v1n3-11 - a very pretty two-toned red alien cow.

Again, these goals, as so many others in the game, are time limited, so you'll have two weeks to finish them off and earn all of the prizes therein. Good luck completing everything in time!

Check out the rest of our FarmVille Cheats & Tips right here.

Have you received the Cow Pasture goals on your farm? Are you going to keep the Dairy Farms as normal, or are you going to swap them all out for Cow Pastures? Sound off in the comments.

FarmVille Livestock Pen Animals re-released to fill your habitats

If you're looking for a slew of new (ok, re-released) animals to fill your new Livestock Pen in FarmVille, you'll want to check out the game's store within the next five days, as you can choose from a selection of re-released pigs, sheep and goats for a limited time. Here's the full lineup of re-released animals, along with their prices for your reference.

Black Pied Pig - 18 Farm Cash
Alpine Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Latxa Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Biker Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Fame Sheep - 20 Farm Cash
Chamois Goat - 14 Farm Cash
Island Pig - 16 Farm Cash
Devon Pig - 16 Farm Cash

Again, these animals have been released previously; for instance, the Black Pied Pig was released previously in the German event in 2010 and then again in the Birthday Classics even earlier this year. You'll want to make sure you don't already have these animals on your farm before shelling out the Farm Cash, so you don't run into unnecessary duplicates. Just make sure you shop fast - these little fellas (and ladies) won't be around forever.

Are you going to purchase any of these animals during their brief re-release in the store, or do you already have the best ones on your farm? Sound off in the comments.

FarmVille Livestock Mystery Crate: What's inside?

As part of Zynga's attempt to make people care about the Livestock Pen in FarmVille, which, admittedly is a little hard (don't we already have dedicated storage buildings for both pigs and sheep?), it has released a Livestock Mystery Crate in the game's store containing six animals that can be stored inside your new pen. Now, the Livestock Pen can also store animals like goats or llamas, but unfortunately, only two items of these six re-released animals isn't some form of Pig or Sheep. Here's a full list so you see what I mean:

Alpaca
Babydoll Sheep
Miniature Goat
Teacup Pig
Welsh Mountain Sheep
White Ram

Each of these crates costs 20 Farm Cash, and they can be purchased from within the Decorations tab of the marketplace, instead of the Animals tab like you might expect. Remember, while you are guaranteed to receive one of these animals when you purchase a crate, you aren't guaranteed that you won't receive duplicates the next time you purchase one. That being the case, you'll want to really make sure you don't already have some of these animals already on your land before making a purchase, to ward off any unneeded extras. If you do want one of these crates, shop fast, as they'll only be around for five days.

Do you already have all of the animals inside the Livestock Mystery Crate, or will you purchase some for your farm this week? Which of these animals are you hoping to find inside? Let us know in the comments.