DayZ Hunting & Cooking Guide: Food, Fire & Fishing

Once you’ve survived the coast, hunting becomes the most reliable food source in DayZ — better and safer than scavenging cans. This guide covers hunting and cooking in DayZ.

What you can hunt

DayZ’s forests and fields are full of wildlife — deer, boar, cows, goats, chickens, rabbits and more. Larger animals give a lot of meat and fat; small game is quick but feeds you less.

How to hunt

1. Find an animal — forests, fields and farms. Move quietly; they spook and run.
2. Kill it — any weapon works, but a suppressed gun or a bow keeps you quiet (gunshots attract players).
3. Skin and quarter it — look at the carcass with a knife or sharp tool equipped and use the action to harvest meat, fat (lard) and a pelt/guts.

Cooking your meat

Raw meat will make you sick — always cook it:

• Build a fireplace (fireplace kit + firewood/sticks, and a way to ignite it).
• Cook the meat on the fire (on a stick, a cooking tripod, or a pan/pot) until it’s cooked — not raw, not burnt.
• Fat (lard) is great for cooking and a dense calorie source.

A fire also warms you and dries your clothes — doubly valuable in the cold.

Fishing too

Near water, you can craft a fishing rod (a stick, rope/hook and bait like worms dug from the ground) for another renewable food source.

Survive long-term on your own server

Hunting and cooking is the heart of long-term survival — and best enjoyed with a group on your own DayZ server, where you set the rules. See our survival guide for the basics.

Frequently asked questions

How do you hunt in DayZ?

Find an animal in forests or fields, kill it (quietly if possible), then look at the carcass with a knife equipped and harvest meat, fat and a pelt.

How do you cook meat in DayZ?

Build a fireplace and cook the meat on it (stick, tripod or pan) until done — never eat raw meat, it makes you sick.

Can you fish in DayZ?

Yes — craft a fishing rod from a stick, rope and hook, dig up worms for bait, and fish near water.