the only problem with actually checking breeding is they will almost never do anything else, and if you limit is maxed or they cant breed, they just wander aimlessly, doing laundry, admiring things and nothing gets done

It seems there is one in every game, lol. I had a scientist in one game that only wanted to push the boulder....24/7. I had to keep putting her back to work and babysit her the whole time.
Another game, it was the builder. Another the farmer.
I have been letting them try everything once, see how much they gain on the bars and whichever gains the most, that is what I let them do. (if i don't notice one gained more than the others, then I let them do something fun or non work related, like push the boulder or swim if far enough along, then see where they go on their own. Noticed they work better if THEY choose what they do. If I see someone likes rough wood but they won't build, I stick them on beach clean up and they whip it clean quickly, lol.

It does seem like the villagers "know" what needs to be done, and they don't get serious about it until there's something pressing.

I have a game going where the population was recently at 13, so the builders got busy on the second hut -- then a couple of the older folks passed on, and now the builders think that hut is a complete waste of time .

Kinda like watching the crops in the field sit unharvested because the bin is overflowing and the farmers would rather check out the cactus or the boulder!

-- jen

I love it when the villagers Do Nothing when I am not baby-sitting them! I log out and I think they all go on vacation - they can be starving to death with a full field and berry bush! Duh....

One of my villagers likes plants and dislikes turnips. What should I do?...

I am stalled now, have maximum village count of 90, purchased all available upgrades and now my peoples only wander. I can't solve the last 6 puzzles. oh and where did the butterflies go, they have vanished completely now.

I say if she likes plants and dislikes turnips, set her as a doctor so she can hang around all the nice plants all day and never have to see a turnip.

It sort of creeps me out to start up the game and find that several elders have died and their corpses have been hanging out in the middle of town for who knows how long. And then EVERYONE has to come join the funeral procession.

I just started my first "hard" game ever and two of my founding villagers actually list "work" as one of their dislikes. What are they odds! I can't get these two guys to do anything!!! Maybe once I have more techs and room they may enjoy breeding more but I need these guys to work right now! Argh... well, serves me right for trying to play a hard game I guess!

I have a couple of games going and I notice that I have one girl in each that won't work and both are wearing the purple Stevie Nicks dress with the matching purple armbands (OMG, did I just say that?).
I find myself yelling at my computer, "You will FORAGE, you witch!"

I would try him under a different profession. Sometimes they don't like to do certain things. You want to check out their details, or see if they happen to be interested in something else rather going to the center of the village, then take them to the spots they are interested in and they will grow in that job.