Cows have been a mainstay in Minecraft since the beginning. They are passive mobs in Minecraft and can be found in many biomes. Cows don’t harm players, but as long as a player approaches them, they make a moo sound and sometimes huff too.
There are various ways you can use a cow in Minecraft – such as to gather milk, steak, or leather. Unfortunately, their status has drawn many misconceptions thanks to heavy farming and the lack of information on how they behave.
That’s why this article intends to educate you about these adorable creatures in the world of Minecraft and provide you with details on their behavior, how to breed them, what you can gain from them, and a lot more.
Where Do Cows Spawn in Minecraft?
Cows spawn above grass blocks in small herds during world generation or in groups after the end of world generation. The number of cows per herd varies according to the biome. They usually spawn in large groups of two to three at a light level of 9 or higher.
At least two blocks of space above in Bedrock Edition are required for their spawning, except in snowy taigas, snowy plains, meadows, mangrove swamps, and wooded badlands. Similarly, in the Java Edition of the game, four cows spawn on grass blocks at light levels of 7 or higher.
It also needs to be at least two spaces above. In snowy plains, meadows, and mangrove swamps, there are no grass blocks, so cows usually do not spawn there. In addition, a cow can sometimes spawn inside animal pens and butchers’ houses in villages as well.
Shearing a mushroom produces five mushrooms, each corresponding to one of the possible types of mushrooms. Usually, a cow spawns in adult form, but there’s a 5% chance of spawning a calf as well.
What Does A Cow Drops in Minecraft?
A cow can drop up to three raw beef (or steak if killed while on fire), of which a maximum amount is increased by 1 per level of Looting, for a maximum of six with Looting III.
It may also drop 0 to 2 leather, with a maximum amount increased by 1 per level of Looting and 5 with Looting III.
1-3 experience orbs are also dropped when a player or tamed wolf kills the cow, or 7 experience points if it is bred. However, keep in mind that you won’t gain any item or experience if you kill a calf in the game.
The behavior of A Cow in Minecraft
Cows can be found wandering around grassy areas or at least trying to be found there while mooing and huffing occasionally. A cow will tend to stay in well-lit, grassy places.
When it spots you, it’ll flee and remain 25% faster for a few seconds. It’ll also look at players within six blocks for two to four seconds sometimes.
Cows are very cautious when it comes to water—they avoid it unless they’re following players or if there’s no other option for them to reach their destination.
A cow will also avoid environmental hazards like cactus, sweet berry bushes, dripstone, fire, or lava but make no attempts to avoid explosions.
Adult cows can be milked by using a bucket on them, and the milk from a cow can be used as an ingredient in any recipe that requires it.
How To Breed Cows in Minecraft?
First, you will need to find two cows to breed. If you are unable to find cows, you can summon one using a cheat or use a spawn egg.
Your two cows will need to be close together when breeding, so it makes sense to build a fence to keep them from running away.
Next, with the wheat selected in your hot bar, you will need to feed the wheat to each of the cows one at a time.
As you feed the wheat to the cows, you’ll see red hearts appear over their heads. Each cow is entering love mode as it eats the wheat.
Once both cows have eaten, they will turn to each other, and red hearts will continue appearing over their heads.
After a moment, all red hearts disappear, and you’ll have two adult cows and one baby cow standing there, indicating that you’ve successfully bred them.
How Often Can You Breed Cows in Minecraft?
After a cow has been bred, there is a cooldown period during which the animals cannot be bred again. This gap lasts five minutes, after which the animals will be ready to breed again.
The same breeding process can be used to breed them, and the cycle will continue as long as you keep breeding them.
Making A Cow Farm in Minecraft
Cows are friendly, easy to breed, and yield some of the most impressive items in the game. They can be used to make food and leather, which act as essentials for your survival.
However, when you can’t find any cows near your base, though, the only way to get more is to learn how to make a cow farm.
Understanding The Mechanics
Although you can’t automate a cow farm, it’s still easy to make one. You just have to put in some effort now and then to keep your automatic cow farm functional. However, it’s one of the easiest farms to make in Minecraft.
To make a cow farm, simply build a pen and trap some cows in it. Breed them and keep respawning more cows until your farm is overpopulated with cows. When you kill these cows to collect their resources, an ally will take care of the collection process for you.
This way, you can make the farm semi-automatic.
Items Required
To build a cow farm in Minecraft, you need two cows, stacks of wheat, and a fence gate. You can easily find two cows within the plains biome in your generated world. The same villages can also help you get wheat as well.
Preparing The Farm
Now when you’ve understood the mechanics and know the items required to make a cow farm, let us take a look at the steps to make one:
- First, find a clear open area that is at least 4 x 4 blocks in size. It’s best to avoid choosing a cold biome, as snow can impede your farm’s growth.
- To create a buffer around the farm, build fences. Then, use a fence door to prevent cows from wandering into other properties.
- Next, use wheat to make the cows follow you towards the farm area. Only two cows are needed to get started, but having more cows is better.
- To activate the farm, hold a piece of wheat in your hand and stand outside the farm. The cows will move towards you if they see the wheat.
You can now get cows to breed by feeding wheat to them. When both cows are fed, a baby cow will spawn. It will take 20 minutes for the baby cow to grow into an adult and another 5 minutes for it to be ready for breeding again. So, if you time it right, you can get plenty of cows in no time.
Applying Automation
In Minecraft, most players usually manage their farm by killing cows with a sword. It’s generally based on the needs, but if you don’t save some of them, you will have to start over. However, if you follow these steps below, you will be able to automate most of the killing process:
- Start by placing some solid blocks outside the boundary of your fence.
- Then, get a water bucket and add water to one corner of the farm so that it creates such a flow that pushes the cow into one corner.
- Once done, replace the corner block with a hopper and surround it with magma blocks as well.
- As soon as a cow reaches this corner due to the water flow, it will take damage from the magma cube and eventually die. Also, the dropped items will be accumulated by the dropper.
And that’s it! You’ve successfully made yourself an automated cow farm that allows you to kill cows and automatically gather the items that it drops.
Final Words
Cows are not only one of the cutest mobs in Minecraft but also the most functional ones. They’re passive mobs, which means they won’t inflict any damage to the player and act as a great source of food and leather in the game.
Hopefully, this guide helps you understand more about cows in Minecraft and how you can make the most out of them.
