Want a reliable source of food? A way to get rid of harmful effects? Or just a fun companion for your adventures? Cows in Minecraft are a perfect fit for all of these scenarios. But, they never seem to show up when you need them the most. Fear not, as you can overcome this challenge by uncovering how to breed cows in Minecraft. Let's explore!

How to Breed Cows in Minecraft (2023)

Before we dive into the breeding process, we need to learn a few basics about cows in Minecraft. But, if you are already familiar with them, feel free to skip ahead. 

What Do Cows Eat in Minecraft

Unlike the cows in the real world, cows in Minecraft only eat wheat. This subtle diet suits their simplistic design and limited behavior. Moreover, most sources of wheat and locations where cows spawn are often close to one another.

Best Ways to Collect Wheat

Here are all the reliable ways to get wheat in Minecraft for feeding cows:

• Chests: You can find wheat inside the chests of dungeons, ocean ruins, igloos, shipwrecks, mansions, Trail Ruins, and villages. Out of these, the underwater ruins have the best chances of spawning wheat in their chests, followed by desert villages.
• Mob: At times, foxes in Minecraft can spawn holding wheat in their mouth. Then, you can kill the mob or offer them food to collect the wheat.
• Hay: One of the easiest ways to get wheat in Minecraft is through hay bale. You can find a bunch of them in all the villages of Minecraft. Break a hay bale to pick it up and then place it inside the crafting grid to get 9 pieces of wheat.
• Farming: You can use wheat seeds to grow wheat crops and harvest them. More on the same in the next section.

How to Grow Wheat Crop in Minecraft

If searching for wheat doesn't go as planned, it's time to take matters into your own hands. Follow these simple steps to farm wheat in Minecraft:

1. First, you find and collect wheat seeds in your world. You can often find them planted in farmlands of villages and even inside village chests.

2. If you are in a green biome, you can break grass to collect wheat seeds. All variants of grass drop 0-1 wheat seeds upon destruction. Alternatively, you can also trade with a Wandering Trader to buy wheat seeds for emeralds.

3. Next, make a hoe by combining two planks with two sticks. Later, you can use other Minecraft ores to upgrade your tool to make it more efficient.

4. Then, use your hoe on dirt, grass, or similar blocks and turn them into a farmland block. Make sure there is water nearby to irrigate your farm.

5. Finally, use your wheat seed on the farmland to plant them. Then, wait for around 20 minutes for the wheat to grow, and then break it to harvest your crop.

If you face any issues, you can use our guide on how to plant seeds in Minecraft to make your farm more effective.

Steps to Breed a Cow in Minecraft

Learning how to breed cows in Minecraft is extremely easy. You just need to get two close to one another and feed them to start breeding.

Find a Cow

Cows are one of the most common domestic animals in Minecraft. They spawn in a group of up to 4 cows on grass blocks with a two-block space above them. Other than grass, they need a minimum light level of 7 in Java and 9 in Bedrock edition for spawning.

But, there are some exceptions. While the following biomes generate grass, they don't spawn cows in Minecraft:

• Snowy Plains
• Meadows
• Mangrove Swamps
• Wooded Badlands

Furthermore, you can also find cows inside animal pens and butcher houses in Minecraft's villages.

Feed Wheat to a Cow

Now that you know how to find them, follow these easy steps to breed cows in Minecraft:

1. As you know at this point, cows are fond of wheat in Minecraft. So, you can hold the wheat in your hand and make a cow follow you around to their breeding point.

2. Alternatively, you can use boats in Minecraft or even lead to move the cows around. The aim is to get two cows close to one another.

3. Once your cows are next to each other, feed a piece of wheat to each of them. Then, a few hearts will appear above the cows' heads and a baby cow will spawn.

4. Baby cows take a complete Minecraft day or 20 minutes in the real world to grow up. Then, they can participate in the breeding cycle too.

Uses of a Cow

Cows, other than being a delightful mob to have in your base, also offer a bunch of benefits. Let's explore some of them:

• Milk: You can use a bucket on the cow to collect milk. Drinking a bucket of milk gets rid of all the status effects on a player including the effects of a potion.
• Beef: When you kill a cow in Minecraft, it ends up dropping beef. It is one of the best sources of saturation within the game. Plus, if you use fire to kill the cow, it ends up dropping cooked beef.
• Leather: Other than beef, cows also experience leather that you can use to create armor, item frames, and books. While leather armor might not offer great protection, it fits perfectly within many of the best Minecraft armor trim combinations.
• Experience: Whenever you breed cows in Minecraft, the process drops 1-7 experience orbs. Furthermore, killing cows gives out 1-3 experience orbs. If planned correctly, you can use cows to make an XP and food farm.

Why Can't I Breed My Cows in Minecraft?

A common cause that prevents cows from breeding is the post-breeding cooldown. Similar to other mobs in the game, the parent cows have a 5-minute cooldown before they can breed again. But, if you are not a fan of waiting, the tick command in Minecraft can help you skip this restriction.

Furthermore, the cows must be able to interact with each other for breeding to be successful. They shouldn't be too far from one another and there should be no block between the two cows.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do baby cows need to grow in Minecraft?

Baby cows automatically grow up once 20 minutes have passed since their spawning. But, you can feed them wheat to speed up the breeding by 10%.

Can you dye cows in Minecraft?

Unfortunately, there is no way to dye or change the color of cows in Minecraft, by default. However, you can use some of the best Minecraft texture packs to change their appearance.

How many times can you milk a cow in Minecraft?

There is no restriction over milking cows in Minecraft. You can milk the same cow an infinite number of times, as long as you have enough empty buckets.

Can you make an automatic milk farm in Minecraft?

Currently, there is no way to use automatically milk cows as the game doesn't allow dispensers to use buckets for milking. But, we might get this missing mechanic with Minecraft 1.21 or a later update.

Find, Feed, and Breed Cows in Minecraft Today!

Now that you know how to breed cows in Minecraft, you are ready to take it to the next level with a farm. The process remains almost the same but with a lot more wheat and building blocks. If you want to ensure it looks the best, the new copper blocks in Minecraft might be a good pick for the design. But, drawing attention might not be ideas on competitive Minecraft SMP servers. So, think out of the box, be careful and happy crafting!