What Do Cows Eat in Minecraft? Easy Breeding Guide

In Minecraft, Cows eat Wheat. It’s what you need to breed them, put them into love mode, and lead them around your farm as holding Wheat makes Cows follow you.

Cows are also one of the most useful animals in the game. They drop Leather, which can be used to craft Horse Armor, and also Raw Beef. You can milk them too with an empty Bucket and get a Milk Bucket.

The Cow’s Favorite Food in Minecraft: Wheat

Wheat is the only item Cows eat in Minecraft. If you want to breed Cows, grow Calves faster, or just get them to follow you, Wheat is the tool for the job.

Here’s how to get Wheat if you don’t have a farm yet:

• Harvest Wheat crops.
  • Plant Wheat Seeds on tilled farmland, wait for them to grow, then break the fully grown crop for Wheat.
• Loot villages.
  • Village farms and some chests often have Wheat or Wheat Seeds sitting around.
• Trade with farmer villagers.
  • Farmers sometimes buy or sell Wheat and related crops.
• Break tall grass.
  • This mainly gives you Wheat Seeds, not Wheat itself, but it’s a fast way to stock up on seeds for planting.

If you’re growing your own Wheat, Bone Meal can speed things up. Using Bone Meal on a planted crop instantly advances its growth stage.

Holding Wheat in your hand attracts nearby Cows within a 6-block radius. They’ll walk toward you and follow you around, which is handy for leading a herd into a fenced area without needing a Lead for each one.

How to Breed Cows in Minecraft

To breed Cows in Minecraft, you can feed Wheat to two adult Cows standing near each other. They’ll enter love mode, and a baby Cow will spawn between them.

Though food items can change, the reproduction mechanics are often the same for animals in Minecraft, like in Horse breeding, or breeding Pigs.

Here’s the step-by-step process for breeding Cows in Minecraft:

• Get at least two adult Cows close together.
• Hold Wheat and feed it to the two Cows.
• Both Cows enter love mode and hearts appear above them.
• A baby Cow spawns, and you’ll get 1 to 7 experience points.

When a Cow breeds, they’ll be on a 5-minute cooldown before they’re ready to produce another Calf. If you’re running a big breeding operation, it helps to have more than two Cows so you’re not just waiting around for the timer.

Growing Up: Accelerating Calf Growth

A baby Cow takes 20 minutes to grow into an adult in Minecraft. That’s the default, but you can speed it up.

Feeding Wheat to a baby Cow reduces its remaining growth time by 10 percent. Feed it enough times in a row and you can shave a good chunk off that 20-minute wait.

There’s also a way to pause growth entirely. Feeding a baby Cow a Golden Dandelion freezes its growth timer at the full 20 minutes. If you want to keep a Calf small for a while, that’s the way to do it.

Best Tips for Breeding Cows Faster

Here are a few more practical tips to get more out of your Cow farm:

• Don’t overcrowd a 1×1 space.
  • Cramming Cows into a single block can cause spawning and pathing problems.
• Milk Cows with an empty Bucket.
  • You don’t feed Cows to get milk. Just use an empty Bucket on an adult Cow to get a Milk Bucket.
• On fire Cows will give you Steak.
  • If a Cow dies whilst on fire, it drops cooked Steak instead of Raw Beef.

Cow farms can be commonly found in SMP, Survival, and Vanilla servers where players often need them for food and Leather. If you’re looking to get started on one such server, you can check out MineRank and jump into the action.

Common Mistakes Players Make With Minecraft Cows

While Cows are quite straightforward creatures in Minecraft, there are a couple of mistakes that players may repeat with them, these are:

• Trying to feed Cows the wrong item.
  • Wheat is the only thing Cows eat. Other crops, seeds, or food items do nothing.
• Trying to breed baby Cows.
  • Baby Cows can’t breed. Wheat still speeds up their growth, but you need to wait until they’re adults to unlock love mode for them.
• Forgetting the breeding cooldown.
  • After breeding, a Cow needs 5 minutes before it can breed again. If nothing’s happening when you feed it Wheat, that’s usually why.

If you’re setting up a serious Cow farm, it’s worth pairing it with a small Wheat farm nearby. Keeping a steady Wheat supply means you’re never stuck waiting to breed, feed, or grow your herd.

Cow FAQs in Minecraft

What can you feed Cows in Minecraft?

You can feed Cows Wheat in Minecraft. It’s the only item they’ll eat, and it’s used for breeding and speeding up Calf growth.

Do Cows eat anything other than wheat in Minecraft?

No, Cows in Minecraft only eat Wheat. Golden Dandelions can be fed to baby Cows too, but that pauses their growth instead of feeding them.

How to take care of Cows in Minecraft?

To take good care of Cows in Minecraft, keep them on a well-lit grass area with fencing to protect them from mobs and fall damage.

Can you milk a Cow infinitely in Minecraft?

Yes, you can milk a Cow in Minecraft as many times as you want. Just use an empty Bucket on it each time you need Milk.