Learning about Farm Animals with Minecraft

In Minecraft® there are many different kinds of animals, and more may come in future updates. At the moment there are: cows, cats (ocelots), dogs/wolves, sheep, pigs, rabbits, horses, bats, squids, and chickens. You can also catch multiple kinds of fish, though they are not visible until caught. This lesson on farm animals is a good way to practice teamwork, being prepared, and strategic planning. We will cover other types of animals in a different lesson.

For this crafting adventure, we will collect the farm animals of your choice. Once you’ve collected the animals, you may want to create gardens or fields to grow the types of food they prefer. Then you’ve created a working farm!

Pigs: Found in forest and plain biomes, these small pink critters love carrots. Pigs will follow anyone holding a carrot, and then you can contain them with fences or pits. I usually start with a pit, and then build a fence next to it and then build a tunnel out of the pit to the fenced area and drive them into the fence. Pigs can be used for food. Pigs can also be ridden with a saddle if you put a carrot on a stick.

Cows: Found in almost every biome, brown cows will follow anyone carrying wheat. Cows can be milked. Cows can also be used for food (beef) and leather (used for frames, armor, etc). Their red cousins, the mushroom cows, are known for the capacity to give you mushroom soup. They are hard to find however, since they only live in the rare mushroom biome.

Chickens: Found in most biomes, these small birds love wheat seeds. Chickens lay eggs. Chickens can be used for food and for feathers which are needed to makes arrows and pens.

Sheep: Found in all kinds of biomes, the wooly sheep loves wheat. Sheep can be sheared for wool (used for beds and all types of decor), and can be used as food (mutton).

Rabbits: Rabbits are found in plains and forests. Rabbits can be caught with carrots. Rabbits are fun and adorable to keep as pets. They can also be used for food and rabbit skins.

Dogs: Dogs are really tamed wolves that live in packs wandering the world looking for sheep. You can tame a wolf by feeding it bones. Dogs will also eat meat, but they won’t be tamed with meat. Once you tame a dog, it will follow you wherever you go and defend you unless you tell it to sit. If you tell it to sit, it will stay there and watch you.

Cats: Cats are tamed ocelots. Ocelots are scared of people, so it can be very tricky to tame them. They can be tamed with raw fish. Once you tame a cat, it will follow you around unless you tell it to sit. They come in many colors and you can feed them fish. Cats scare off creepers (which is really helpful). They will sit on nearby chests.

Horses: Found in the plains and in many colors, these majestic animals love sugar and apples. You can tame them one of two ways: feed them a stack of sugar or mount them and get tossed several times. I tend to do a combination of the two, but it depends on how much sugar I have on hand. In survival you have to find saddles, horse armor, and leads in caves and they are very rare. I would suggest going to creative for any horse-related activities. Once you have a horse, you can ride it for speedy transportation or just keep it as a pet.

All of these animals can be fed, which produces an additional animal when you feed two adult animals at the same time. Depending on where your survival home base is, you may not be able to find all of the animals we listed. However, you can always go into a creative world if you can’t find the animals you want to collect.