How to Breed Animals in Minecraft (All Foods)

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Hold the right food and right-click two adults of the same species: they enter love mode and produce a baby. Wheat breeds cows, sheep and mooshrooms; carrots, potatoes or beetroot breed pigs; any seeds breed chickens; meat breeds tamed wolves; fish breeds tamed cats.

What you need

Species food (wheat, carrots, seeds, meat, fish, etc.)
2 adults of the same species
Fences + gate for the pen

Step by step

Build an enclosure first: a fenced pen with a gate, because animals wander. Fences keep everything in, and animals cannot jump them.
Get the right food for each species: wheat for cows, sheep and mooshrooms; carrots, potatoes or beetroot for pigs; any seeds for chickens; carrots or dandelions for rabbits; hay bales for llamas; golden apples or golden carrots for horses and donkeys; seagrass for turtles; slimeballs for frogs; sweet berries or glow berries for foxes; bamboo for pandas; raw cod or raw salmon for cats and ocelots; any raw meat for tamed wolves; a bucket of tropical fish for axolotls.
Right-click two adults of the same species with the food. Hearts appear (love mode) and a baby animal spawns, plus 1-7 XP for you.
Respect the cooldown: parents cannot breed again for 5 minutes, and babies take 20 minutes to grow up. Feeding a baby more of its food speeds growth by 10% per feeding.
Tame first where required: wolves and cats must be tamed before they breed. Foxes never trust you directly; breeding two foxes makes a baby that does trust you.
Automate later: the standard farm design is a pen with breeding pairs plus a separate baby pen, or water streams pushing babies to a holding area.

Java vs Bedrock

Breeding mechanics are the same in Java and Bedrock: love mode, 5-minute cooldown, 20-minute growth, and XP from breeding are identical. Feeding babies accelerates growth in both editions.

Versions: 1.0 (animal breeding added)

Frequently asked questions

What food breeds cows in Minecraft?

Wheat. It also breeds sheep and mooshrooms. Grow wheat from seeds on farmland, or harvest it from village farms.

How long does it take for animals to breed again?

5 minutes for the parents after each breeding. Babies need 20 minutes (one full in-game day) to become adults, sped up by feeding them.

Why won't my wolves breed?

Only tamed wolves breed, and both must be standing (right-click a sitting wolf to make it stand). Any meat works as breeding food, including rotten flesh.

Can you breed villagers the same way?

No. Villagers breed from willingness: give them food (bread, carrots, potatoes, beetroot) and make sure there are more valid beds than villagers. See our villager breeding guide.