Cow

Overview

Ask which single animal a new base needs and the answer is the Cow, twice over. Beef is the most efficient early food per animal in the game — 1 to 3 raw beef per kill, restoring 8 hunger each once cooked — and leather is the only source of books, which means no Cow means no bookshelves, no enchanting table at full power, and no maps. Then there is milk. An empty bucket used on a Cow gives a milk bucket that never runs out of supply and clears every status effect the moment you drink it: Poison, Wither, Nausea, Weakness, even your own beneficial potions. That last part is the catch and the reason milk belongs in the off-hand rather than the hot bar during a boss fight. A Cow has 10 health, never threatens anything, follows wheat, and breeds on it, so a pen of four turns into a herd in a single afternoon of farming. They spawn in herds of four on grass in most temperate biomes at light level 9 or above, which is to say almost everywhere you would build. Compare the Mooshroom, a Cow variant that gives stew instead.

Beef, leather and milk. Beef is the best early food per kill, leather binds every book you will ever need for enchanting, and milk cancels every status effect in one drink.

The workhorse of any starter base: cows give beef, the most efficient early food per animal, and leather for books, armour and item frames. Milk them with an empty bucket for an unlimited supply that clears every status effect, poison and withering included, which is why a bucket of milk belongs in every fight kit. They follow wheat, breed on it, and wander without ever threatening anything.

In Minecraft, Cow is classified as a passive mob. It has 10 health points, or 5 hearts. Expect 3 experience per kill.

Properties

Cow has 10 health, which is 5 hearts. It drops up to 3 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 0.9 blocks wide and 1.4 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.

Spawns in

Spawns on grass in most temperate biomes in herds of four.

It has no biome restriction, so anywhere in the Overworld that meets the light and space conditions is a valid spawn.

Dimension

Overworld

Light level

≥ 9

Added in

1.0.0

Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.0.0

Drops

Killing Cow drops Raw Beef and Leather, plus up to 3 experience. Looting raises the maximum on most of these by one per level.

• Raw Beef: 1–3
• Leather: 0–2

How it behaves

The Cow never attacks. The only reason to be careful around one is that killing it is often not what you want: breeding it is worth more than the drop.

Killed by a player it drops up to 3 experience; killed any other way it drops none.

Command

In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Cow where you are standing.

Guides and tools that cover this

• GuidesAnimal Breeding and Food Production in Minecraft→
• GuidesHow to Fight Every Hostile Mob in Minecraft→
• GuidesHow to Build a Base That Mobs Cannot Enter→

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

AllayArmadilloAxolotlBatCamelChickenCodFrog

How to get it

Cows spawn in herds of 4 on grass at light level 9 or above across most temperate Overworld biomes. Breed 2 adults with wheat, and milk any adult with an empty bucket as often as you like.

Tips

• Keep a milk bucket in the off-hand during a wither or witch fight — one drink removes Poison and Wither instantly.
• Milk clears your own potions too, so never drink it while Strength or Fire Resistance is still doing work.
• Breed for leather, not beef: 3 leather makes a book, and 15 books plus planks makes a full bookshelf ring.
• Fence the herd and light the pen, because 10 health means a single creeper wipes out your whole food supply.