Hey there, fellow Minecraft adventurer! Ever found yourself with a hungry animal in Minecraft on your iPad and wondered, how do I feed this little pixelated friend? You're in the right place! Feeding animals in Minecraft isn't just about keeping them alive; it's essential for breeding, taming, and getting those precious resources. Let's dive in and become animal husbandry masters!
The Ultimate Guide to Feeding Animals in Minecraft iPad
Feeding animals in Minecraft Bedrock Edition (which is what you're playing on your iPad!) is a fundamental skill. Whether you're building a grand farm, taming a loyal companion, or simply trying to get some milk from your cow, knowing what to feed each creature is key.
Step 1: Identify Your Hungry Friend (and Their Favorite Snack!)
Before you can feed any animal, you need to know what they eat. This is the most crucial step, as different animals have different dietary preferences. Think of it like a picnic – you wouldn't bring a carrot for a cat, right?
- What animal are you looking at right now? Is it a fluffy sheep, a clucking chicken, or perhaps a majestic horse? Take a moment to identify it.
Let's break down the menu for some of the most common farm and wild animals you'll encounter:
Farm Animals & Their Munchies:
- Cows (and Mooshrooms): These gentle giants love Wheat. You'll find wheat by planting wheat seeds (obtained by breaking grass or harvesting existing wheat crops) on tilled dirt near water.
- Pigs: Oink, oink! Pigs are less picky and enjoy Carrots, Potatoes, or Beetroots. These root vegetables can be found in village farms or by breaking grass.
- Sheep: Just like cows, sheep are fans of Wheat. Feed them wheat to encourage wool growth or to breed.
- Chickens: Cluck-cluck! Chickens are quite fond of Seeds. This includes Wheat Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Melon Seeds, and Beetroot Seeds. Just break some tall grass to find wheat seeds easily!
- Rabbits: These adorable hop-along friends crave Carrots, Dandelions, or even Golden Carrots.
- Goats: New to the block (well, newer than some!), goats also munch on Wheat.
Tameable & Wild Animals & Their Treats:
- Horses, Donkeys, & Llamas: These are a bit more complex. To tame them, you generally need to repeatedly ride them until hearts appear (with an empty hand). To breed them, you'll need Golden Apples, Golden Carrots, or Hay Bales (for Llamas).
- Wolves (Dogs): To tame a wild wolf into a loyal dog, you need Bones (dropped by Skeletons). Once tamed, you can heal your dog with any kind of meat (raw or cooked, even Rotten Flesh!). To breed them, you need to feed two tamed wolves any meat.
- Ocelots (Cats): These shy jungle dwellers are tamed with Raw Cod or Raw Salmon. Approach them slowly, hold the fish, and wait for them to come to you.
- Foxes: Adult foxes cannot be tamed, but you can breed two adult foxes with Sweet Berries or Glow Berries, and the baby fox will be tamed to you!
- Axolotls: These adorable aquatic creatures are bred using a Bucket of Tropical Fish.
- Bees: Buzz, buzz! Bees are attracted to and bred with any kind of Flower.
- Pandas: These rare, cuddly mobs are bred with Bamboo. Make sure there's plenty of bamboo around for them to be willing to breed!
- Turtles: Little shell-bearers! Turtles are bred with Seagrass.
- Camels: These desert dwellers are bred with Cactus.
- Sniffers: The ancient Sniffer can be bred with Torchflower Seeds.
- Armadillos: These cute new additions are bred using Spider Eyes.
Step 2: Gather the Right Grub
Now that you know what your animal wants, it's time to collect that food! This often means some resource gathering:
- Farming for Crops: For wheat, carrots, potatoes, beetroots, and seeds, you'll likely need to set up a small farm.
- Find or craft a hoe (from wood, stone, iron, gold, diamond, or netherite).
- Use the hoe on dirt blocks to create farmland.
- Plant your seeds or vegetables on the farmland.
- Ensure there's water nearby (within 4 blocks) for the crops to grow.
- Patience is key! Crops take time to grow. You can speed up the process with Bonemeal (crafted from bones).
- Hunting for Meat: For wolves/dogs and ocelots/cats, you'll need to hunt.
- Kill animals like pigs, cows, chickens, or rabbits for various meats.
- Skeletons drop bones.
- Fish (cod, salmon, tropical fish) can be caught with a fishing rod or by killing specific fish mobs.
- Exploring for Unique Items: Some foods are found in specific biomes or structures:
- Sweet Berries and Glow Berries are found in Taiga and Lush Caves biomes, respectively.
- Bamboo grows in Jungle biomes.
- Seagrass is found underwater in ocean biomes.
- Cactus is found in desert biomes.
- Flowers are abundant in many biomes.
- Spider Eyes are dropped by Spiders and Cave Spiders.
Step 3: Approach and Feed Your Friend (iPad Controls)
This is where the iPad-specific controls come in! Minecraft on iPad uses touch controls, which are generally intuitive.
- Select the Food: Open your inventory and drag the correct food item to your hotbar (the row of nine slots at the bottom of your screen).
- Hold the Food: Tap the slot in your hotbar to equip the food item. Your character will now be holding it.
- Approach the Animal: Walk towards the animal you want to feed.
- Tip: If you're using Split Controls (which you can enable in your Minecraft settings for a crosshair in the middle of your screen), aim the crosshair directly at the animal.
- Tap and Hold to Feed:
- With the food equipped, simply tap and hold your finger on the animal.
- You'll see a quick animation of your character extending their arm to feed the animal.
- If successful, you'll see red hearts float up from the animal. This means it has been fed!
Sub-heading: Understanding "Love Mode" for Breeding
When you feed an animal its preferred food, it enters "love mode." This is indicated by those red hearts. If two adult animals of the same type (e.g., two cows) are in love mode and within 8 blocks of each other, they will approach each other, and poof! A baby animal will appear!
- Cooldown: After breeding, animals will have a cooldown period before they can breed again (typically around 5 minutes).
- Baby Growth: Baby animals will slowly grow into adults over time. You can speed up their growth by continually feeding them their respective food items. Each feeding will make them grow a little faster.
Step 4: Taming vs. Feeding (Important Distinction!)
It's crucial to understand the difference between feeding and taming:
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Feeding: This is giving an animal food to heal it, make it grow faster (if it's a baby), or put it into "love mode" for breeding. Most farm animals are not "tamed" in the same way as wolves or ocelots; they just become docile and follow you if you hold their food.
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Taming: This is a specific process for certain wild animals (like wolves, ocelots, horses, donkeys, and llamas) to make them your permanent companions. It usually involves a specific item and/or a specific action (like repeatedly riding a horse). Once tamed, they will often have a unique indicator (like a collar on a wolf) and will follow you, protect you, or allow you to ride them.
- Example: You tame a wolf with bones. Once tamed, you feed it meat to heal it or to breed it with another tamed wolf. You don't feed bones to a tamed wolf.
Step 5: Building a Sustainable Animal Farm
Once you master feeding, consider creating an efficient animal farm. This will ensure you always have a steady supply of food and materials:
- Enclosures: Build secure fences or walls to keep your animals contained. This prevents them from wandering off or despawning.
- Breeding Pens: Create separate areas for breeding pairs to make the process easier.
- Automatic Farms: As you get more advanced, you can even design complex automatic farms that harvest crops and collect animal drops (like eggs or wool) for you!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to feed a baby animal in Minecraft iPad?
You feed a baby animal the same food its adult version eats. Tapping and holding on a baby animal with its favorite food will make it grow faster.
How to feed a horse in Minecraft iPad?
To tame a wild horse, repeatedly tap on it with an empty hand to mount it until hearts appear. To breed two tamed horses, feed them both Golden Apples or Golden Carrots.
How to feed a wolf (dog) in Minecraft iPad?
To tame a wild wolf, repeatedly tap and hold on it with Bones. Once tamed, you can heal your dog by tapping and holding on it with any type of meat (raw or cooked). To breed two tamed wolves, feed them both any type of meat.
How to feed a cat (ocelot) in Minecraft iPad?
To tame a wild ocelot into a cat, hold Raw Cod or Raw Salmon and approach it slowly. Wait for it to come to you, then tap and hold to feed. It might take several fish.
How to feed a chicken in Minecraft iPad?
You feed chickens any type of Seeds (wheat, pumpkin, melon, beetroot) by tapping and holding on them.
How to feed a cow in Minecraft iPad?
You feed cows Wheat by tapping and holding on them.
How to feed a pig in Minecraft iPad?
Pigs can be fed Carrots, Potatoes, or Beetroots by tapping and holding on them.
How to feed a sheep in Minecraft iPad?
Sheep eat Wheat. Tap and hold on them with wheat to feed.
How to know what food an animal eats in Minecraft iPad?
The easiest way is to consult online guides (like this one!) or the official Minecraft Wiki. In-game, generally holding the correct food will cause the animal to look at you or follow you.
How to breed animals in Minecraft iPad?
Find two adult animals of the same type, gather their preferred food, equip the food, and then tap and hold on each animal until hearts appear. If they are close enough (within 8 blocks), they will mate and produce a baby.
