In Minecraft, chickens follow seeds, which players can use to attract them for breeding or farming purposes.
Chickens in Minecraft are passive mobs that provide valuable resources like eggs, feathers, and raw chicken. Understanding their behavior is key to farming them efficiently. This guide covers everything about what chickens follow and how to use this knowledge to your advantage.
What Attracts Chickens in Minecraft?
Chickens are drawn to players holding specific seed types. They follow any player within six blocks who carries:
- Wheat seeds
- Pumpkin seeds
- Melon seeds
- Beetroot seeds
This mechanic works similarly to how real chickens can be trained to come when called. The attraction range forms a 6x4x6 area around the player.
Baby Chicken Behavior
Baby chickens behave differently than adults. Instead of following seeds, they naturally follow adult chickens. This mimics how real baby chicks imprint on adult birds.
Advanced Chicken Mechanics
Beyond simple following behavior, chickens have several unique traits:
Movement Patterns
- Chickens wander aimlessly when not following seeds
- They attempt to jump up stairs rather than walk normally
- Chickens avoid walking off cliffs
Special Abilities
| Ability | Details |
|---|---|
| Slow Falling | Chickens flap wings to slow descent, taking no fall damage |
| Swimming | Can stay underwater for 15 seconds before drowning |
| Egg Laying | Adults lay eggs every 5-10 minutes (6000-12000 ticks) |
Chicken Farming Strategies
Using their seed-following behavior, you can create efficient chicken farms:
Basic Containment
- Build a fenced area with at least 2 blocks of air above
- Lure chickens inside using seeds
- Close the gate behind them
Automated Egg Farms
More advanced designs use:
- Water streams to collect eggs
- Hoppers to gather resources
- Dispensers to automatically breed chickens
Breeding Chickens
To breed chickens:
- Collect two adult chickens
- Feed each one seeds (any type works)
- Hearts will appear and a baby chicken spawns
Baby chickens grow faster when fed seeds – each seed reduces growth time by 10%. With optimal feeding, they mature in just 48 seconds.
Special Chicken Variants
Chicken Jockeys
These rare spawns (0.25% chance) consist of baby zombies riding chickens. In the Nether, zombified piglins may spawn as jockeys wielding golden swords.
Chicken Drops
When killed, chickens drop:
- 0-2 feathers (up to 5 with Looting III)
- 1 raw chicken (or cooked if burning)
- 1-3 XP orbs (more for jockeys)
Understanding chicken behavior helps create efficient farms and ensures a steady supply of eggs, feathers, and food in your Minecraft world.