Minecraft cow variants: Everything you need to know

Mojang will soon release two new cow variants in Minecraft's upcoming game drop. These variants were recently introduced in the Java Edition snapshot 25w05a along with several other new ambient features. Cows in Minecraft have not received any major visual updates since they were first released. Now, they will have two new variants simply named cold and warm cows.

Here are some important that you should know about these new cow variants in Minecraft.

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All major details about the new cow variants in Minecraft

The two cow variants will spawn in their respective biomes

Warm and cold cows will spawn in warm and cold biomes, respectively (Image via Mojang Studios)

As their names suggest, the two new cow variants will spawn in the warm and cold biomes, respectively. Mojang also wanted to add farm animals to more outdated and barren biomes like Badlands, Snowy Taiga, Jungle, etc.

Warm cows will spawn in the following biomes:

• Savanna
• Savanna Plateau
• Windswept Savanna
• Jungle
• Sparse Jungle
• Bamboo Jungle
• Eroded Badlands
• Wooded Badlands
• Badlands

Cold cows will spawn in these biomes:

• Old Growth Pine Taiga
• Old Growth Spruce Taiga
• Taiga
• Snowy Taiga
• Windswept Hills
• Windswept Gravelly Hills
• Windswept Forest

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Texture and horn differences between the two variants

Both cow variants have distinct horns (Image via Mojang Studios)

When compared side-by-side, both cow variants differ in their texture. The cold cows have a fur-like orange texture with a few pixels hanging out of their bodies, while warm cows have a plain rust-colored texture with a few extremely subtle shade changes. Even their feet and accent textures have different colors.

These differences in texture make them unique in their own way, so much so that the cows may look like new mobs at first glance.

Another striking feature that both cow variants have is their horns. Both of them have larger horns than the original cow. Warm cows have horns that protrude out from the side of their heads and then point towards the sky. Meanwhile, cold cows have horns that also protrude from the side of their heads but they directly point forward.

The difference in horns and texture will easily help you spot both variants from a distance. Such small details ensure that the cows look right at home in their respective biomes.

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Baby cows' textures will be based on their parents and not the biome

A baby cow's variant will not be dependent on the biome but on its parents (Image via Mojang Studios)

Once these new cow variants are released, players will try to breed two different variants to see what happens. In their patch notes for snapshot 25w05a, Mojang mentioned that a baby cow's variant will not depend on which biome it spawns in. Instead, it'll spawn as either of the two parent variants.

Hence, if different cow variants are bred together, there is a 50/50 chance of the baby being one of the two parent variants. The biome it spawns in will not come into play.

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