Player shares weird Minecraft mob behavior causing cows to group near fences

Minecraft has a lot of different game rules that the mobs follow to ensure everything remains within bounds. This is the reason why players do not see cows flying around, or the zombies becoming passive. But sometimes, there are some bizarre things the mobs do that might shock or even scare the player. And a new spooky behavior was discovered recently.

A Minecraft player who goes by the name u/Arielgot shared an image on the game's subreddit showing a cow farm from a height. Instead of standing in random positions, Minecraft's cows gathered around at the fence's edges, leaving an empty semi-circle area in the pen. The OP could not figure out what was going on on their farm.

Why are my cows forming a circle of emptiness in my farm? I'm really confused byu/Arielgot inMinecraft

Reacting to the post and giving a possible explanation, u/Harflin said that if they remember correctly, this is due to the fences where mobs try to find the path through them. They mentioned that these fences may not have registered as a complete blockage. The user suggested that using two solid blocks as fences would fix the issue, but would make things look odd.

Comment byu/Arielgot from discussion inMinecraft

Another player named u/bdubz325 replied to the comment, saying it only looks bad when using two solid blocks. The user suggested adding a slab border and an occasional glass pane with some vines growing on it to make things look better.

Comment byu/Arielgot from discussion inMinecraft

u/mattclement895 suggested the original poster dig down an area of two blocks in depth and then have ladders and gates periodically to avoid this from happening. u/gunslinger911 added that they have always done that but they do not know why they did it.

Another player named u/AmbitiousCarpe2807 said even they used to do this because animals tended to glitch out of their enclosures. However, keeping them in the ground helped this from happening.

Redditors react to the bizarre cow behaviour in Minecraft (Image via Reddit)

u/Squackachu added that they would also dig a two-by-two hole that’s also two blocks deep in the ground. They did that to keep their horses and get on them whenever going for cave exploration.

Redditors also figure out why this happened in Minecraft (Image via Reddit)

u/awkprinter jokingly said that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and that’s why the cows are trying to get to it. Another player named u/No-Blackberry734 asked whether the tall grass around the fence could be the reason why the cows have huddled up around the edges.

Answering the question, u/Wellamstupid said that they do not think cows try to eat or even go for tall grass, although it would be very cool if they were designed to prefer it.

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The different gameplay mechanics of Minecraft

The game got new wolf variants last year (Image via Mojang Studios)

Minecraft has been very popular for more than 15 years, and one of the reasons for it are the gameplay mechanics. Players need to find resources, fend off enemies, farm animals, grow crops, and explore the blocky world. All of these things are possible because of the game rules that all the mobs and objects follow.

Passive animals, such as cows and sheep, roam freely but avoid dangerous areas. Many animals follow players holding specific food items. For example, cows and sheep follow wheat, while pigs follow carrots.

Some animals, such as wolves and cats, have unique behaviors. Wolves can be tamed using bones and will follow the player, while cats prefer to go their own way. Mojang Studios added eight new wolf variants to Minecraft that can be found in different biomes, making exploration more fun.

However, Minecraft sometimes has bugs that affect gameplay. Some cause animals to move in strange ways, such as spinning or walking through walls. Structure generation may also create floating or incomplete buildings.

Sometimes terrain generation results in strange formations, such as trees without leaves or water floating in midair. Some mechanics, like redstone circuits, may work differently due to unintended interactions.