The upcoming Minecraft update is shaping up to be a treat for animal fans

For a long time, Minecraft updates have usually focused on adding new content, such as mobs, structures, and biomes, for players to discover. While fans love these additions, the influx of only new content makes the old content seem stale and, at times, forgotten. Not to mention, players are forced to make long trips to discover newly added biomes and structures.

However, that is not the case with the upcoming Minecraft update. The first game update of 2025 is aimed at enhancing the Overworld by introducing new decorative blocks for various biomes, ambient sounds for deserts and badlands, and, most importantly, new variants of iconic animals.

Pigs, cows, and chickens are getting new variants in the next Minecraft update. These three animals have been part of the game since its release but have barely received any changes. Mojang has finally decided to add new types of animals to the game.

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Upcoming Minecraft Update to introduce new pigs, cows, and chickens

In the first week of January 2025, Minecraft announced two new pig variants, which already got fans excited about the update. However, that was just the tip of the iceberg, as Mojang later revealed new variants for two more mobs: cows and chickens.

Pigs, cows, and chickens now have three types: warm, temperate, and cold. As you can guess from their names, warm animal variants spawn in biomes with warm temperatures like deserts and badlands, whereas cold animal variants inhabit biomes with low temperatures like snowy plains and taiga forests. Finally, the original designs are now referred to as temperate animals, spawning in biomes with moderate temperatures like plains.

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What do the new animal variants look like in Minecraft?

Warm and cold pig variants

Cold and warm pigs (Image via Mojang & Sportskeeda Gaming)

Warm pigs have a dark brown texture and resemble the Red River Hog, a type of wild pig found in Africa. In Minecraft, players will find warm pigs in Savannas, Jungles, and Badlands.

On the other hand, cold pigs have a pale beige fur coat to help them survive in the cold regions of the game. Players can find cold pigs in Taiga, Snowy, and Windswept biomes.

Warm and cold cow variants

Warm and cold cows (Image via Mojang & Sportskeeda Gaming)

While warm and cold pigs appear to be simple reskins of the original pig design, the same cannot be said for the upcoming cow variants. There are a few notable differences between warm and cold cows. The former has horns pointing upwards, while the latter has horns extending outward from the sides of their heads.

Cold cows have thick, light orange fur, while warm cows come in a bright, deep red shade. Cold cows seem to be inspired by Highland Cattle from Scotland, while warm cows share similarities with African Ankole Cattle.

Warm and cold chicken variants

Warm and cold chickens (Image via Mojang & Sportskeeda Gaming)

Long ago, Minecraft featured a diamond chicken as an April Fools' joke, but now, Mojang has finally added new chicken variants to the game. Even though these new chickens do not lay diamonds, players will love seeing different varieties of chickens in their worlds.

Since there are hundreds of chicken breeds in real life, it is hard to determine exactly what the warm and cold chicken variants are based on. Cold chickens have grey feathers on their bodies with a darker shade on their wings and heads. Warm chickens have a bright orange and yellow texture on their wings and bodies.

There is another interesting detail about chicken variants. Warm, temperate, and cold chickens all lay different types of eggs. Cold chickens lay blue eggs, warm chickens lay brown eggs, and temperate chickens continue to lay the classic white eggs.

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The upcoming Minecraft update is shaping up to be an exciting addition, especially for players who love animals. These new animals not only add fresh visual appeal but also bring biome-specific authenticity, making the Overworld feel more alive than ever. While we do not know the exact release date, players can expect the update to arrive in the first quarter of 2025.