Top 5 things you probably didn't know about cows in Minecraft

Cows are one of the most common mobs in Minecraft. They're the easiest to find and not difficult to breed or kill for their loot. They have a lot of uses in the game, so they're important, if not rare. However, players may think they know everything about cows. That's probably not the case, so here are five things about cows many players may not have learned.

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Minecraft players might not have known these things about cows

5) Drop rates

A cow can drop cooked meat if killed with fire (Image via Mojang)

Most Minecraft players know that cows drop leather and raw beef (unless killed with a Fire Aspect sword or Flint and Steel). However, they may not know how much and how often those items drop.

• 0-2 leather per kill (increased by 1 for each Looting level)
• 1-3 raw beef (maximum of 6 with Looting III)
• 1-3 XP orbs when killed by player or wolf
• 1-7 XP orbs when bred successfully

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4) Calf spawns

Breeding two cows will result in a calf spawning. This is the most common way to get a calf, but they can spawn naturally. Many players might have seen a calf wandering around and it's not because two Minecraft cows just bred themselves. There is just a 5% chance of a cow spawning as a calf, so they're pretty rare.

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3) Added with update 1.0.9

Cows were not always around (Image via Mojang)

Cows were not always around. They were added to Java Edition Alpha in update 1.0.9. Not all mobs were added in the initial release of the game. Cows, like many others, came later as the game has grown over the years.

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2) Cow behavior

Cow behavior may seem random and aimless. They typically wander around and occasionally look at a player. However, cows will never go to the water unless a player leads them with a lead or wheat. They also avoid walking over minecart rails and walking off high enough banks to take fall damage.

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1) Mooshroom to cow

Mooshrooms can be turned into cows (Image via Mojang)

Mooshrooms are far less common than cows since they only spawn in Mushroom Fields biomes. However, players may not know that they can turn a mooshroom into a cow if they please. Shearing a mooshroom (which would otherwise be a random thing to do) will turn it into a cow in Minecraft drop five mushrooms.

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Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.