How to Breed Villagers in Minecraft

Villagers are kind of a big deal in Minecraft. They help with farming, trading, and all kinds of other tasks. You definitely can’t have too many of them! The good news is that breeding villagers in Minecraft is really easy. This wikiHow article will walk you through how to do it step-by-step, including what you'll need to craft and give to your villagers in order to get them to breed.

Things You Should Know

A village needs to have enough beds for the villagers and the child they produce to be able to breed. You'll need 3 blocks of wool and 3 wooden planks.
Villagers need to be in close proximity and have an inventory full of food before they'll breed (either 3 loaves of bread, 12 carrots, 12 beetroot, or 12 potatoes).
Trading with villagers also increases their happiness level and makes them more willing to breed. Emeralds are one of the most commonly traded items.

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

Breeding Villagers

1
Find a village. Villages generate at random locations on the map. Be patient. You may need to look around for a while to find a village. Villages can be found in the plains, snowy plains, deserts, taigas, snowy taigas, and savannah biomes. The village needs to have at least 2 villagers.
2
Build a structure to breed your villagers in (optional). This is not required to breed villagers, but building a structure will keep them from wandering off. Villagers need to be in close proximity in order to breed. It will also protect them from hostile mobs and raiders. The structure can be made out of any building material. It needs to be big enough to house all the villagers you want to breed as well as beds for each villager and the offspring they produce.
- Make sure any windows are covered with glass or iron bars. Baby villagers can escape through open gaps in structures.
- The roof needs to be at least two block spaces above each bed in order for the villagers to be able to use them.
- Don't build a door to your structure. Villagers can open and close doors. To prevent them from escaping, use a fence gate instead.^{[1]
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- Make sure the area you keep your villagers is larger enough for them to get around. Your area should have at least 3 square blocks of empty space for each villager you want to breed.
- Villager occupations are now determined by any available workstation block nearby (such as a fletching table, or composter). Any new villagers will automatically be registered to any available workstation in the village and assigned an occupation based on that workstation. If you have a specific occupation you want your new villagers to fill, you may want to build the structure at least 48 blocks away from any nearby workstations to keep them from registering an occupation automatically. Baby villagers will be assigned a nearby workstation when they become adults.^{[2]
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3
Craft at least 3 beds and place them in the village or structure. In order for villagers to breed, they need a bed for both the villagers that are breeding and the baby they produce. You will need to craft a new bed for each villager you want to produce. You can craft a bed from 3 blocks of wool and 3 wooden plank blocks using a crafting table.
4
Get at least two villagers close together. If you've built a structure, try to corral them into the structure and then wall off or gate the entrance so they can't wander off. You can move villagers by simply walking into them. This pushes them in the direction you want them to go. You can also use a boat to transport villagers, even on land.
- You can craft a boat out of a shovel, and 5 wooden plank blocks using a crafting table. Boats can be used to transport villagers, even on land (though it's really slow). Villagers will not be able to leave the boat until you break it apart.
5
Gather food for the villagers. Each villager has their own independent inventory that they use to keep items like food. In order for villagers to breed, they need either 3 loaves of bread, 12 carrots, 12 beetroot, or 12 potatoes in their inventory. The good news is, you won't need to go far to find these items because they can all be found inside the village.
- Carrots: Carrots are grown by farmer villagers inside the village. You can harvest them from the village gardens once they are fully matured. Carrots are fully matured when the green leaves at the top are at their fullest and a tip of the orange carrot is sticking out of the ground where they are planted.
- Potatoes: Potatoes are also grown by farmer villagers Potatoes can be harvested from village gardens. Potatoes are fully matured when there is a full stalk of leaves growing out of the ground where the potatoes are planted. However, sometimes you get a poisonous potato, which isn't useful for anything.
- Beetroot: Beetroot is also grown by farmer villagers. However, unlike potatoes and carrots, you cannot plant the beetroot itself to grow more beetroot. You need to plant beetroot seeds in order to grow beetroot, which takes up more space in your inventory. Beetroot and beetroot seeds can be harvested from village gardens. Beetroot is fully mature when you can see the leaves and red of beetroot sticking out of the ground where they are planted.
- Bread: You can purchase bread from villagers or craft it using three bushels of wheat and a crafting table. Sometimes, you can also find bread in chests in villages. Wheat is grown by farmer villagers in village gardens. Wheat is fully matured when it grows tall and turns slightly brown. Break fully matured wheat to obtain bushels of wheat.
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Give food to the villagers.^{[4]
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Expert Source

Zac Churchill
Minecraft Specialist
Expert Interview. 2 December 2020.} To give the villagers food simply drop it on the floor next to them. When the villagers walk over it, it will be added to their inventory. Once both villagers in close proximity have enough food in their inventory, they may become willing to breed. You can drop items by equipping them and pressing "Q" on your keyboard or the drop button on your controller. You can also drop items, by clicking them in your inventory and dragging it outside your inventory.
7
Trade with the villagers (optional, but recommended). Trading with villagers is not required to get them to breed, but it increases their happiness level, which makes them more willing to breed. Villagers have different items they are willing to trade for different items. Select a villager to see what they have to trade and what they want in return. Make sure you have the item they want in return in your inventory and select the option to trade with them.
- Emeralds are one of the most commonly traded items in Minecraft.
8
Wait for the villagers to breed. You will know that villagers are breeding when they face each other and hearts float all around them. A tiny villager will emerge. It takes 20 minutes for a baby villager to mature into an adult.
- If your villagers are not breeding, there could be a number of reasons for it. It could be that the beds are already claimed by other villagers. The roof over the beds is too short, it could also be that villagers don't feel safe with whatever is in the surrounding area.

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Breeding Villagers In Version 1.14 and Earlier

1
Find a village. Villages generate at random locations in the game world. Villages can be found in the plains, desert, and savannah biomes. The village needs to have at least 2 villagers. Be patient. Villages are not always easy to find. You may have explored for a while before you find one. Use the map you get at the start of the game to keep track of your location.
2
Build more houses with doors in the village. In older versions of Minecraft, villagers will mate as long as the total population of villagers is less than 35% of the number of doors in a village.^{[5]
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Expert Source

Zac Churchill
Minecraft Specialist
Expert Interview. 2 December 2020.} A valid door is any door where one side of the door leads to a room with a roof, while the other side leads to the outside.
- To make a valid door, technically all you need is a door with one block overhead on one side.
- To increase the number of doors in your village, you can build a single structure with multiple doors.
3
Build gardens for the villagers. Villagers love to grow crops. Most villages already have a couple of gardens already built in the village. You can build more to increase villager happiness levels and make them more willing to breed.^{[6]
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Research source} To build gardens, find a well-lit area and dig a trench next to dirt blocks and fill the trench with water. Then use a hoe to till the dirt blocks. You can plant seeds or vegetables in the tilled dirt blocks, or allow the villagers to do it themselves. ^{[7]
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- You can also throw food to villagers.^{[8]
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  Zac Churchill
  Minecraft Specialist
  Expert Interview. 2 December 2020.} Villagers become willing to breed when they have either 3 bread, 12 carrots, or 12 potatoes in their inventory.
  - To craft bread, select a crafting table and place three wheat stalks in any row of the 3x3 grid. Drag the bread into your inventory.
4
Trade with the villagers. Trading with villagers is the primary way to make them willing to breed. Different villagers have different items they are willing to trade in exchange for different items. You must have the items the villager wants in your inventory to trade with them. Trading with the same villager multiple times unlocks new items the villager can trade. Trade with the villagers to increase their happiness level. Afterward, subsequent trades have a 1 in 5 chance of making the villager willing to breed again. Green particles appear when a villager has become willing to breed.
- Being willing to breed will not automatically make the villager seek out a mate. Two villagers that are willing to mate must be in close proximity. Trading with villagers will make them more willing to breed.
5
Wait for villagers to breed. Once two or more villagers in close proximity are willing to breed, they will breed automatically. You will know that villagers are breeding when they face each other and hearts float all around them. A tiny villager will emerge. It takes 20 minutes for a baby villager to mature into an adult.
- After they mate, the villagers are no longer willing and must be made willing again.^{[9]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Crafting Beds for Villagers

1
Gather the materials. In order to craft one bed, you will need three wooden plank blocks, and three blocks of wool. You will also need a crafting table. Use the following steps to obtain the materials you need:
- Wood planks: To gather wood walk up to a tree and attack the trunk with your hands (or an axe) until the trunk blocks break apart and drops a small wooden log block. Walk over the wood block to pick it up. Then open the crafting menu and craft wood plank blocks from the wood.
- Wool: Wool can be obtained by either killing sheep, or sheering them with a pair of sheers which can be crafted from two iron bars using a crafting table.
2
Craft a crafting table. In order to craft a crafting table, open your crafting menu and place 4 wooden plank blocks in the crafting grid to the right of your character. Then drag the crafting table to your inventory.
3
Place the crafting table and open it. Place the crafting table in your hot bar at the bottom of your inventory and equip it. Place it by aiming at the ground where you want the crafting table to go. Then right-click or press the left trigger button to place it.
4
Craft a bed. To craft a bed, open the crafting table, and place three wool blocks in the top row of the 3x3 crafting grid. Then place 3 wooden blocks in the middle row below the wool blocks. Drag the bed into your inventory.
- You can also craft different color beds using dyes.
5
Place the bed. To place a bed, place it in your hot bar and equip it. Aim at the ground where you want to place the bed, and right-click or press the left trigger to place it where you want it to go.

Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Building Houses in the Village

1
Gather building materials. Village houses can be made out of any material you want. Not all materials require tools to harvest or mine, but tools make the process quicker. The following are common materials, and how to gather them:
- Dirt: Dirt is found all over. To gather dirt, simply attack with your hand (or a shovel) until the dirt block breaks apart and drops a small dirt block. Walk over the small dirt block to collect it.
- Wood planks: To gather wood, walk up to a tree and attack the trunk with your hands (or an axe) until the trunk blocks break apart and drop a small wood block. Walk over the wood block to pick it up. Then open the crafting menu and craft wood plank blocks from the wood blocks.
- Cobblestone: Cobblestone is a bit sturdier (and more resistant to creeper explosions). To mine cobblestone, you first need to craft a pickaxe. Equip the pickaxe from the menu. Equip the pickaxe and attack stone blocks inside caves or along the sides of mountains.
2
Select a location. Make sure the location you select is within the village. The game calculates the center of the village as the average coordinates of all the doors in the village. The outer parameter of the villages is either 32 blocks from the center, or the furthest door from the center, depending on which is greater.^{[10]
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3
Build a structure. Use the building materials you gather to build the outside of a house or structure. It can be any shape you want as long as it has opaque blocks overhead to act as a roof. It should be at least three blocks tall so that the villagers (and the player) have room to move around inside. Leave a space that is 2 blocks tall in the wall for the door or gate. If you are playing a newer version of Minecraft, use a gate instead of a door, to prevent villagers from escaping.
- To build, place your building material in your hot bar at the bottom of your inventory. Highlight the material in your hot bar to equip it. Aim at the ground where you want to place a building material, then right-click (or press the left trigger button) to place a block.
4
Build a crafting table and place it. A crafting table is built using four wood plank blocks in the crafting menu. After you build a crafting table, place it anywhere in the game world.
5
Use the crafting table to craft a door or a gate. To make a gate, select the crafting table and place 4 sticks in the bottom left and right corners, and the center-right and left sides of the 3x3 grid. Then place 2 wooden plank blocks in the center and bottom center of the 3x3 grid. Drag the fence gate into your inventory. To craft a door, select the crafting table and place 6 wood plank blocks in the 3x3 grid in the crafting table. Drag the door into your inventory.
6
Place the door or gate in your structure. To place the door or gate in your structure, place it in your hot bar and then select the corresponding space to equip the gate or door. Then aim at the ground where you want to place it, and right-click (or press the left trigger button on your game controller) to place the door.

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Trading with Villagers

1
Select a villager. To select a villager, stand in front of them, and aim at them. Right-click or press the left trigger button on the controller. This displays their inventory window.
2
Examine the villager's inventory. The spaces at the top of the window display what the villager has for sale. The box in the lower-left corner of the window displays what the villager requires for the trade. You must have the item they want in your inventory to make a trade.
3
Select the item you want to buy. To select an item, click it or press the confirm button on your controller. The item you are trading will automatically be removed from your inventory, and the item you are purchasing will be placed in your inventory.
- Villagers have only one or two items when you first trade with them. The more you trade with them, the more items they will have for sale.

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Building Gardens for Villagers

1
Mine cobblestone, coal, and iron ore. All of these materials are found in caves. You need a pickaxe to mine these materials.
- Stone blocks are grey blocks that resemble stone. Use a pickaxe to mine cobblestone from stone blocks.
- Coal blocks look like stone blocks with black spots. Use a pickaxe to mine coal from the coal blocks.
- Iron ore blocks look like stone blocks with yellowish spots on them. Use a stone pickaxe or stronger to mine iron ore.
2
Build a crafting table and place it. A crafting table is built using four wood plank blocks in the crafting menu. After you build a crafting table, place it anywhere in the world.
3
Craft a furnace and place it. To craft a furnace, select the crafting table and place 8 cobblestone blocks along all sides of the 3x3 grid. Drag the furnace into your hot bar below your inventory. Place the furnace in your hot bar and equip it. Aim at the ground where you want to place it and right-click (or press the left trigger button) to place it.
4
Use the furnace to smelt the iron. To smelt your iron ore, select the furnace and place the coal in the fuel space (the space below the icon that resembles flames). Then place your iron ore blocks in the space above the flame. Allow a few minutes for the iron to finish smelting. When your iron ore is finished smelting, select the furnace and drag the iron bars from the square on the right and place them in your inventory.
5
Use the crafting table to craft a bucket. To craft a bucket, select the crafting table and place an iron block in the left-center, right-center, and bottom-center space of the 3x3 grid. Then drag the bucket into your inventory.
6
Find a well-lit area in the village. Find an area in the village that gets plenty of sunlight, and is about 5x10 dirt blocks wide.
7
Dig a trench down the center of your garden. You can use your hand (or a shovel) to dig a trench down the center of the garden. The trench should only be 1 block deep.
8
Use the bucket to gather water. Place the bucket in your hot bar and equip it. Then locate a nearby water source and use the bucket to gather water. Equip the bucket in your hot bar and click any area that has water to fill the bucket.
9
Fill the trench with water. After you gather water, return to your garden with the trench and dump the water in the trench to fill it. Equip the bucket full of water in your hot bar and click the empty trench to fill it full of water. It may take a couple of trips to completely fill the trench.
10
Use the crafting table to craft a hoe. To craft a hoe, select the crafting table and place two sticks in the center, and bottom-center spaces of the 3x3 grid. Then place two wooden plank, cobblestone, iron bar, or diamonds in the upper-center and upper-left spaces. Drag the hoe into your inventory.
- Sticks are crafted from wood plank blocks in the crafting menu.
11
Use the crafting table to craft a composter. In version 1.14, composters were added as a villager workstation. When placed next to a garden, a villager that does not have an occupation can claim the workstation and become a farmer. Composters can also be used to recycle old food and plants into bone meal. ^{[11]
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Research source} To craft a composter, select a crafting table and place 7 wooden slabs along the left, bottom, and right edges of the 3x3 grid. Then drag the composter into your inventory.^{[12]
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- To craft wooden slabs, select a crafting table and place three wooden plank blocks along the bottom of the 3x3 grid. Then drag the wooden slabs into your inventory. 3 wooden plank blocks can craft 6 wooden slabs.^{[13]
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12
Gather materials to grow. Carrots, potatoes, wheat seeds, beetroot, cocoa seeds, melons, and pumpkins can all be planted and grown.
- Carrots, potatoes, beetroot, and wheat seeds can be harvested from garden plots that already exist in villages. You can also gather wheat seeds by breaking tall grass.
13
Use the hoe to till the garden. Place the hoe in your hot bar at the bottom of your inventory. Then equip it. Use it to till the soil two spaces on either side of the trench with water in it.
14
Place the composter. To place the composter, put it in your hot bar and equip it. Aim at the ground where you want to place the composter and right-click or squeeze the left trigger button. Place it next to the water trench or next to one of your tilled soil squares.
- Placing used food and plants in the composter has a chance of producing bone meal, which can be used as fertilizer to help your garden crops grow faster.^{[14]
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Plant your crops. After the soil has been tilled, place your crops in your hot bar and plant it in the group by right-clicking or pressing the left trigger on the controller. Allow a few days for the crops to grow.
16
Harvest the crops. After the crops are fully grown, click on them or press the right trigger to harvest them.
- If a villager has 3 bread, 12 carrots, 12 potatoes, or 12 beetroots in their inventory, they will become willing to breed.
  - To craft bread, select a crafting table and place three wheat stalks in any row of the 3x3 grid. Drag the bread into your inventory.

Expert Q&A
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Question

Why won't my villagers breed?

Zac Churchill
Minecraft Specialist
Zac Churchill is from Davidson, North Carolina, and currently attends Tufts University. He has played Minecraft for over eight years and has extensive knowledge on how to play Minecraft and how the game has changed over the different versions. Specifically, Zac has expert experience in survival worlds, large builds on creative mode, and server design/upkeep.

Zac Churchill

Minecraft Specialist

Expert Answer

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

In the new version of Minecraft, villagers must be willing to breed. While you can't totally control this, you can encourage them to breed by giving them specific amounts of food.
Question

What is the best thing you can do with a poisonous potato?

Anonymous Pro

Community Answer

Composters are blocks which generate naturally in the village (if there is a farm/er). You can throw poisonous potatoes in there and eventually the composter will make bonemeal, which you can use to make crops grow faster.
Question

How do you fly ender dragons?

Seasalt25

Top Answerer

You cannot fly ender dragons in Minecraft without mods, you need mods to do this.

Warnings

Try and keep Zombie Villagers out of sunlight while curing them, because they will burn and die in sunlight, wasting your potion and golden apple.

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