How do you breed and feed donkeys in Minecraft?

Who this is for: Minecraft players wanting to expand their farm with donkeys for transportation and storage.


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Finding and Taming Donkeys

Donkeys spawn naturally in plains, meadows, and savanna biomes, usually in groups of 1-3. Unlike horses, they’re less common but easier to spot due to their distinctive gray color and long ears. To tame a donkey, approach it slowly and right-click (or tap on mobile) to mount it repeatedly until you see heart particles appear.

Feeding Your Donkeys

Donkeys eat several types of food, each serving different purposes:

  • Sugar, wheat, apples, and carrots – Basic foods that help with taming and restore small amounts of health
  • Golden apples and golden carrots – Premium foods that significantly boost health and are essential for breeding
  • Hay bales – The most efficient healing item, restoring 20 health points instantly

Feed donkeys by holding the food item and right-clicking on them. You’ll see eating particles when they consume the food.

Breeding Donkeys Successfully

To breed donkeys, you need two tamed adult donkeys and golden apples or golden carrots. Here’s the step-by-step process:

  1. Ensure both donkeys are fully tamed and healthy
  2. Feed each donkey a golden apple or golden carrot
  3. You’ll see heart particles above both donkeys
  4. The donkeys will approach each other and produce a baby donkey (called a foal)
  5. Wait 5 minutes before breeding the same pair again

Baby donkeys take 20 minutes to grow into adults, but you can speed this up by feeding them – each feeding reduces the growth time by 10%.

Special Breeding Combinations

Donkeys can crossbreed with horses to create mules, which are sterile but have unique advantages. Mules inherit the donkey’s ability to carry chests while being slightly faster than donkeys. Simply breed a tamed horse with a tamed donkey using the same golden food method.

Donkey Care Tips

Keep your donkeys in a fenced area with grass blocks so they can graze and regenerate health naturally. Unlike horses, donkeys can carry chests, making them excellent pack animals for long journeys. Attach a chest by right-clicking with a chest in hand, giving you 15 additional inventory slots.

Understanding these breeding and feeding mechanics will help you build a thriving donkey population for all your transportation and storage needs in your Minecraft world.

TL;DR

Feed donkeys golden apples or golden carrots to breed them, and use regular food like wheat or carrots for health. Baby donkeys take 20 minutes to mature and can crossbreed with horses to create mules.

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Joyst1ck

Gaming Writer & HTML5 Developer

Answering gaming questions—from Roblox and Minecraft to the latest indie hits. I write developer‑focused HTML5 articles and share practical tips on game design, monetisation, and scripting.

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