There are a handful of reasons someone might want to build an efficient villager farm in their Minecraft world. Perhaps, they've grown bored of simply surviving, just to vanquish the Ender Dragon time and time again; they desire the power of trading and need an ample supply of villagers to staff their trading halls. Or, they've become lonely in their large, yet desolate, Minecraft empire and seek company. Whatever the purpose and intention might be, the villager farm itself is quite simple and will always function via the same foundational mechanics.
As with any build in Minecraft, it is important to remember that it is your own creativity that brings the builds to life. This article will serve as an informative guide to help you understand what is necessary to get a villager farm up and running. Of course, there is always room for personalization and imagination to make the build your own.
The First Two Villagers
In order to breed any mob in Minecraft, you will, of course, need two initial representatives of that mob class. Villagers are no exception. The first step in your journey to a functional villager farm is acquiring two villagers. From this initial couple, your villager population will grow exponentially. There are two primary methods by which one can go about obtaining these first two.
The first, and much simpler method, is taking the villagers directly from a village. If you are lucky enough to have a village near to your intended build site, then this is by far the optimal choice. You can simply put a villager in a boat and take him to the farm. Yes, villagers can be put in boats; and yes, boats can be driven across the land. Place a boat down on the ground, right next to the villager's feet. The villager should automatically place themselves in the boat. If this doesn't work, try nudging them closer to the boat. Once this is accomplished, join the villager in the boat and drive it to the desired location.
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Remember, however, that boats can only travel across flat land. They will not go up a block. A simple solution to this problem is using a piston and lever. Place the piston under the boat and use the lever to activate it. The boat will be lifted up one block and can now be driven off the piston. In the same way, villagers are placed in boats, they can also be put in minecarts. So, if you have large stores of iron and want to boost your wealth, you can use minecarts and rails as an alternative to the boat, piston, and lever system.
Perhaps, however, you have built your base far from any village, or up high at the peak of a mountain. Relocating villagers such vast distances and up to such high altitudes by boat is not ideal. Luckily, there is a second method by which you can acquire your "Adam and Eve." Every time a zombie spawns in Minecraft, it has a 5% chance of spawning as a zombie villager. These zombie villagers can be healed and subsequently turned into regular healthy villagers. All you need to do is find a zombie villager, throw a splash potion of weakness at it, and feed it a golden apple. It will immediately start vibrating and making weird noises. Don't worry! This means that your treatment is working. It can take several minutes, but eventually, the process will complete and you will have made yourself a healthy villager.
When you have captured your first two villagers, make sure to trap them in some place where they can not wander away. They love to do that.
Building The Farm
At this point, you have successfully obtained two healthy villagers and are ready to build the farm structure itself. This is where your creativity and imagination are most useful. There is no one way to build a farm. As long as it meets a short list of requirements, you can build it in any way you like. Here are the requirements, and some recommendations, for building an effective villager farm.
- One bed for each villager + one extra bed for the next villager being produced
- A chest for storing food
- Gates or trap doors, for entering and exiting the farm
- Plenty of light sources
In order for the farm to be functional, each villager requires its own bed. You will also need to place an extra bed for the next villager being produced (number of beds = number of villagers +1). You can always just craft an exorbitant excess of beds, however, to relieve the stress of keeping track of villagers and bed counts.
Placing a chest, designated for storing food, on the farm can greatly increase its efficiency. Villagers require food for mating. You will find that having an easily accessible store of food on the farm is very helpful.
You will also quickly discover that villagers tend not to stay put. They like to wander away and roam freely. These tendencies are very counterproductive, however, and keeping them contained is a necessary part of keeping the farm functional. While villagers can open regular doors, they are not capable of opening gates and trap doors. Consider using one, or both, of these options for getting in and out of the farm.
Lastly, you will need to equip your villager farm with plenty of light sources. This will rid the farm of dark areas in which monsters can spawn, keeping your villagers safe. Here is a list of commonly used light sources in Minecraft that you can use to decorate the farm.
- Torch
- Lantern
- Jack O' Lantern
- Glowstone
- Shroomlight
- Candles
- Redstone Lamp
- Sea Lantern
- Beacon
- End Rod
- Glow Lichen
Beyond these few requirements, how you build the farm is ultimately your decision. You can build a large magnificent building, a secret underground facility, or a fenced-in outdoor farm. As long as there are enough beds, plenty of food nearby, no way for the villagers to escape, and you have ensured that the villagers are safe from hostile mobs, the construction and style are entirely up to you.
Breeding The Villagers
Finally, you are ready to make this farm operational. The grunt work is behind you and you are ready to see your villager farm come to life. As long as there are at least three beds (two for the initial villagers and one for the villager to come), you are ready to begin breeding.
Villagers require food to mate with each other. You can use either bread, beetroots, potatoes, or carrots. For two villagers to initiate the mating process, each one will need either 3 loaves of bread, 12 carrots, 12 potatoes, or 12 beetroots in their inventory. You can give the food to the villagers by simply dropping it near them; they will eventually pick up the food on their own. After some time, you will notice the villagers standing face to face. They are trading amongst each other and thus indicating that the mating process has begun. After a few minutes, a baby villager will spawn and eventually grow into an adult villager. You will soon notice that an iron golem has spawned to patrol the area. Fear not! Iron golems are only hostile when attacked. Now that there are three villagers, each with an assigned bed, the game has recognized your farm as a distinct village. The iron golems spawn to protect the villagers from monsters.
There is no limit to how many times villagers can mate with each other. As the population increases, you will have more and more villagers to breed. The only constraint, now, on how many villagers you produce is the amount of food you have to give them.