The Ultimate Guide to Animania

Animania is a comprehensive mod that adds dozens of realistic farm animals, pets, and creatures to Minecraft. This guide covers the base mod along with the Cats and Dogs add-on and Extra Animals add-on, walking you through every animal type, their behaviors, habitat requirements, and how to get the most out of them.

Introduction to Animania

Animania fundamentally changes how animal farming works in Minecraft. Unlike vanilla animals, Animania animals require proper care and happiness to function. If your animals aren’t happy, they won’t produce items or breed. Animals come in male and female variants, and each species has specific needs to thrive.

Farm Animals

Pigs

Pigs are one of the first animals you’ll encounter in Animania. There are six different breeds of pigs, each with unique appearances and spawn locations:

Doorkpig – Found in jungles

Hampsha Pig – Spotted variant found in mountain regions

Large Black Pig – Found in swamps and dense forests

Large White Pig – Found in forests

Old Spot – Spotted pig found in forests

Yorksha Pig – Replaces vanilla pigs, found in plains biomes

Pigs love to roll in mud, which is simply dirt and water mixed together. Without mud to roll in, pigs will not be happy. They also appreciate a pond to dive into and clean themselves off. For feeding, pigs can eat carrots, beets, potatoes, and tall grass, but their favorite food is slop—made by combining any type of milk with vegetables.

You can fill troughs with water for your pigs, and you can also use hoppers or pipes from other mods to automate the process. When pigs are happy, they produce raw prime pork, which when cooked gives you Absorption I for 2.5 minutes—much better than regular pork.

Happy pigs will breed naturally if you have both males and females. Because they are mammals, the female will become pregnant and give birth after about one Minecraft day. All adult pigs can be ridden if they’ve been fed and watered—simply right-click them with a carrot and stick to mount, and right-click again to speed up.

A unique feature of pigs is their ability to find truffles. Put a lead on a hungry pig and walk it through a forest—it will find truffles from the ground. Truffles can be eaten raw or crafted into truffle soup, truffle omelette, and super omelette. Roast prime bacon from pigs can also be used with chocolate truffles to make chocolate truffles, which give a speed boost.

For pig care, make straw for sleeping (wheat in a crafting grid) and a carving knife to carve meats and cheeses. If pigs are injured by predators, create salt licks using salt and a water bucket. Salt is made by placing water in a cheese mold and letting it evaporate. Each salt lick has 200 uses and heals the pig by one heart per lick.

Cows

Animania adds many cow variants, including the striking Mushroom Cows. The different beef and milk cow breeds are:

Angus Beef Cow – Large blue variant found in jungles, mesas, and swamps

Heriford Beef Cow – Patchy variant found in mountains (bulls have nose rings and large horns)

Texas Longhorn Beef – Found in savannas

Holstein Cow – Milk cow found in forests

Friesian Cow – Found in wastelands and swamps

Mushroom Cows – Found in mushroom biomes

Cows eat wheat from troughs and will graze on tall grass, flowers, and vegetables. Keep them away from your farms to protect your crops. They drink water from fresh lakes, rivers, man-made ponds, water troughs, and water buckets. Bulls (males) will attack if provoked.

Cows only breed when fed, watered, and happy. They produce milk only when happy and after giving birth, then become thirsty again afterward. Adult beef cows drop prime meats. Cows often spawn as families in the wild, making them realistic to their real-life counterparts.

Their favorite food is wheat. Cows can be very productive if properly cared for.

Chickens

Chickens in Animania are more complex than vanilla chickens, with both rooster and hen variants. There are several breeds:

Leghorn Chicken – Replaces vanilla chickens, found in plains. Lays eggs the fastest and drops feathers periodically

Applington Hen and Rooster – Found in jungles and swamps. Drops raw prime chicken, which cooks to give Haste I for 2.5 minutes

Plymouth Rock – Found in mountains

Rhode Island Red – Found in forests

Wyandotte – Found in forests. Lays brown eggs

Chickens need nests to lay eggs—craft these with leaves, wool, and a stick. You can gather eggs manually or use hoppers to automate collection. Roosters crow early in the morning after dawn. Unlike cows and pigs, chickens don’t consume full water buckets—just having water nearby is sufficient.

Breeding works differently for chickens. When hens lay eggs in nests, roosters will fertilize them, turning them into baby chicks without requiring a love mode interaction. Chickens eat frogs and toads found in the wild and often spawn as families.

You can scatter Minecraft seeds on the ground by right-clicking them, and chickens will eat the scattered seeds. Their favorite food is seeds.

Horses (Draft Horses)

Animania horses are draft horses that come in six different colors and are designed as work animals. They do not replace vanilla Minecraft horses. These animals have both mares and stallions.

To ride a draft horse, equip a regular Minecraft saddle (no special saddle needed), ensure the horse is watered using a water bucket or trough, and feed it wheat, apples, or carrots. Once mounted, you can ride the horse normally.

Horses can pull carts, which is a unique feature. Place a cart by right-clicking it, then attach it to yourself with an empty hand. You can ride a horse while pulling a cart—simply mount the horse and right-click the cart. You can also add a chest to the cart for storage; shift-right-click the attached chest to access its inventory.

The riding crop is another useful tool. Hold it down while riding to increase the horse’s speed. Note that while pigs can also pull carts, they are less controllable.

Horses eat grass, flowers, apples, wheat, and carrots from crops. They drink from lakes, rivers, man-made ponds, water troughs, and water buckets. All adult horses can be ridden if fed, watered, and equipped with a saddle. You can shift-right-click them to add horse armor and saddles, just like vanilla horses.

Stallions and foals will stay near their mother (mare) when possible. Draft horses often spawn as families in the wild and can be found in plains, savannas, and mesas. Remember: Animania only has one horse type—the draft horse—and they don’t replace vanilla Minecraft horses.

Sheep

Sheep in Animania come in multiple breeds with distinct appearances. Each breed has different locations:

Dorset – Found in savanna and plains

Dorset – Found in hills and plains (beige colored)

Friesian – Found in plains

Marino – Found in plains and dry biomes

Jacob – Found in forests (goat-like appearance)

Suffolk – Found in mesas and savanna

There are also male and female variants (rams and ewes) plus lambs (babies). Sheep can graze on wheat, grass, flowers, and crops (wheat, carrots, beetroot). They eat from troughs and drink water from lakes, man-made ponds, water troughs, and water buckets. Their favorite foods are wheat, carrots, and beets.

Adult sheep can be sheared for wool. Different sheep breeds produce different colored wools: dorset brown wool, friesian wool, friesian brown, Jacob wool, Marino wool (white and brown), and Suffolk brown wool.

Rams will occasionally spar with each other for short periods. Ewes can provide milk after breeding, which can be made into sheep cheese by placing it in a cheese mold. Sheep only breed with each other and will do so automatically when fed and watered. They often spawn as families in the wild.

Some sheep drop mutton, which can be cooked into roast prime mutton, giving Instant Health I and significant food and saturation.

Goats

Goats are another type of livestock with multiple breeds. There are bucks (males) and does (females), plus kids (babies). The breeds include:

Alpine – Found in mountains and hills

Garuat – Found in plains biomes

Fainting Goat – Found in plains biomes. Sprint up to them and they will faint (funny but harmless)

Kiko Buck – Found in mountains and hills

Kinder – Found in savanna and mesas

Nigerian Dwarf – Found in deserts

Pygmy Goat – Found in savanna and mesa areas

Goats have the widest food variety in Animania. They eat wheat, grass, flowers, beetroot, apples, string, and sticks—with wheat, carrots, beets, apples, string, and sticks being favorites. They can be fed from troughs and drink water from all sources.

Only Angora goats can be sheared for wool like sheep. However, all goats provide milk after breeding. Female goats produce goat milk, which can be made into goat cheese. Goats only breed when happy, so keep them fed and watered.

Bucks and kids generally stay near their mothers (does) and spawn as families. They drop chevon meat, which can be cooked into roast chevon (gives Resistance for 30 seconds) or roast prime chevon (gives Resistance II for 1 minute). Bucks occasionally spar with each other, just like in the wild.

Extra Animals Add-On

Ferrets

Ferrets come in two color variants: white and grey. They are smaller animals that don’t have as many features as farm animals but can be tamed. Tame ferrets using eggs or raw mutton—their favorite foods. Right-click them with these items to gain their affection (indicated by love hearts).

Unfortunately, ferrets cannot breed. However, you can right-click them to make them sit or stay. You can also shift-right-click them to make them ride on your shoulder, and shift-right-click again to put them down.

Ferrets drink water from rivers, ponds, lakes, or from a water bucket by hand. Be cautious: ferrets will steal eggs from chicken nests since eggs are their favorite food. Hens and roosters will fight back if this happens, so keep ferrets and chickens separated. Ferrets may also eat frogs and toads in the wild.

Ferrets are found in savannas.

Hedgehogs

Hedgehogs come in normal and albino variants. They can be tamed with their favorite foods: eggs, carrots, and beets. Right-click them with any of these items to tame them.

Like ferrets, hedgehogs can sit and stay when right-clicked, and can ride on your shoulder when shift-right-clicked. However, you cannot have both a ferret and a hedgehog on your shoulder simultaneously.

Hedgehogs eat frogs in the wild and will steal eggs from chicken nests. They can also dig up carrots, beets, and potatoes from farms. Unfortunately, you cannot breed them, making them very similar to ferrets in functionality.

Hedgehogs are found in forests.

Hamsters

Hamsters come in a variety of colors, making each spawn egg a surprise. They are tamed with hamster food (crafted from seeds), which is also their favorite food. Right-click them with hamster food to tame them.

You can right-click tamed hamsters to make them sit and stay. The unique feature of hamsters is their ability to use hamster balls and hamster wheels. Place a tamed hamster on your shoulder using shift-right-click, then right-click on a hamster wheel to place the hamster inside.

The hamster wheel generates RF power—a feature compatible with most power sources from other mods. You can shift-right-click the wheel to check stored energy. You can also add food to the wheel to keep your hamster powered.

Hamster balls come in multiple designs and allow your hamster to roll around for entertainment and mobility.

Peacocks (Peafowl)

Peacocks, also called peafowl, come in eight different color variants:

White

India Blue

Purple

Taupe

Peach

Charcoal

Opal

Peacocks function similarly to chickens. You can scatter seeds on the ground by right-clicking them, and peacocks will eat the scattered seeds. Their favorite food is seeds. They lay eggs in nests just like chickens do. They also eat frogs and toads in the wild and can drink from lakes and other water sources.

Peacocks are found in jungles and swamps.

Frogs, Dart Frogs, and Toads

These amphibians are found in swamps and rivers. They have no favorite foods and are generally afraid of players, so they will run away when approached. Frogs, dart frogs, and toads are at the bottom of the Animania food chain.

Dart frogs come in three colors: red, yellow, and blue. A unique crafting mechanic allows you to make poison arrows by right-clicking a poison arrow or regular arrow on a dart frog.

Multiple animals hunt these amphibians, including chickens, ferrets, peacocks, peafowl, hedgehogs, and other creatures. When killed, they drop frog legs, which can be cooked to give Jump Boost III for an entire minute.

General Care and Maintenance Tips

All Animania animals require proper care to thrive. The fundamental rule is simple: fed, watered, and happy animals produce items and breed.

Water troughs are essential infrastructure. You can fill them manually or use hoppers and pipes from other mods for automation. Different animals have different water requirements—some need full buckets, while others are satisfied with just nearby water.

Food preferences vary by species. While animals will eat basic foods to survive, they produce better results and breed more readily when fed their favorite foods. Always check what each animal prefers for optimal results.

Proper habitat design is critical. Pigs need mud, cows need space, chickens need nests, and all animals need appropriate shelter and water access. Thoughtful farm design prevents escapes and keeps predators away from your livestock.

Conclusion

Animania transforms Minecraft’s animal farming from simple breeding mechanics into a complex and rewarding system. Whether you’re raising prize pigs for truffle hunting, maintaining a dairy cow operation, or collecting rare peacock colors, Animania provides depth and purpose to animal husbandry. The mod’s attention to real-world animal behaviors—like pigs rolling in mud, rams sparring, and maternal instincts—creates an immersive farming experience that goes far beyond vanilla Minecraft.

With the Extra Animals add-on, you gain access to adorable companions like ferrets and hedgehogs, entertaining creatures like hamsters with power-generating wheels, and exotic birds like peacocks. The complete Animania suite offers something for every playstyle, whether you’re focused on production, aesthetics, or pure entertainment.

— Want to Support? —

If you would like to help us continue making these guides – please consider joining our patreon here – https://www.patreon.com/c/JaviHeals

Alternatively – we host a group of MC Servers you can join here – https://discord.gg/zD7Gjt6MHF