Description
These are the instructions for a Minecraft semi auto chicken farm. This automatic chicken farm farm produces cooked chicken and feathers without any interaction from the player. This farm works by housing chickens in a pen above hoppers. The eggs drop through to the hoppers and then to a dispenser and using a simple redstone contraption, the dispenser throws them out, hopefully hatching a chick and once the chicks are fully grown they are cooked by the lava above them. Not every egg will hatch a chicken so this build sometimes takes a while to get going.
The main product of this build is cooked chicken and can be used for the following:
- Food -chickens are a great source of food.
- Breeding – chickens are great for breeding and healing tamed wolves.
Feathers are the another product of this build and can be used for the following things:
- Crafting – feathers can be used to craft arrows, firework stars and brushes.
- Book and quill – can be made by combining a book, ink sac and a feather.
- Trading – with fletcher villages
- Drops – chickens will drop between 0-2 feathers upon death.
Chickens can be found in any grassy biomes usually in groups of up to four. They will lay eggs randomly in the wild. There are two new chicken variants now warm chickens which will spawn in jungles, badlands and savannahs and cold chickens which will spawn in windswept hills or taigas.
Ingredients
These are the ingredients and recipes that you will need to make this Minecraft semi auto chicken farm Please ensure that you have all of the ingredients before you start your build.
| Item | Recipe/Image | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Stone block |  | 25 |
| Stone slab |  | 25 |
| Chest |  | 2 |
| Hopper |  | 4 |
| Dispenser |  | 1 |
| Bucket of lava |  | 1 |
| Glass block |  | 17 |
| Trapdoor |  | 3 |
| Redstone Dust |  | 5 |
| Redstone repeater |  | 2 |
| Redstone comparator |  | 1 |
| Rail |  | 1 |
| Minecart and hopper |  | 1 |
| Chicken |  | 2 minimum |
| Wheat seeds |  | 4 minimum |
- Hopper – to make this item you will first need to make a chest.
- Dispenser – to make this item you will first need to make a bow.
- Redstone repeater and comparator – you will first need to make redstone torches.
- Minecart and hopper – you will need to make both a minecart and a hopper and then combine them.
Build Plans
Here we will explain in detail how to build an semi auto chicken farm in Minecraft. Please follow the instructions carefully.
- First of all you need to dig a 3 block by 1 block trench.
- Next you need to place down 2 chests to make a large chest.
- Now we need to place a hopper leading in to one end of the large chest as shown in the picture, you will need to crouch to do this.
- This is our collection system.
- Now you need to place down stone blocks in a 5 block x 3 block rectangle leaving a gap above the hopper.
- You now need to place the rail on top of the hopper (you need to crouch to place this).
- Then you will place the minecart and hopper on top of the rail.
- Lastly in this section break the rail so that the minecart stays in place above the hopper.
- You now need to place a dispenser behind the hopper on top of the stone block. Make sure it is facing towards the minecart.
- Place a slab on the bottom half of the dispenser above the minecart and hopper again you will need to crouch.
- Place a glass block above one half of the large chest and then a stone block either side of that, leaving access to the bottom half of the chest.
- Now we need to start the redstone contraption.
- Place a stone block either side of the dispenser and then another one on the middle block at the back of the build. There will be a 1 block gap between them as shown in the picture.
- You now need to place down a comparator directly behind the dispenser. The 2 prongs need to be directly behind the dispenser.
- Place one repeater to the right of the comparator and one in front of it as shown in the screenshot.
- Place redstone dust on the top of the remaining 5 stone blocks.
- Now place 3 hoppers starting with one leading into the dispenser and the other 2 behind leading into the first.
- Place slabs around all the edge of the hoppers.
- Build up the stone blocks at the front as shown in the picture.
- Now place 2 glass blocks on top of the one on top of the chest and then one either side of the top one.
- You now need to place a bucket of lava into the hole left above the minecart and hopper.
- Now you need to make the pen for the chickens.
- Place glass blocks around the hoppers on top of the slabs. Make sure one goes above the lava.
- Place slabs on top of all of the glass blocks including the ones at the front of the build.
- You now need to gather your chickens by tempting them with wheat.
- You can create a temporary staircase and herd them in or collect eggs and throw them in this will not always produce chickens though.
- You will need at least 2 adult chickens in order to breed them. You can have as many as you wish in your pen.
- The more you have the more eggs they will produce.
- Once you have as many chickens as you need cover the top with trapdoors.
- Once the chickens lay eggs they will drop into the hoppers and eventually into the dispenser.
- The dispenser will then throw them out and some will become baby chicks below the lava.
- Once they are fully grown they will reach the lava and be cooked.
- If you check your chest you will find feathers and cooked chicken.
Hints and tips
What can go wrong -cooked chicken not being produced.
- This may be because the eggs have not produced a baby chick yet.
- This build takes a while to get going as not every egg produces a chick.
What can go wrong – my chickens are escaping.
- This may be because you haven’t placed slabs on top of the glass blocks. Chickens will jump one block high.
- Or it may be because you have left the trapdoors open.
What can go wrong – mobs in your chicken pen.
- You will get mobs in your build if you don’t remove the temporary stairs at the side of the build that you used to get your chickens into the pen.
How to make the build easier –
- Add ladders to the a wall of the build to make it easier to reach the top of the pen in case you need to breed more chickens.
Where next
Additional builds – There is an extra build that can be placed onto this build to improve it. This is a transport system that will enable you to transport your chickens to the top pen, rather than using the stairs and the risk of mobs getting into your build.