What is Hay Bale in Minecraft?
Hay bales are decorative storage blocks that were added to Minecraft in v1.6.1. It is used to feed horses and llamas, reduce fall damage and extend campfire smoke. When placing hay bales, they behave like wood blocks in that they will orient themselves according to the location of the player relative to the block. A block of…
Hay bales are decorative storage blocks that were added to Minecraft in v1.6.1. It is used to feed horses and llamas, reduce fall damage and extend campfire smoke. When placing hay bales, they behave like wood blocks in that they will orient themselves according to the location of the player relative to the block.
A block of hay bale
How to obtain hay bales?
Hay bales are naturally generated but can also be crafted by the player. Hay bales can be naturally generated in plains villages and less commonly in savanna and desert villages. They can also be generated in pillager outposts. You can pick up these bales by breaking them with any tool, but the quickest of them is the hoe.
Naturally generated hay bales next to a village farm (via screenshot)
To make your own hay bales you will need to fill up the 3×3 crafting grid with 9 pieces of wheat.
Crafting a hay bale (via screenshot)
What is the use of hay bales?
Hay bales are mostly used to feed horses and donkeys, compact storage of wheat, and reduce fall damage.
Food item and storage
Players cannot eat hay bales but they can be used to feed donkeys, horses, llamas, or mules which allows them to recover their health. They also allow players to speed up the growth of foals and baby llamas by 90 seconds. Hay bales can store up to 9 pieces of wheat at a time, which allows you to store more wheat in the same space. One stack of hay bales can store 576 pieces of wheat which is equivalent to 192 loaves of bread.
A hay bale storing 9 pieces of wheat (via screenshot)
Breeding
Just like wheat, hay bales can be used to breed and lead horses and llamas.
Reducing fall damage
Falling on a hay bale will reduce fall damage by 80%. If a player accidentally falls off a cliff, they can make use of this feature to quickly place a hay bale on the block they are falling on.
Other uses
Hay bales can be used to fill up the composter as well, as every block of a hay bale that is put into the composter has an 85% chance of increasing the level of compost prepared. This is not a recommended use as this is quite inefficient and a waste of wheat.
Hay bales are also used to increase the height of the smoke for campfire travel. By placing a block of hay bale under a campfire, players can increase the maximum height of the smoke particles to 25 blocks from 10 blocks.
Smoke particles of the campfire on the left placed on top of a hay bale rise higher (via screenshot)
Conclusion
Hay bales are a versatile block with plenty of uses. It is mostly used as compact storage for wheat and for feeding animals such as horses. Players also use hay bales for decorating their farms in order to make them more immersive and realistic.
FAQs
Q. What are the most common uses of hay bales?
A. Hay bales are mostly used to feed horses and llamas, reduce fall damage, compact storage of wheat, and extend campfire smoke.
Q. How to make hay bales?
A. To make a hay bale you will need to place 9 pieces of wheat in the 3×3 crafting grid.
Q. Are hay bales flammable?
A. Yes, hay bales are flammable blocks that will catch fire.
