New features hatching

The first game drop of 2025 has hatched more features for you to test! Not only are two new chicken variants joining the coop, but the winds of change have swept over our sandy biomes, bringing tufts of dry grass and blooming cactus flowers. I should warn you though, these new features might stir up some existential questions like “What came first; the cold chicken or the blue egg?”. 

Something to brood over as you test these new features, which are available in Java snapshot or Bedrock beta/preview. Best of cluck!

Two new chicken variants

Notorious for creating all kinds of chaos, the iconic chicken is ready to ruffle even more feathers together with the two new variants joining the coop! Sporting blue-gray feathers and laying blue eggs, the cold chicken is as cool as the chilly biomes it calls home. The other variant, the warm chicken, can instead be found scorching the peace of sandy biomes, where it also drops eggs the same color as its brown plumage. 

This pack of poultry might not look that brainy, but I’d watch out for whatever mischief they’ll be cooking up. Chances are, you’ll chicken out before they do!  

Cactus flower

When I first saw the cactus flower, I was sure it was a mirage. Then the developers reminded me we were in the office and asked if I could please focus on the meeting. To make sure you don’t fall victim to this trickery, I am here to tell you not to have meetings before lunch. Oh, and that the new cactus flower is as real as any other plant in the Overworld! Growing in deserts atop our prickliest plant block, the cactus flower attracts bees, can be crafted into dye, and adds a nice pop of color to your builds. 

Dry grass

If you’ve ever gazed upon our pixelated horizon wondering if the grass is greener, I’m here to tell you no – it is in fact drier! Dry grass is coming to testing. This yellow tuft of grass grows in deserts and badlands and comes in two versions: short dry grass and tall dry grass. Use bone meal on short dry grass to make it tall, or on tall dry grass to grow a short dry grass plant next to it. Like its green cousin, dry grass makes the perfect snack for any sheep in need of growing their wool back. 

How can I test these features?

You can test these features by enabling snapshots for Minecraft: Java Edition, or by enabling previews/beta* for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition. To install a snapshot, open up the Minecraft Launcher and enable snapshots in the "Installations" tab. To enable preview/beta for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition follow these instructions.  

*Preview is available for Minecraft: Bedrock Edition Realms on Xbox, Windows 10/11, and iOS. Betas are available on Android (Google Play).

Send us your feedback! 

These features are all still in development, which means that the details outlined above might change as we iterate on them. So then why have we released them into testing? Because we want your feedback! Send your thoughts here, and report bugs at bugs.mojang.com!