ModsFinder

Animal Pens

by BONNe

Animal Pens lets players store livestock in pens, aquariums and aviaries while the animals keep breeding, shearing, milking and dropping loot.

FabricForgeNeoForgeClient and serverGNU General Public License v3.0 or laterOpen source1.18.2 – 26.3

What it does

Animal Pens adds three block types that hold animals in a contained space, so farms do not need free-roaming mobs. A player picks up land animals with a cage and water creatures with a container, then feeds an animal inside its pen to trigger breeding.

The mod also covers custom interactions for chickens, turtles, sniffers, fish and frogs. Buckets collect chicken eggs, fed turtles drop scutes, sniffers need a bowl for seeds, and fish are fed kelp or seagrass while other water creatures eat fish. Animal Pens, Aquariums and Aviaries can send a redstone signal through a comparator, and dispensers can act on them with certain tools. Animal transformations and animal interactions with other entities are not added.

Animal Pens requires Architectury API and Fabric API, and it runs on Fabric, Forge and NeoForge with files covering 1.18.2 – 26.3. The source is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later and is open source.

Key features

  1. Capture and release

    Animals are picked up with a cage or container, and players crouch-click on the ground to release them.

  2. Configurable attack cooldown

    A setting controls how quickly players can kill animals inside a pen.

  3. Growth system

    An optional mode enlarges the pen display as more animals are stored, with an adjustable growth multiplier.

  4. Stored variants

    The number of animal variants each pen can hold is configurable.

Compatibility

Latest build for each game version and loader.

26.x5 of 5 versions with builds
26.32.5.1-26.3Not available2.5.1-26.3
26.22.5.1-26.2Not available2.5.1-26.2
26.1.22.5.1-26.1Not available2.5.1-26.1
26.1.12.5.1-26.1Not available2.5.1-26.1
26.12.5.1-26.1Not available2.5.1-26.1
1.21.x12 of 12 versions with builds
1.21.112.5.1-1.21.11Not available2.5.1-1.21.11
1.21.102.5.1-1.21.9Not available2.5.1-1.21.9
1.21.92.5.1-1.21.9Not available2.5.1-1.21.9
1.21.82.5.1-1.21.6Not available2.5.1-1.21.6
1.21.72.5.1-1.21.6Not available2.5.1-1.21.6
1.21.62.5.1-1.21.6Not available2.5.1-1.21.6
1.21.52.5.0-1.21.5Not available2.5.0-1.21.5
1.21.42.5.0-1.21.4Not available2.5.0-1.21.4
1.21.32.5.0-1.21.2Not available2.5.0-1.21.2
1.21.22.5.0-1.21.2Not available2.5.0-1.21.2
1.21.12.5.0-1.21Not available2.5.0-1.21
1.212.5.0-1.21Not available2.5.0-1.21
1.20.x7 of 7 versions with builds
1.19.x5 of 5 versions with builds
1.18.x1 of 1 version with builds
ReleaseBetaAlphaNot available

Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.

Requirements

Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.

Required 1

Fabric APILightweight and modular API providing common hooks and intercompatibility measures utilized by mods using the Fabric toolchain.
Required

Optional 2

Cloth Config APIConfiguration Library for Minecraft Mods
Optional
PatchouliAccessible, Data-Driven, Dependency-Free Documentation for Minecraft Modders and Pack Makers
Optional

Required by 3 mods

Animal Pens Expansion - Naturalist1.18.2 – 1.21.1Animal Pens Expansion - Alex's Mobs1.18.2 – 1.20.1Animal Pens Expansion – Alex's Caves1.20.1

Use cases

Who it’s for: Survival players with large animal farms and server owners who want fewer loose mobs in their worlds.

How it compares

Full comparison

Pickable Pets is client and server, not open source, and covers 1.16.5 – 1.21.5 for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge. Explosive Animals! is server-side only, not open source, and covers 1.19.2 – 1.21.1. Animal Feeding Trough is client and server and open source under the MIT License, covering 1.16.5 – 26.3 on Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt.

ModLoadersGame versionsEnvironmentUpdated
Animal PensFabric, Forge and NeoForge1.18.2 – 26.3Client and server2026-10-06
Pickable PetsFabric, Forge and NeoForge1.16.5 – 1.21.5Client and server2026-02-25
Explosive Animals!Fabric, Forge and NeoForge1.19.2 – 1.21.1Server-side only2026-09-04
Animal Feeding TroughFabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt1.16.5 – 26.3Client and server2026-10-11

Questions

Which dependencies does Animal Pens need?

Architectury API and Fabric API are required. Optional add-ons include Cloth Config API and Patchouli, which the mod can use for its settings screen and guidance book.

Does Animal Pens have to be installed on the server?

Yes. Every player and the server need a copy of the mod.

Can custom weapons attack animal pens?

Yes. A datapack file that fills the matching item tag lets custom or modded weapons attack pens, aquariums and aviaries.

In the catalog

Animal Pens is one of 3,545 Optimization mods on ModsFinder, and one of 2,575 Optimization mods for Fabric. 8,071 mods support Minecraft 26.3.

Optimization mods3,545Fabric modsMods for 26.38,071

More from BONNe

All projects
Animal Pens Expansion - Naturalist1.18.2 – 1.21.1Animal Pens Expansion - Alex's Mobs1.18.2 – 1.20.1Animal Pens Expansion – Alex's Caves1.20.1

Similar mods

Sodium1.16.3 – 26.3Iris Shaders1.16.5 – 26.3Entity Cullingb1.7.3 – 26.3FerriteCore1.16.5 – 26.3ImmediatelyFast1.18.2 – 26.3Sodium Extra1.16.2 – 26.3

What the author says

Tired of lag caused by massive animal farms? Animal Pens lets you store animals in specialized pens, aquariums and aviaries while keeping full functionality! No more overcrowded barns - keep your animals neatly contained while still breeding, shearing, milking, and collecting drops like normal. ✔️ Animal Cage &…
BONNe, on the Modrinth page

Official listing

Owner
BONNe
Published
2025-02-23
Updated on Modrinth
2026-10-06
Facts verified
2026-10-15

Tags

DecorationOptimizationUtilityGame mechanics
Open on ModrinthCompare