Rotten flesh is one of the most common items in the game, but it’s one that many players tend to ignore unless they are out of food. In this guide, we’ll explain all of the ways to get rotten flesh as well as all of the things you can use it for! This will work for all versions of the game, including:
- Java Edition (PC)
- Bedrock Edition (Playstation, XBOX, Windows 10, Nintendo Switch)
- Pocket Edition (PE)
- Education Edition
Table of Contents
All Uses of Rotten Flesh in Minecraft
Rotten flesh is very easy to obtain, so it’s a good idea to put it to work! It works in a pinch as a food source, can be used for the wolf mod, and can be traded with Cleric Villagers.
Using Rotten Flesh as Food
While rotten flesh is not a very good food source, it’s helpful in situations where you’ve run out of food and need to survive until you’ve returned to your base. This is particularly helpful in caves and while mining, but applies to overworld exploration as well.
In the image above, I have 5.5 hunger remaining. Consuming one piece of rotten flesh restores four hunger, which is equivalent to two bars on the hunger bar. This leaves me with 7.5 hunger total.
However, eating the rotten flesh can give players the hunger effect for 30 seconds. You can tell that the hunger effect is applied because the hunger bar will have a greenish hue and an icon looking like a piece of meat on a bone will appear on-screen.
As a note, eating multiple pieces of rotten flesh does not cause the time to stack. If a piece of rotten flesh inflicts the hunger effect, the timer will reset to 30 seconds. On all difficulties other than peaceful, the hunger effect increases how quickly the player’s hunger bar runs out.
Feeding and Breeding Wolves
Unlike players, wolves are immune to the hunger effect. They can eat rotten flesh to heal from damage.
You can tell that this wolf is hurt because its tail is lowered. Wolves will also whine when they have low health, so keep an ear out for that. Interacting with it while holding a piece of rotten flesh feeds the rotten flesh to it, healing it and causing its tail to rise.
Rotten flesh can also be used to breed tamed wolves. Feeding two full-health wolves rotten flesh will cause them to enter love mode. They will then come together to make a baby wolf.
The baby wolf can be fed rotten flesh to help it grow more quickly.
Trading with Clerics
Clerics use a brewing stand as their job block.
Novice-level Clerics will trade 32 rotten flesh for one emerald.
How to Get Rotten Flesh in Minecraft
There are four different ways to obtain rotten flesh. The most common of these is by killing certain mobs, but they can also be obtained from looting chests and two other rarer ways.
Mob Drops
Six total mobs can drop rotten flesh. This number does not include the Zombie Horse, as it cannot be naturally obtained in Minecraft.
Zombies
The most common of these is the Zombie, which can drop two rotten flesh at most upon death. Enchanting your sword with the Looting III enchantment can increase this number to five.
Zombie Villagers
The second mob that drops rotten flesh is Zombie Villagers, which have the same drop rates as the regular Zombie.
Husks
Husks, a Desert variant of the regular zombie, will also drop at most two rotten flesh. With Looting III, it can drop up to five upon death.
Drowned
Any Drowned will drop between zero and two rotten flesh without Looting III and up to five with Looting III.
Zoglins
A Zoglin will drop up to three rotten flesh without Looting III and up to six with. A Zoglin is created when a Hoglin, which typically drops raw pork chops, passes through a Nether Portal into the Overworld.
Zombified Piglins
Similar to the Zoglin, a Zombified Piglin is created when a Piglin crosses into the Overworld by walking through a Nether Portal. They occasionally drop one rotten flesh, with Looting III allowing them to drop up to four.
Chest Loot
Eight locations contain chests with rotten flesh. While it’s not a sustainable way to get rotten flesh, they’re a good way to get some with little effort.
| Location | Amount of Rotten Flesh | Java Chance | Bedrock Chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dungeon Chest | Between 1 and 8 Rotten Flesh | 57.8% | 57.8% |
| Desert Temple Chests Type 1 | Between 3 and 7 Rotten Flesh | 28.7% | 28.7% |
| Desert Temple Chests Type 2 | Between 1 and 8 Rotten Flesh | 59% | 59% |
| Igloo Basement Chests | 1 Rotten Flesh | 55.3% | 55.3% |
| Jungle Temple Chests | Between 3 and 7 Rotten Flesh | 55.4% | 55.3% |
| Shipwreck Chest | Between 5 and 24 Rotten Flesh | 32.2% | 32.2% |
| Small Underwater Ruins Chest | 1 Rotten Flesh | 59.6% | 59.6% |
| Temple Chest in Village | Between 1 and 4 Rotten Flesh | 89.3% | 89.3% |
| Woodland Mansion Chest | Between 1 and 8 Rotten Flesh | 57.8% | 57.8% |
Fishing Loot
Rotten flesh is considered a junk item when fishing. With an unenchanted rod, the chance of catching a piece of rotten flesh is around 1%.
A fishing rod with Luck of the Sea reduces this chance to 0.4%.
Gift from a Cat
When a player sleeps at night, their tamed cat may move towards their player and sleep near them. After waking up, there is a 70% chance of the cat giving the player a gift. This will not occur when sleeping through a thunderstorm or when the cat has been ordered to sit.
When a gift is given, there is a 16% chance that it will be rotten flesh.
