Is it possible to separate animals (sheep, cows, chickens, pigs) in Minecraft? Or do you have to lead each one out of their pen separately?

Solution 1:

All the animals can have a unique proporty that can be used to separate them. With the exeption of cows and sheep.

Everything but cows and sheep are under 1 block tall and can be seperated by leading them under a 1 block tall wall.

Chickens float down so if you drop them though water everything but chickens will fall through.

Wolves are smaller than pigs and can fit between and block and a ladder where as pigs cannot.

With this you can separate all the animals into pens exept cows and sheep wich must be separated manually.

Here is a video of these concepts in action:

Solution 2:

One possible way to lead away a selected set of adult animals is to feed the ones you don't want to follow. That way they won't have any interest in you when you hold wheat, and you'll be able to lead the hungry ones away.

Of course, this involves using up some of your wheat, as well as taking the time to pick out the animals you don't want while trying not the feed the ones you do.

Solution 3:

Multiple pens are easy to make, wood is cheap. Although I started with mine sorted, you can sort yours by making a single gap between pens, then nudging the correct animals through it, re-fencing after they're through. Don't use wheat, just push them. :) If that's too annoying, then make small separate pens (with a single opening) all around your main pen, then wait until some animal of the correct species moves in randomly - close the gap, build a channel to your new pen.

Or, possibly the easiest way - just bring a group of any mix of animals into the new pens , with wheat. Once you have two of any species in the new pen, you can slaughter the unwanted species, as well as the remaining ones in the previous pen :)