Talk:Villager/@comment-30422416-20161226083446/@comment-31156232-20170126211036

I had the same problem: I built a massive, safe village, then cured two zombie villagers in it. They just hung around not having babies. It turned out they were hungry: I threw some potatoes and bread at them, and they started breeding like rabbits! After that I planted a potato field for them to tend by themselves, and that kept them going - before long there were enough villagers to have three iron golems at once!

I don't think it always used to work like this. I suspect this is the first step toward villagers behaving as they do on the PC version of the game. Apparently there they breed whilst sufficiently "willing". You can increase their willingness by trading with them; or they'll increase their own willingness by growing food and giving it to each other. For now at least, it seems villagers need a farm to keep them happy. Having a job gives them a sense of purpose, I suppose. :)