Where Do Sheep Spawn?
Sheep in Minecraft spawn in different areas according to edition:
Sheep in Java edition spawn in any biome in the overworld, including snowy taiga biome, in groups of up to 4 sheep per grass block at light levels greater than 9.
Sheep in Bedrock edition spawn in groups of 2-3 on grass blocks, at light level greater than 7 in all biomes except -
Snowy Taiga
Snowy Plains
Ice Spikes
Wooded Badlands
Two sheep can spawn in both editions in shepherd houses, butcher houses or animal pens in villages.
5% of spawns are baby sheep. Spawn eggs can also be used to spawn sheep, as well as the /summon spawn command.
Colors And Spawning
Sheep and baby sheep in Minecraft have 6 naturally spawning colors, each with different chances to spawn:
Color Of Sheep | Chance (%) To Spawn |
White sheep | 77.7 |
Gray/Black/Light Gray sheep | 4.75 |
Brown sheep | 2.85 |
Pink sheep | 0.15 |
Sheep spawners can be used to spawn these colors if calibrated.
What Does A Minecraft Sheep Drop?
If killed by a player in Minecraft, a sheep drops:
1 wool of sheeps color (if wool has regrown after shearing)
- 1-2 raw mutton (if killed on fire/with a sword with fire aspect, cooked mutton will drop), if killed with a weapon enchantged with Looting III, this is increased to 1-5.
If killed by a player or tamed wolf, a sheep will drop 1-3 experience points.
Baby sheep do not give anything if killed.
Can You Shear A Sheep?
Yes, you can shear sheep in Minecraft to get wool.
Shearing will give 1-3 wool of the sheep’s color when shorn with shears, which grows back after the sheared sheep eats a grass block.
How To Shear A Sheep
To shear a sheep, you first have to craft some shears.
Once shears have been crafted (with 2 Iron ingots) equip them in the main hand
Approach the sheep you wish to shear
Face the sheep and press ‘use’
Can You Dye A Sheep’s Wool?
Yes, sheep can be dyed using dye, with all 16 colors in the game.
Sheep can be dyed:
White
Light Gray
Gray
Black
Purple
Magenta
Cyan
Light Blue
Blue
Yellow
Orange
Brown
Pink
Red
Lime Green
Green
When sheep are dyed, they keep their color even when shorn, and they give wool of the same color. For example, a pink sheep will give pink wool.
When a colored sheep is killed, they will drop wool of the same color. You can also dye a sheep that's already been dyed, even if it’s not it’s original color.
How To Dye A Sheep
To dye a sheep in Minecraft, follow these steps:
Craft the dye you wish to use (commonly done with flowers)
Hold the dye in your main hand
Approach the sheep and stand infront of it
Press ‘use’
The sheep will now have colored wool.
Can You Breed A Sheep In Minecraft?
Yes, you can breed sheep and farm them in Minecraft like most other farmable animals.
In the Java edition, baby sheep will have either one of their parents' colors or a combination of both of those colors to make a new available color (a yellow and a red adult sheep making an orange baby sheep, for example).
In the Bedrock edition, baby sheep will have one of either parent's color.
Wheat is used for breeding sheep in Minecraft, to enter them into love mode to produced a baby sheep.
How To Breed A Sheep
To breed a pair of adult sheep in minecraft:
Have a piece of wheat in your main hand
Find two sheep you wish to breed
Lead the first adult sheep with a lead or the wheat towards the other shee
Feed the first adult sheep the wheat by standing infront of it and pressing ‘use’
Do the same with the other adult sheep
The adult sheep both enter love mode (identified by hearts surrounding their heads)
The two sheep will pathfind towards eachother and mate
- A baby sheep will be born
Baby sheep in Minecraft take 20 minutes to mature.
What Do Minecraft Sheep Eat?
Sheep in Minecraft eat:
Wheat
Grass Blocks
Sheep will eat grass blocks in their area to regrow their coat or accelerate their growth (for baby sheep), turning grass blocks into dirt blocks. Baby sheep graze more often than adult sheep.
Wheat can be used to breed sheep, as when sheep eat wheat they love mode.
Wheat can also be fed to baby sheep to decrease remaining maturation time by 10%.
Can You Tame Sheep In Minecraft?
No, sheep aren't able to be tamed in Minecraft. You can farm sheep however, by leading them with a lead or a piece of wheat into a fenced off pen.
Sheep can be farmed for meat and wool.
What Is The Rarest Sheep In Minecraft?
The rarest sheep in Minecraft is the pink sheep.
Naturally spawned pink sheep have a 0.15% chance of spawning, with baby pink sheep having a 0.0082% chance of spawning naturally.
This is only the case for naturally spawned pink sheep; pink sheep can be created by the player by using dye.
Rainbow Sheep
As an easter egg, if a sheep is renamed ‘jeb_’ using a name tag, the sheep’s wool will cycle through all the colors in the game, similar to prismarine.
This rainbow colored sheep can still be dyed but will not change its rainbow colors.
How Do Minecraft Sheep Behave?
Sheep in Minecraft wander around the world eating grass, either alone or in small groups of 3-4.
Sheep avoid things that can hurt them usually, however they don’t have much of a reaction to wolves. Sheep avoid cliffs however, and if hurt, will bleat loudly and flee.
Sheep will follow the player if they’re holding wheat within six blocks of them.
Will Sheep in Minecraft Harm Me?
No, sheep are passive in Minecraft.
They will not hurt the player, even if they attack the sheep.
Other Fun Sheep Facts
Pink sheep are one of the rarest mobs in the game
Sheep can be killed with a single hit of a diamond sword
Sheep feature in the ‘Rainbow Collection’ achievement - collect all 16 colors of wool
In previous versions of the game, punching a sheep would yield cloth instead of shearing for wool
Cloth was used to craft leather armor
If you name a sheep ‘Dinnerbone’ with a name tag, it will constantly render upside down. This isn't a bug, but an easter egg.
