Sheep are among the most versatile animals in Minecraft. They provide you with meat for food, wool for building blocks, and crafting materials. Plus, you can color them in a variety of ways to unlock blocks for truly vibrant builds. But, you'll need a sufficient number of sheep to fully benefit from their features. Join us as we uncover how to breed sheep in Minecraft quickly and easily.
How to Breed Sheep in Minecraft (2023)
Our guide first goes over the basics of sheep in Minecraft. But, if you are already familiar with them, please feel free to skip ahead.
Where to Find Sheep in Minecraft
Sheep are one of the most common overworld mobs in Minecraft. They spawn as a group of 2-4 mobs in almost every biome that has grass blocks in it. You can even find sheep in snowy taigas where grass is hidden beneath layers of snow.
But, sheep most commonly spawn in the following biomes:
- Plains & Sunflower Plains
- Meadow
- Cherry Grove
- Grove
- Windswept Forest
- Flower Forest
- Sparse Jungle
- Savanna
Alternatively, you can also find a village in Minecraft to locate sheep. Two of these mobs spawn inside shepherd houses, butcher houses, and animal pens of villages.
What Do Sheep Eat in Minecraft
When left to wander, sheep naturally eat grass from grass blocks to satisfy their hunger. Once their hunger is satisfied, the wool on the sheep gradually grows back. But, please note that players cannot directly feed grass to sheep.
Instead, you can only feed wheat to these mobs. Fortunately, wheat is also the only item you need to breed and farm sheep in Minecraft.
How to Get Wheat in Minecraft
Follow these simple steps to discover the easiest way to get wheat in Minecraft:
1. First, find and break grass in Minecraft to collect wheat seeds. In case, you are wondering, sheep are the only connection between the two.
2. Then, find a grass or dirt block in your world that's close to water. You can also use a bucket in Minecraft to bring water to that block.
3. Next, make a hoe in Minecraft using two wooden planks and two sticks. You can also use the Minecraft 1.20 ore distribution guide to unlock stronger material for this tool.
5. Then, use the hoe on a grass or dirt block to turn it into a farmland block.
6. Next, plant the wheat seeds on the farmland blocks and wait for them to grow.
7. Finally, once the wheat grows, break the plant to harvest it. You only need two pieces of wheat to breed sheep in Minecraft. But, don't forget to replant the wheat seeds for future use.
Other Ways to Get Wheat
If farming doesn't go as planned, you can also find wheat inside these structures:
- Woodland Mansion
- Trail Ruins
- Warm Ocean Ruins
- Pillager Outpost
- Shipwreck
- Village
How to Breed Sheep in Minecraft
Once you have the wheat, follow these simple steps to breed sheep in Minecraft:
1. First, search for two sheep in the overworld and use a lead or fence to trap them. These sheep don't have to be of the same color.
2. Then, feed one piece of wheat to each of the sheep. Once they are fed, the sheep will enter "Love" mode and a baby sheep will spawn.
3. It takes 20 minutes or a complete Minecraft day for the baby sheep to grow into an adult. Meanwhile, you can breed the parents after every five minutes.
Dye and Breed Sheep
The color of the baby sheep's wool depends upon the color of its parents. This unlocks a variety of ways to farm and collect different variants of wool through breeding. So, when you breed a sheep in Minecraf, you can expect one of the following results:
- Same Color: If the parent sheep have the same wool color, the baby sheep will inherit that same color.
- Mixable Colors: When parent sheep have different colors that can be mixed (e.g., blue sheep + yellow sheep = green sheep), the baby sheep will have a resulting color. But, this mechanic only works in the Java edition.
- Nonmixable Colors: If the colors of the parents cannot be mixed to form a new color, the baby sheep inherits one of the parent's colors randomly. This is the default result in the Bedrock edition even when the colors, in theory, could be mixed.
How to Dye Sheep Wool
Coloring the wool of sheep in Minecraft is really easy. Simply craft your favorite dye by placing its relevant item in the crafting grid. Then, use that dye on the sheep to color it. There are 16 different colors of wool in Minecraft, but sheep only spawn in 6 unique colors. To get the other colors, you'll need to dye the sheep yourself.
How to Make Rainbow Sheep in Minecraft
Unlike any other mobs in Minecraft, sheep have a special easter egg attached to them. Here's how to unlock it:
1. First, get a name tag in Minecraft. You can use our dedicated guide to make your search much easier.
2. Then, make an anvil in Minecraft by combining 4 iron ingots and three blocks of iron.
3. Then, use the anvil to name your name tag as "jeb_".
4. Finally, use the "jeb_" name tag on the sheep to turn it into a rainbow sheep. The sheep will cycle through all the 16 possible colors.
What Happens When You Breed a Rainbow Sheep
Unfortunately, the rainbow effect is only a visual change for sheep in Minecraft. It doesn't affect the color of the wool that sheep drops or the wool color of its baby. So, when you breed a rainbow sheep in Minecraft, its original color (before the name tag) will affect the breeding process.
Bonus: Hire an Evoker to Change Wool Color
It's a little-known fact, but players aren't the only ones who can color sheep in Minecraft. Evokers, a type of hostile mob also have the same ability. They can convert any blue sheep into a red sheep, as long as it's within 16 blocks of distance. This mechanic only works when the Evoker isn't in combat and gives you a truly unique way to color sheep.
Find and Breed Sheep in Minecraft 1.20
Now that you know how to breed sheep in Minecraft, you can have an unlimited supply of wool. You can use it to make carpets, beds, and a lot more. But, many players enjoy creating colorful bases with wool. Our list of the best Minecraft barn ideas has a lot of exciting options that can utilize wool. So, it's time to get building and let your creativity shine!