Sheep are passive mobs that supply wool and mutton.
Spawning
The majority of sheep are white, with an 82.8% chance of spawning. The light gray, gray and black sheep have a 5% chance of spawning. Use a spawn egg to get one of these sheep types that lies at a reasonable 15%. Brown sheep have an uncommon 3% chance to spawn. Pink sheep have a rare 0.2% chance of naturally spawning.5% will spawn as babies.[Bedrock Edition only]
Natural generation
Sheep spawn on grass blocks at a light level of 9 or higher with at least 2 block space above. They spawn in flocks of 4 during world generation.
Drops
Sheep drop:
- 1 wool of the corresponding color when killed.
- If sheared, it drops 1-3 wool instead of 1 wool.
- 1-2 pieces of raw mutton (1-2 pieces of cooked mutton if the sheep dies while on fire)
- Wool drop is not affected by Looting.
- Meat drop is affected by Looting.
- Sheep will also drop 1 to 7 experience when breeding and 1 to 3 experience upon death.
- Lambs drop nothing when killed.
Behavior
Sheep act like most passive mobs; they wander around aimlessly, avoiding falling off cliffs high enough to cause damage, and usually staying out of water or lava. They can be heard bleating occasionally. They will try to jump over obstacles one block high, which causes strange and somewhat humorous behavior near fences, walls and similar blocks. Sheep will follow a player holding wheat within a radius of 8 blocks, but will cease following if the player moves out of the radius.
Dyeing
Sheep's wool can be dyed by pressing the use key (the interact button in Bedrock Edition) while holding any dye, and can be sheared the same way when holding shears. Sheared sheep cannot be dyed until their wool grows back.
Eating grass
Sheep will eat grass blocks (turning them into dirt) and grass (destroying them). When they do this in sunlight (they do not require a direct view of the sky, but they do require it to be daytime), their wool grows back (after being sheared).This means that if there is no grass anywhere, a sheep cannot regrow its wool after being sheared. They will retain their wool color if it has been dyed before it was sheared, although the wool patches seen on a sheared sheep will be white regardless of their actual color. However, in the Bedrock, they will be dyed accordingly, and the white patches on the face will also be dyed.
In Bedrock Edition, baby zombies can mount sheep if it wants to be a jockey upon attacking a player, NPC Villager or golem.
If the sheep is named jeb_
A sheep named jeb_.
If a sheep is named jeb_, its wool will smoothly cycle through all dye colors in a similar manner to prismarine.
Note: This is only a visual effect, as when it is sheared, the sheep will drop the same color of wool that it actually is.
Breeding
An example of how a bred sheep will be a mixture of its parents' colors when possible.
Sheep can be bred with wheat, after which they will spawn a baby sheep (or lamb). However, they will not be able to breed for about 5 minutes after the baby sheep is spawned. If the parents have 'compatible' wool colors (meaning that the corresponding dye items could be combined into a third dye color), the resulting lamb will be a mix of their colors (e.g., blue sheep + white sheep = light blue lamb). Otherwise, the lamb will be the same color as one of the parents, chosen at random. It doesn't matter if either parent has been sheared.
The growth of baby sheep can be slowly accelerated using wheat. Each use takes 10% off the remaining time to grow up.
The sheep will always share its color with one of its parents.[Bedrock Edition only]
Data values
Sheep have entity data associated with them that contain various properties of the mob. Their entity ID is sheep.
- Entity data
- Additional fields for mobs that can breed
- Tags common to all entities
- Tags common to all mobs
- Color: The color of the sheep. Default is 0.
- Sheared: 1 or 0 (true/false) - true if the sheep has been shorn.
Advancements
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Parent | Actual requirements (if different) | Resource location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | The Parrots and the Bats | Breed two animals together | Husbandry | Breed a pair of any of these 25 mobs:
| husbandry/breed_an_animal
|
![]() | Two by Two | Breed all the animals! | The Parrots and the Bats | Breed a pair of each of these 24 mobs:
| husbandry/bred_all_animals
|
Video
- Note: In 1.12, the sheep colors were changed, in order to match the new wool colors from that update.
Sheep/video
History
The specific instructions are: Sheep between 0.8.0 and 1.1, which had the old color scheme but dyed face wool
The first screenshot on breeding released by Notch.
| classic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 25, 2009 | First showcase of sheep on The Word of Notch. Red wool as a drop can be seen. | ||||
| October 25, 2009 | Video uploaded to YouTube of a sheep test. | ||||
| 0.28 | Sheep added, they drop mushrooms when killed. They also eat grass blocks, turning them into dirt. After eating a random amount of blocks, they will regrow their wool. | ||||
| indev | |||||
| 0.31 (December 23, 2009, 1) | Sheep no longer spawn naturally. | ||||
| 0.31 (February 1, 2010, 1) | Sheep spawn again. | ||||
| Initially they appeared without wool, which was fixed in a later version. They then dropped gray wool upon being hit. Sheep also no longer drop mushrooms and don't eat grass. | |||||
| infdev | |||||
| June 27, 2010 | Sheep drop white instead of gray wool. | ||||
| alpha | |||||
| v1.2.2 | In survival multiplayer, hitting sheep will drop unobtainable wool. However, casting a fishing rod will drop obtainable wool, while the sheep still appears to have wool. | ||||
| beta | |||||
| 1.2 | Gray, light gray, and black sheep were added. | ||||
| Colored sheep drop their corresponding wool color. | |||||
| 1.4 | Sheep can rarely spawn in the color pink or brown. | ||||
| 1.7 | Sheep drop 2-4 wool when sheared. | ||||
| Sheep no longer drop wool when hit. | |||||
| Sheep drop one wool block when killed while not sheared. | |||||
| 1.8 | ? | Sheep will flee when attacked. | |||
| release | |||||
| 1.0.0 | Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3 | Baby sheep were added. | |||
| Sheep can now breed. | |||||
| Sheep have 4 hearts of health (formerly 5 hearts). | |||||
| 1.1 | 11w49a | Sheep eat grass blocks and tall grass in order to re-grow their wool again. As a counterbalance, shearing sheep yields 1-3 wool blocks instead of 2-4.[1] | |||
| Spawn eggs became available for sheep in Creative mode. | |||||
| 11w50a | Baby sheep eat more than adult sheep. | ||||
| 1.2.1 | 12w07b | The sheep eating animation in multiplayer was fixed. | |||
| Sheep have a new AI. | |||||
| 1.4.2 | 12w32a | Sheep from spawn eggs can now spawn naturally-colored sheep (white, gray, brown, pink, etc.) | |||
| 12w38a | Added new step sounds. | ||||
| 1.4.4 | ? | Lambs will have a mix of the parents' colors, if the parents' colors are 'compatible' (able to be crafted together as dyes). | |||
| 1.7.4 | 13w48b | Sheep named as 'jeb_' will cycle through all possible sheep colors in a fading rainbow effect. They will still drop the color wool they were dyed last. | |||
| 1.8 | 14w02a | Baby sheep growth can be accelerated using wheat. | |||
| 14w05b | Sheep's wool is no longer visible when they have the Invisibility effect. | ||||
| June 30, 2014 | Ryan Holtz announces that he's adding mutton as a new drop from sheep. | ||||
| 14w27a | Sheep drop raw mutton and—if killed with fire—they will drop cooked mutton. | ||||
| 1.11 | 16w32a | Changed entity ID from Sheep to sheep. | |||
| 1.12 | 17w06a | Sheep now look different when dyed to comply with the wool color changes. | |||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| 0.2.0 | Added sheep. | ||||
| 0.6.0 | Added the overlay part of the sheep with wool on its head and body. | ||||
| Sheep now display their colors and can be dyed. | |||||
| Added baby animals, this includes sheep. | |||||
| 0.7.0 | Sheep spawn eggs are in creative mode. | ||||
| 0.8.0 | build 2 | If a sheep is dyed a color other than white, the previously white patches on its face, along with the spots on its body when sheared, will also change color (currently exclusive feature). | |||
| Improved sheep AI. | |||||
| 0.9.0 | build 3 | Sheep now graze on tallgrass. | |||
| 0.11.0 | build 1 | Sheep coloration is now applied through shaders, rather than different textures. | |||
| 0.12.0 | Sheep are no longer bred using a Feed button as of the release of the Windows 10 Edition. | ||||
| 0.14.0 | build 1 | Baby zombie jockeys will now check for nearby sheep to mount prior to attacking the player. | |||
| 0.15.0 | build 1 | Sheep drop raw mutton and if killed with fire they will drop cooked mutton. | |||
| Sheep named as 'jeb_' will cycle through all possible sheep colors in a fading rainbow effect. They will still drop the color wool they were dyed last. | |||||
| Pocket Edition | |||||
| 1.0 | ? | Sheep are now dyed using a Dye button. | |||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU1 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | Added sheep. | |
| TU5 | Sheep will run away when attacked. | ||||
| TU7 | Added baby sheep. | ||||
| Sheep can be bred with wheat. | |||||
| TU9 | Sheep eat grass blocks and tall grass in order to re-grow their wool. As a counterbalance, shearing sheep yields 1-3 wool blocks instead of 2-4. | ||||
| Spawn eggs became available for sheep in Creative mode. | |||||
| TU14 | 1.04 | Baby sheep can now be spawned by using | |||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Sheep drop raw mutton and—if killed with fire—they will drop cooked mutton. | |
| Baby sheep growth can be accelerated using wheat. | |||||
Prior colors
Java Edition
- White Sheep Revision 1.png
- Orange Sheep Revision 1.png
- Magenta Sheep Revision 1.png
- Light Blue Sheep Revision 1.png
- Yellow Sheep Revision 1.png
- Lime Sheep Revision 1.png
- Pink Sheep Revision 1.png
- Gray Sheep Revision 1.png
- Light Gray Sheep Revision 1.png
- Cyan Sheep Revision 1.png
- Purple Sheep Revision 1.png
- Blue Sheep Revision 1.png
- Green Sheep Revision 1.png
- Brown Sheep Revision 1.png
- Red Sheep Revision 1.png
- Black Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby White Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Orange Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Magenta Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Light Blue Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Yellow Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Lime Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Pink Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Gray Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Light Gray Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Cyan Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Purple Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Blue Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Green Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Brown Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Red Sheep Revision 1.png
- Baby Black Sheep Revision 1.png
Bedrock Edition
- White Sheep Revision 2.png
- Orange Sheep Revision 2.png
- Magenta Sheep Revision 2.png
- Light Blue Sheep Revision 2.png
- Yellow Sheep Revision 2.png
- Lime Sheep Revision 2.png
- Pink Sheep Revision 2.png
- Gray Sheep Revision 2.png
- Light Gray Sheep Revision 2.png
- Cyan Sheep Revision 2.png
- Purple Sheep Revision 2.png
- Blue Sheep Revision 2.png
- Green Sheep Revision 2.png
- Brown Sheep Revision 2.png
- Red Sheep Revision 2.png
- Black Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby White Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Orange Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Magenta Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Light Blue Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Yellow Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Lime Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Pink Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Gray Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Light Gray Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Cyan Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Purple Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Blue Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Green Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Brown Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Red Sheep Revision 2.png
- Baby Black Sheep Revision 2.png
Issues
Issues relating to "Sheep" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia
- If a sheep spawner is placed via
/setblock, the sheep model spinning inside will appear with one of the six naturally spawning colors. Independently from the displayed color, all six variants are able to spawn, the usual chances apply. To guarantee sheep to always spawn with a desired color, additional NBT tags can be applied to the spawner, utilizing theColor-tag. - Sheep can eat grass through partial blocks, and also while moving in minecarts.
- Sheep cannot fit through the gap if the 90 degree intersection of two fences is removed whereas the player (and most other mobs) can get through easily.
- An already dead sheep can be sheared (if it still has its wool) before its body turns into smoke and disappears, causing it to drop one wool and some mutton in addition to 1–3 more wool from the shearing.
- While an evoker is not engaged in combat and
/gamerule mobGriefingis set totrue, it will change the wool color of any blue sheep within 16 blocks to red. It signals the spell by producing orange color particles () and making a "wololo" sound.
Gallery
- Baby jeb.png
A jeb_ lamb.
Bedrock Edition
All of the possible sheep wool colors (dyed by the player.) Sheep have dyed wool remnants.
References

































