Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Sheep in Minecraft: Wool Colors, Shearing and Dyeing
Shear a sheep to get 1-3 wool without hurting it; the wool grows back after it eats grass. Dye a sheep with any dye to make it that color for good. Since Java 1.21.5 and Bedrock 1.21.70, natural sheep colors depend on the biome: mostly white in temperate places, black in cold ones and brown in warm ones.
What colors do sheep spawn in?
| Climate | Common (about 82%) | Uncommon (5% each) | Rare (3%) | Very rare (0.164%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperate (plains, forests, swamps, oceans) | White | Light gray, gray, black | Brown | Pink |
| Cold (taigas, snowy biomes, peaks, the End) | Black | White, light gray, gray | Brown | Pink |
| Warm (savannas, jungles, badlands, deserts, the Nether) | Brown | White, light gray, gray | Black | Pink |
Pink sheep are the rarest natural sheep. A sheep named jeb_ with a name tag cycles through every color, but sheared wool still comes out in its dyed color. See name tags.
How do you get wool?
- Shears (2 iron ingots): 1-3 wool per sheep, no damage, not changed by Fortune or Looting.
- Killing a sheep drops 1 wool and 1-2 raw mutton (cooked mutton if it was on fire).
- Crafting: 4 string make 1 white wool.
- Wool regrows when the sheep eats a grass block (turning it to dirt) or short grass.
A wool farm puts sheep on grass with a dispenser full of shears; see Minecraft farms.
How do you dye a sheep?
Right-click it with a dye. The color stays after shearing and regrowing, and babies bred from two dyed sheep usually mix their parents' colors (red and yellow make orange) or take one parent's color. A sheared sheep cannot be dyed until its wool grows back. Every dye and where it comes from: dyes.
How do you breed sheep?
Feed two adults wheat. Sheep follow a player holding wheat within 6 blocks, which makes herding easy, and they spawn in groups on grass in most grassy biomes. Babies grow up faster when they graze. Wool is used for beds, carpets, banners and paintings; see banners.
Are there sheep mobs on ArtemisPvP?
Frequently asked questions
How rare is a pink sheep?
About 0.164% of naturally spawned sheep are pink, in every biome.
How do you make a rainbow sheep?
Name a sheep jeb_ with a name tag.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.