Sheep



| Health points |
8HP |
|---|---|
| Behavior |
Passive |
| Mob type | |
| Hitbox size |
Adult: |
| Speed |
0.23 |
| Spawn |
Grass blocks with at least two blocks of space above in most |
| Usable items |
{
"extratext": "View [[#Gallery|all renders]]",
"title": "Sheep",
"images": [
"White Sheep.png",
"Sheared White Sheep.png",
"Baby White Sheep.png"
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{
"field": "0.23",
"label": "(link to Attribute#movementSpeed article, displayed as Speed)"
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{
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A sheep is a common passive mob that supplies wool and raw mutton and is found in many of the grassy biomes.
Spawning
The sheep color is determined by the type of biome the sheep spawns in.
| Biome Type | Common (81.836%) | Uncommon (5%) | Uncommon (3%) | Rare (0.164%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperate |
|
|||
| Cold | ||||
| Warm |
|
If a monster spawner is set to spawn sheep, the sheep model spinning inside appears 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 that sheep always spawn with the desired color, additional NBT tags can be applied to the monster spawner, utilizing the Color tag.
Natural generation
In Java Edition, 4 sheep may spawn above grass blocks, at a light level of 9 or higher, even in snowy taigas, but not in pale gardens.
In Bedrock Edition, 2 to 3 sheep spawn during the world generation on grass blocks at the surface at a light level of 7 or higher with at least a 2 block space above, except in pale gardens, snowy plains, ice spikes or wooded badlands. They later spawn individually on grassy biomes.
Two sheep sometimes spawn in shepherd houses, butcher houses and animal pens in villages.
| Category: Creature | Java Edition | Bedrock Edition | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spawn area | Spawn weight | Spawn Chance | Group size | Spawn weight | Group size |
| 2⁄5 | 40% | 4 | 2 | 2–3 | |
| 2⁄5 | 40% | 4 | 2 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄40 | 30% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄40 | 30% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄40 | 30% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄44 | 27.27% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄45 | 26.67% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄45 | 26.67% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄45 | 26.67% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄45 | 26.67% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄46 | 26.09% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄46 | 26.09% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄46 | 26.09% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄46 | 26.09% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄48 | 25% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄50 | 24% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄52 | 23.08% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄52 | 23.08% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄58 | 20.69% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄60 | 20% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄60 | 20% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄60 | 20% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄60 | 20% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄68 | 17.65% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄91 | 13.19% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
| 12⁄170 | 7.06% | 4 | 12 | 2–3 | |
Drops
On death
| Item | Quantity / Chance / Average | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Looting I | Looting II | Looting III | ||||||||||
| Raw Mutton[A] | 1–2 | 100.00% | 1.50 | 1–3 | 100.00% | 2.00 | 1–4 | 100.00% | 2.50 | 1–5 | 100.00% | 3.00 | |
| Cooked Mutton[B] | 1–2 | 100.00% | 1.50 | 1–3 | 100.00% | 2.00 | 1–4 | 100.00% | 2.50 | 1–5 | 100.00% | 3.00 | |
| Wool[C] | 1 | 100.00% | 1.00 | 1 | 100.00% | 1.00 | 1 | 100.00% | 1.00 | 1 | 100.00% | 1.00 | |
| Item | Quantity / Chance / Average | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Looting I | Looting II | Looting III | ||||||||||
| Raw Mutton[A] | 1–2 | 1 | 3⁄2 | 1–3 | 1 | 2 | 1–4 | 1 | 5⁄2 | 1–5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Cooked Mutton[B] | 1–2 | 1 | 3⁄2 | 1–3 | 1 | 2 | 1–4 | 1 | 5⁄2 | 1–5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Wool[C] | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Item | Amount | Probability | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Looting I | Looting II | Looting III | |||
| Raw Mutton[A] | 1 | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | 1⁄8 (12.50%) | 1⁄12 (8.33%) | |
| 2 | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 3⁄8 (37.50%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | 3⁄8 (37.50%) | 1⁄3 (33.33%) | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 1⁄8 (12.50%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | ||
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1⁄12 (8.33%) | ||
| Average | 3⁄2 (1.50) | 2 (2.00) | 5⁄2 (2.50) | 3 (3.00) | ||
| Cooked Mutton[B] | 1 | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | 1⁄8 (12.50%) | 1⁄12 (8.33%) | |
| 2 | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 3⁄8 (37.50%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | 3⁄8 (37.50%) | 1⁄3 (33.33%) | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 1⁄8 (12.50%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | ||
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1⁄12 (8.33%) | ||
| Average | 3⁄2 (1.50) | 2 (2.00) | 5⁄2 (2.50) | 3 (3.00) | ||
| Wool[C] | 1 | 1 (100.00%) | 1 (100.00%) | 1 (100.00%) | 1 (100.00%) | |
| Average | 1 (1.00) | 1 (1.00) | 1 (1.00) | 1 (1.00) | ||
| Killed | 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Expected Drop | ||||
| Default | Looting I | Looting II | Looting III | ||
| Raw Mutton[A] | 1.50 | 2.00 | 2.50 | 3.00 | |
| Cooked Mutton[B] | 1.50 | 2.00 | 2.50 | 3.00 | |
| Wool[C] | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | |
- ↑ Only when not on fire and not killed with a weapon enchanted with Fire Aspect.
- ↑ Only when on fire or killed with a weapon enchanted with Fire Aspect.
- ↑ Color of dropped wool corresponds to color of sheep. A sheared sheep does not drop wool when killed.
| Item | Quantity / Chance / Average | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Looting I | Looting II | Looting III | ||||||||||
| Raw Mutton[A] | 1–2 | 100.00% | 1.50 | 1–3 | 100.00% | 2.00 | 1–4 | 100.00% | 2.50 | 1–5 | 100.00% | 3.00 | |
| Cooked Mutton[B] | 1–2 | 100.00% | 1.50 | 1–3 | 100.00% | 2.00 | 1–4 | 100.00% | 2.50 | 1–5 | 100.00% | 3.00 | |
| Wool[C] | 1 | 100.00% | 1.00 | 1 | 100.00% | 1.00 | 1 | 100.00% | 1.00 | 1 | 100.00% | 1.00 | |
| Item | Quantity / Chance / Average | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Looting I | Looting II | Looting III | ||||||||||
| Raw Mutton[A] | 1–2 | 1 | 3⁄2 | 1–3 | 1 | 2 | 1–4 | 1 | 5⁄2 | 1–5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Cooked Mutton[B] | 1–2 | 1 | 3⁄2 | 1–3 | 1 | 2 | 1–4 | 1 | 5⁄2 | 1–5 | 1 | 3 | |
| Wool[C] | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Item | Amount | Probability | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Looting I | Looting II | Looting III | |||
| Raw Mutton[A] | 1 | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | 1⁄8 (12.50%) | 1⁄12 (8.33%) | |
| 2 | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 3⁄8 (37.50%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | 3⁄8 (37.50%) | 1⁄3 (33.33%) | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 1⁄8 (12.50%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | ||
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1⁄12 (8.33%) | ||
| Average | 3⁄2 (1.50) | 2 (2.00) | 5⁄2 (2.50) | 3 (3.00) | ||
| Cooked Mutton[B] | 1 | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | 1⁄8 (12.50%) | 1⁄12 (8.33%) | |
| 2 | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 1⁄2 (50.00%) | 3⁄8 (37.50%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | 3⁄8 (37.50%) | 1⁄3 (33.33%) | ||
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 1⁄8 (12.50%) | 1⁄4 (25.00%) | ||
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1⁄12 (8.33%) | ||
| Average | 3⁄2 (1.50) | 2 (2.00) | 5⁄2 (2.50) | 3 (3.00) | ||
| Wool[C] | 1 | 1 (100.00%) | 1 (100.00%) | 1 (100.00%) | 1 (100.00%) | |
| Average | 1 (1.00) | 1 (1.00) | 1 (1.00) | 1 (1.00) | ||
| Killed | 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Expected Drop | ||||
| Default | Looting I | Looting II | Looting III | ||
| Raw Mutton[A] | 1.50 | 2.00 | 2.50 | 3.00 | |
| Cooked Mutton[B] | 1.50 | 2.00 | 2.50 | 3.00 | |
| Wool[C] | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | |
1–3XP experience orbs if killed by a player or tamed wolf.
Killing a baby sheep yields no items nor experience.
Shearing
When sheared, sheep give 1–3 wool and do not take any damage. This is not affected by Fortune or Looting.
Breeding
Upon successful breeding, 1–7XP is dropped.
Behavior
Sheep wander aimlessly and individually or in small flocks of two to four. Sheep avoid cliffs and hazardous areas if it warrants damage. Sheep emit hoarse bleats in mostly random patterns and especially when attacked. If harmed, sheep flee for a few seconds, but make no special attempt to avoid wolves.
Sheep do not usually interact with players or other mobs, but follow a player holding wheat within a six blocks radius. Adult sheep cannot fit through a gap of the 90-degree intersection of two fences when the corner fence is removed, whereas the player and most other mobs can fit through easily (although mobs won't path-find through this gap).

Sheep graze short grass, short dry grass, tall dry grass, and ferns (but not tall grass or large ferns), making them disappear, and grass blocks, changing them into dirt blocks. Baby sheep graze grass much more often than adults and mature 1 minute faster when grazing. Sheep can eat grass through blocks that are lower than a full block, including extremities such as honey blocks, as well as from inside minecarts. A sheared sheep regrows its wool after grazing. Therefore, if no grass is available, a sheep cannot regrow its wool after being sheared. If an adult sheep has the opportunity, the chance of eating grass is 1⁄1000 every other game tick (1⁄50 for baby sheep). If /gamerule mobGriefing is set to false, grass blocks remain, but the sheep still regrow their wool.[1]
Dyeing
A sheep's wool can be dyed by pressing the use key or the interact button while holding any dye. A sheared sheep cannot be dyed until its wool grows back after eating a grass block. Dyeing changes the color of the sheep's wool permanently or until the sheep is dyed again. The new wool colors are inherited by baby sheep.
If a sheep is dyed and then sheared, it retains its new dyed wool color after the wool regrows.
Breeding

Sheep can be bred using wheat, after which they spawn a baby sheep. They cannot breed for five minutes after the baby sheep appears.
If the parents have compatible wool colors (meaning that the corresponding dye items could be combined into a third dye color), the resulting baby sheep inherits a mix of their colors (e.g., blue sheep + white sheep = light blue baby sheep). If the dye colors cannot normally be mixed, the baby sheep spawns with the same color as one of the parents, chosen randomly, regardless of whether one or both parents have been sheared.
The 20-minute growth of a baby sheep can be slightly accelerated using wheat. Each use takes 10% off the remaining time to grow up. A baby sheep can also accelerate its own growth by eating grass.
Easter eggs

An evoker can change a sheep's wool color if the evoker isn't engaged in combat and /gamerule mobGriefing is set to true. Then it can 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. This is a reference to the priest unit of the 1997 game Age of Empires. This will still work if they are named jeb_.

If a sheep is named jeb_, its wool cycles through all dye colors in order. This is purely a visual effect. A sheep named jeb_ can still be dyed without changing the rainbow effect, and any wool obtained from one of these sheep has the most recent color as if the sheep was not named.
Sounds
Java Edition:
Sheep use the Friendly Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.
| Sounds | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
| Sheep baahs | Friendly Mobs | Randomly | entity | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | 16 | |
| Sheep dies | Friendly Mobs | When a sheep dies | entity | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | 16 | |
| Sheep hurts | Friendly Mobs | When a sheep is damaged | entity | subtitles | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | 16 | |
| Footsteps | Friendly Mobs | While a sheep is walking | entity | subtitles | 0.15 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Shears click | Players(player) Blocks(dispenser) | When a sheep is sheared | entity | subtitles | 1.0 | 1.0 | 16 | |
| Block broken[sound 1] | Blocks | When a sheep grazes grass | block[sound 1] | subtitles[sound 1] | 1.0 | 0.8 | 16 | |
| Dye stains | Friendly Mobs | When a sheep is dyed | item | subtitles | 1.0 | 1.0/0.9/0.95/1.1 | 16 | |
| Sounds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Source | Description | Resource location | Volume | Pitch |
| Friendly Creatures Friendly Mobs | Randomly | mob | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | |
| Friendly Creatures Friendly Mobs | When a sheep dies | mob | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | |
| Friendly Creatures Friendly Mobs | When a sheep is damaged | mob | 1.0 | 0.8-1.2 (Baby: 1.3-1.7) | |
| Friendly Creatures Friendly Mobs | While a sheep is walking | mob | 0.4 | 1.0 | |
| Friendly Creatures Friendly Mobs | When a sheep is sheared | mob | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
| Blocks | When a sheep grazes grass | dig | 0.7 | 0.8-1.0 | |
| Friendly Creatures Friendly Mobs | When a sheep is dyed | item | 1.0 | 1.0/0.9/0.95/1.1 | |
Data values
ID
| Name | Identifier | Translation key |
|---|---|---|
sheep | entity |
| Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
sheep | 13 | entity |
Entity data
Sheep have entity data associated with them that contain various properties.
- [NBT Compound / JSON Object] Entity data
- Additional fields for mobs that can breed see Template:Nbt inherit/breedable/template
- Tags common to all entities see Template:Nbt inherit/entity/template
- Tags common to all mobs see Template:Nbt inherit/mob/template
- [Byte] Color: The color of the sheep. Default is 0.
- [Byte] Sheared: 1 or 0 (true/false) - true if the sheep has been shorn.
| Color | Data value |
|---|---|
0
| |
1
| |
2
| |
3
| |
4
| |
5
| |
6
| |
7
| |
8
| |
9
| |
10
| |
11
| |
12
| |
13
| |
14
| |
15
|
Color values
In Java Edition, non-white sheep colors are 25% darker as the respective dye color values; white is separately defined as
#E6E6E6. Non-white sheep colors are applied to the sheep_wool.png and sheep_wool_undercoat.png textures, while white is applied exclusively to the sheep_wool.png texture (the wool undercoat texture is not rendered for white sheep).
In Bedrock Edition, sheep colors use the same values as the base dye colors. The wool textures of white sheep are not tinted.
| ID | Name | Java Edition color code | Bedrock Edition color code | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec | Hex | Dec | Hex | ||
| 0 | white |
15132390 | #E6E6E6 |
-[note 1] | |
| 1 | orange |
12214293 | #BA6015 |
16351261 | #F9801D |
| 2 | magenta |
9779853 | #953A8D |
13061821 | #C74EBD |
| 3 | light_blue |
2852515 | #2B86A3 |
3847130 | #3AB3DA |
| 4 | yellow |
12493357 | #BEA22D |
16701501 | #FED83D |
| 5 | lime |
6329623 | #609517 |
8439583 | #80C71F |
| 6 | pink |
11954303 | #B6687F |
15961002 | #F38BAA |
| 7 | gray |
3488573 | #353B3D |
4673362 | #474F52 |
| 8 | light_gray |
7697777 | #757571 |
10329495 | #9D9D97 |
| 9 | cyan |
1078645 | #107575 |
1481884 | #169C9C |
| 10 | purple |
6694282 | #66258A |
8991416 | #8932B8 |
| 11 | blue |
2962303 | #2D337F |
3949738 | #3C44AA |
| 12 | brown |
6438693 | #623F25 |
8606770 | #835432 |
| 13 | green |
4611344 | #465D10 |
6192150 | #5E7C16 |
| 14 | red |
8659484 | #84221C |
11546150 | #B02E26 |
| 15 | black |
1381656 | #151518 |
1908001 | #1D1D21 |
- ↑ No tint is applied.
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other | ||||||
| Have a Shearful Day | Use Shears to obtain wool from a . | — | 15 | Bronze | |||
| It Spreads | Kill a mob next to a catalyst | — | 10 | Bronze | |||
| Overkill | Deal nine hearts of damage in a single hit. | Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have nine hearts of health overall. | 30 | Bronze | |||
| Over-Overkill | Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace | Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall. | 20 | Silver | |||
| Rainbow Collection | Gather all 16 colors of wool. | All the colors of wool do not have to be in the inventory at the same time, but must have been picked up by the player at least once. | 30 | Silver | |||
Advancements
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) |
|---|---|---|---|
![]() | A Throwaway Joke | Throw a Trident at something. Note: Throwing away your only weapon is not a good idea. | Hit a mob with a thrown trident. |
![]() | Adventure | Adventure, exploration and combat | Kill any mob, or be killed by any living entity. |
![]() | Arbalistic | Kill five unique mobs with one crossbow shot | This is a hidden advancement, meaning that it can be viewed by the player only after completing it, regardless of if its child advancement(s), if any, have been completed. |
![]() | It Spreads | Kill a mob near a Sculk Catalyst | Kill one of these 73 mobs near a sculk catalyst:
|
![]() | Over-Overkill | Deal 50 hearts of damage in a single hit using the Mace | Damage can be dealt to any mob, even those that do not have 50 hearts of health overall. |
![]() | Take Aim | Shoot something with an Arrow | Using a bow or a crossbow, shoot a mob with an arrow, tipped arrow, or spectral arrow. |
![]() | The Parrots and the Bats | Breed two animals together | Breed a pair of any of these 26 mobs:
|
![]() | Two by Two | Breed all the animals! |
History
The specific instructions are:
- History of jeb_ baby sheep.
- Jeb sheep from Pocket Edition Alpha 1.1.0.0.
| Java Edition Classic | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 25, 2009 | First showcase of sheep on The Word of Notch. Red cloth as a drop can be seen. | ||||||
| October 25, 2009 | Notch uploaded a video to YouTube of a sheep test. | ||||||
| 0.28 | |||||||
| Sheep currently drop cloth and mushrooms when killed. | |||||||
| Sheep can now graze grass, turning it into dirt. After eating a random amount of blocks, they regrow their cloth. | |||||||
| Java Edition Indev | |||||||
| 0.31 | 20091223-0040 | Sheep no longer spawn naturally. | |||||
| 20100202 | Sheep now spawn again. | ||||||
| Sheep now drop either 1 flint and steel, or 1-3 string, sulphur, or feathers. These drops were the same for the other mobs. | |||||||
| Sheep no longer drop mushrooms. | |||||||
| Sheep no longer graze grass. | |||||||
| 20100211-2327 | Sheep now have unique idle and hurt sounds. Previously, they have no idle sounds, and use the player's hurt sound. | ||||||
| Sheep now drop 1-3 white, dark gray and light gray cloth upon being hit. | |||||||
| 20100219 | Sheep now do not drop anything when killed. | ||||||
| 20100223 | Sheep now drop only light gray cloth when hit. | ||||||
| Java Edition Infdev | |||||||
| 20100624 | Sheep now drop white instead of light gray cloth. | ||||||
| Java Edition Alpha | |||||||
| v1.2.2 | In Survival multiplayer, hitting a sheep drops unobtainable cloth. However, casting a fishing rod drops obtainable cloth, while the sheep still appears to have cloth. | ||||||
| Java Edition Beta | |||||||
| 1.2 | |||||||
| Colored sheep now drop their corresponding wool color. | |||||||
| Sheep can now spawn in the color gray, light gray, or black. | |||||||
| 1.4 | Sheep can now rarely spawn in the color pink or brown. | ||||||
| 1.7 | Sheep now drop 2-4 wool when sheared. | ||||||
| Sheep no longer drop wool when hit. | |||||||
| Sheep now drop one wool block when killed while not sheared. | |||||||
| 1.8 | Pre-release | Sheep now flee when attacked. | |||||
| Java Edition | |||||||
| 1.0.0 | Beta 1.9 Prerelease 3 | ||||||
| Sheep can now breed. | |||||||
| Sheep now have 4 hearts of health (formerly 5 hearts). | |||||||
| Beta 1.9 Prerelease 6 | Baby sheep from dyed parents are now born dyed instead of always being white. | ||||||
| 1.1 | 11w49a | Sheep can now graze grass blocks again, turning them into dirt to regrow their wool. They can additionally now graze grass, destroying it. Their wool now regrows each time a block is grazed. | |||||
| Grazing speeds up the growth of baby sheep by 1 minute (1200 ticks). | |||||||
| Shearing a sheep now yields 1-3 wool blocks instead of 2-4.[2] | |||||||
| Spawn eggs are available for sheep in creative mode. | |||||||
| 11w50a | Baby sheep now graze more than adult sheep. | ||||||
| 1.2.1 | 12w07b | The sheep eating animation in multiplayer has been fixed. | |||||
| Sheep now 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 to sheep. | ||||||
| Added a sound for shearing sheep. | |||||||
| Sheep idle sounds now play entirely. Previously, say3 was cut. | |||||||
| 1.4.4 | 1.4.3 | Baby sheep now have a mix of the parents' colors, if the parents' colors are 'compatible' (able to be crafted together as dyes). | |||||
| 1.6.1 | 13w16a | Added leads, which can be used to leash sheep. | |||||
| 1.7.4 | 13w48b | ||||||
| 1.8 | 14w02a | Baby sheep's growth can now be accelerated using wheat. | |||||
| 14w05b | Sheep's wool is no longer visible when they have the Invisibility effect.[3] | ||||||
| June 30, 2014 | Ryan Holtz announces that he's adding mutton as a new drop from sheep. | ||||||
| 14w27a | Sheep now drop raw mutton and—if killed with fire—they drop cooked mutton. | ||||||
| 1.10 | 16w20a | Sheep no longer spawn in ice plains biomes. | |||||
| 1.11 | 16w39a | ||||||
| 1.12 | 17w06a | ||||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a | ||||||
| Sheep can now be sheared using dispensers. | |||||||
| 1.15 | 19w37a | 5% of sheep now spawn as babies. | |||||
| 1.17 | 21w03a | Added a sound for dyeing sheep. | |||||
| 1.18 | experimental snapshot 2 | Sheep now spawn in meadows. | |||||
| 21w39a | Sheep now eat half as often, due to the chance to start eating being evaluated every other game tick rather than every game tick.[4] | ||||||
| 1.19.4 Experiment | 23w07a | Sheep now spawn in cherry groves. | |||||
| 1.21.5 | 25w02a | Sheep can now spawn in wooded badlands. Technically, they are also allowed to spawn in badlands and eroded badlands, but cannot spawn there naturally as these biomes do not generate grass blocks. | |||||
| 25w06a | Sheep can now graze on short dry grass and tall dry grass. | ||||||
| 25w07a | Changed the rules for sheep coloring to be based on which biome they spawn in. | ||||||
| In temperate biomes, the common sheep color is white, while uncommon sheep colors are black, gray, light gray and brown. | |||||||
| In cold biomes, the common sheep color is black, while uncommon sheep colors are light gray, light blue, blue and cyan. | |||||||
| In warm biomes, the common sheep color is brown, while uncommon sheep colors are gray, yellow, orange and red. | |||||||
| In all biomes, the rare sheep color is pink. | |||||||
| 25w08a | |||||||
| Light blue, blue, cyan, yellow, orange, and red sheep no longer spawn naturally. | |||||||
| White, black, brown, gray, and light gray sheep spawn in all biomes again. White, black, and brown remain the common sheep colors in temperate, cold, and warm biomes respectively. | |||||||
| Sheep can now graze on ferns. | |||||||
| Changed the texture of sheep spawn eggs. | |||||||
| 25w10a | |||||||
| 1.21.6 | 25w15a | ||||||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||||
| v0.2.0 | |||||||
| v0.6.0 | Added the overlay part of the sheep with wool on its head and body. | ||||||
| |||||||
| Baby sheep now spawn naturally. | |||||||
| v0.6.1 | |||||||
| v0.7.0 | Sheep spawn eggs are now in creative mode. | ||||||
| v0.8.0 | build 1 |
| |||||
| Sheep can now breed. | |||||||
| The sheep's AI has been improved. | |||||||
| v0.9.0 | build 3 | Sheep can now graze on short grass. | |||||
| v0.9.2 | The health of sheep has been reduced from 16HP × 8 to 8HP. | ||||||
| v0.11.0 | build 1 | Sheep's coloration is now applied through shaders, rather than different textures. | |||||
| v0.12.0 | Sheep are no longer bred using a Feed button as of the release of the Windows 10 Edition. | ||||||
| v0.14.0 | build 1 | Baby zombie jockeys now check for a nearby sheep to mount prior to attacking the player, villager or golem. | |||||
| Sheep no longer spawn in the snowy plains biome and its variants. | |||||||
| v0.15.0 | build 1 | Sheep now drop raw mutton and if killed with fire, they drop cooked mutton. | |||||
| Baby husks can now mount sheep. | |||||||
| Pocket Edition | |||||||
| 1.0.0 | alpha 0.17.0.1 | Sheep are now dyed using a Dye button. | |||||
| 1.1.0 | alpha 1.1.0.0 | ||||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||||
| 1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | ||||||
| Sheep now spawn in desert village shepherd houses. | |||||||
| 1.11.0 | beta 1.11.0.1 | Sheep can now spawn in plains, savanna, taiga, snowy taiga and snowy tundra village shepherd houses, butcher houses, and animal pens. | |||||
| 1.18.30 | Preview 1.18.20.28 | Sheep no longer spawn in snowy taigas. | |||||
| release | Reverted the sheep spawning change made in Preview 1.18.20.28. | ||||||
| 1.21.60 | Preview 1.21.60.21 | Baby sheep now have a mix of the parents' colors, if the parents' colors are 'compatible' (able to be crafted together as dyes). | |||||
| 1.21.70 | Preview 1.21.70.22 | Sheep now graze on short dry grass and tall dry grass. | |||||
| Preview 1.21.70.23 | Changed the rules for sheep coloring to be based on which biome they spawn in. | ||||||
| In temperate biomes, the common sheep color is white, while uncommon sheep colors are black, gray, light gray and brown. | |||||||
| In cold biomes, the common sheep color is black, while uncommon sheep colors are light gray, light blue, blue and cyan. | |||||||
| In warm biomes, the common sheep color is brown, while uncommon sheep colors are gray, yellow, orange and red. | |||||||
| In all biomes, the rare sheep color is pink. | |||||||
| Preview 1.21.70.25 | Sheep wool texture has been tweaked to remove stark line at the back. | ||||||
| Light blue, blue, cyan, yellow, orange, and red sheep no longer spawn naturally. | |||||||
| White, black, brown, gray, and light gray sheep spawn in all biomes again. White, black, and brown remain the common sheep colors in temperate, cold, and warm biomes respectively. | |||||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||||
| Xbox 360 | Xbox One | PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Wii U | Switch | |
| TU1 | CU1 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | |
| TU3 | Sheep now drop 2-4 wool when sheared. | ||||||
| Sheep no longer drop wool when hit. | |||||||
| Sheep now drop one wool block when killed while not sheared. | |||||||
| TU5 | Sheep now run away when attacked. | ||||||
| TU7 | |||||||
| Sheep can now be bred using wheat. | |||||||
| TU9 | Sheep now eat grass blocks and short grass in order to re-grow their wool. As a counterbalance, shearing a sheep yields 1-3 wool blocks instead of 2-4. | ||||||
| Spawn eggs are now available for sheep in Creative mode. | |||||||
| TU14 | 1.04 | Baby sheep can now be spawned by using | |||||
| Baby sheep now have a mix of the parents' colors, if the parents' colors are 'compatible' (able to be crafted together as dyes). | |||||||
| TU24 | CU12 | 1.16 | 1.16 | 1.16 | |||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Sheep now drop raw mutton. If killed with fire, they drop cooked mutton. | |
| Baby sheep's growth can now be accelerated using wheat. | |||||||
| TU54 | CU44 | 1.52 | 1.52 | 1.52 | Patch 24 | 1.0.4 | |
| 1.90 | Sheep can now be sheared using dispensers. | ||||||
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||||
| 0.1.0 | |||||||
Prior colors
Spawn rules before Spring to Life
The color of a sheep was determined by the values in the table below. One in every 500 white sheep (0.2%) was instead pink, making pink the rarest of the six naturally spawning colors. 5% of all sheep (regardless of color) spawned as baby sheep.
| Color | Chance | Percent | Adult | Baby |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | - | 100% | 95% | 5% |
| 82100 × 499500 | 81.836% | 77.7442% | 4.0918% | |
| 5100 | 5% | 4.75% | 0.25% | |
| 5100 | 5% | 4.75% | 0.25% | |
| 5100 | 5% | 4.75% | 0.25% | |
| 3100 | 3% | 2.85% | 0.15% | |
| 82100 × 1500 | 0.164% | 0.1558% | 0.0082% |
Data history
| Java Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.11 | 16w32a | The entity ID has been changed from Sheep to sheep. | |||||
| 1.13 | 17w47a | Numeric IDs for entities were presumably deprecated in this version. | |||||
| 1.21.2 | 24w35a | Sheep's default death loot table is no longer controlled by entities/sheep/<color> and is now controlled by entities/sheep. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Sheep" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.
Gallery
Renders
Unshorn
Sheared
Baby
jeb_
Mojang screenshots
-

-
Dyed sheep in separate pens. -
A pink sheep in the wild. -
An edited photo of sheep in the desert. -
Baby sheep grazing. -
A group of sheep. -
Zuri shearing sheep. -
Some sheep in a pasture. -
Warm colored sheep in Java Edition 25w07a. -
Sheep variants in Java Edition 25w07a. -
Wandering trader and cartographer in front of the cold sheep variants in Bedrock Edition Preview 1.21.70.23. -
A sheep staring at the player. -
A sheep through a peephole.
Screenshots
-
A dying sheep. -
White, brown, light gray, gray, pink and black are 6 of the naturally spawning colors of a sheep. -
A large flock of sheep, along with some chickens. -
A baby sheep and an adult sheep. -
The sheep grass-eating animation. -
The baby sheep grass-eating animation. -

-
The relative probabilities of naturally spawned sheep colors before Spring to Life. -

-
Snowy grass next to a patch of dirt that a sheep has eaten. -
A sheep with a blue head. -
Four different colors of naturally spawning sheep: light gray, gray, brown, and black. -
Z-fighting in the sheep's legs while invisible, in Spectator mode. -
Rare occurrence of a pink sheep. -
Sheep bugged in a tree. This is on an old version of Minecraft. -
Flock of sheep in a swamp biome. -
The foot of a sheep. -
The sheep's color around their face and overlay when sheared corresponds to their wool color. -
A sheep before Pocket Edition Alpha 0.6.0. -
Pink sheep before Pocket Edition Alpha 0.8.0. -

-
A yellow sheep during Pocket Edition Alpha 0.7.1. -
A white baby sheep that has been sheared (sheared baby sheep are available only via commands). -
A pink sheep seen in Java Edition Beta 1.7.3 -
Sheep Jockey. This is only in Bedrock Edition.
Textures
-
A sheep's texture file. -
A sheep's wool texture file. -
A sheep's wool undercoat texture file.
In other media
-

-
Various dyed sheep as shown in the World of Color Update artwork. -
Artwork of a sheep. -
A brown sheep in promotional artwork for the first Caves & Cliffs update. -
A sheep in official artwork for the Education Edition. -
Sheep pictured in the Mobestiary. -
LEGO minifigure of cyan sheep. -
LEGO minifigure of purple baby sheep. -
A "Super Cute" Sheep from the 18th line of Minecraft Mini-Figures. -
Baby sheep plush made by JINX. -
"My Base is Your Base," an official T-Shirt design featuring a build of a red sheep. -
The Secret Sheep, featured in the Trails & Tales Event. -
The potato sheep from 24w14potato. -
The "Mummy Sheep," featured in the Halloween Edition mash-up pack and Minecraft Mini-Series. -
Sheep Man, a skin included in the second Legacy Console skin pack. -
A sheared version of Sheep Man from the same pack. -
Top Hat Sheep, a skin featured in the 1st Birthday skin pack. -
A baby sheep looking upwards. -
Orange sheep Flippin' Figs figure -
Cyan sheep Flippin' Figs figure -
A reference to A Minecraft Movie. -
A sheep as seen in A Minecraft Movie
References
- ↑ MC-147444 — Sheep eating grass does not turn grass into dirt when mobGriefing is disabled — resolved as "Works As Intended".
- ↑ "I decreased the amount of wool from 2-4 to 1-3 since wool regrows again" – @jeb_ (Jens Bergensten) on X (formerly Twitter), December 8, 2011
- ↑ MC-88791
- ↑ MC-257540
- ↑ "[MCPE-1376] Sheep feet texture missing - Jira" – Mojira, January 31, 2013.



















































