Sheep Farm (Wool Farm)
Beginner Java + Bedrock
Produces: Wool in every color (1-3 per shearing), infinitely renewable while sheep can graze
Quick answer: Shear sheep for 1-3 wool, let them eat grass to regrow it, repeat forever. Dye the sheep once and every regrowth comes back in that color - an observer watching the grass block can fire shears automatically for a full-auto wool machine.
How it works
- Shears take 1-3 wool from a sheep without hurting it - far better than killing, which drops only 1 wool (and none from a sheared sheep).
- Sheep regrow wool only after grazing: they eat short grass and ferns, or convert grass blocks to dirt - no grass, no wool, so the farm floor is always grass blocks.
- Dye the sheep, not the wool: a dyed sheep keeps its color through every regrowth, and lambs inherit the parents' color (a mix when the dyes can be combined).
- The auto design: a sheep stands on a grass block above a hopper; an observer sees the grass turn to dirt and fires a dispenser holding shears - wool regrows, cycle repeats. Shears wear out, so keep a chest of replacements or renew with iron.
- A sheared sheep only regrows wool after eating a grass block; baby sheep eat grass much more often than adults.
Materials
- Sheep (2+ for breeding, lured with wheat) - one per color you want
- Shears (2 iron each) - several for the automated version
- Grass blocks and fences for the pens
- Observer + dispenser + hopper per auto module
- Dyes for the colors you want permanent
Build steps
- Pen sheep on grass: one sheep per 1x1 grass cell keeps designs dense - the grass block is their regrowth fuel.
- Dye first: apply each color directly to a sheep once; its wool regrows that color forever.
- Shear on cooldown: watch for the sheep to eat (grass block flashes to dirt) and shear the fresh wool - 1-3 per cycle.
- Breed the flock: wheat multiplies sheep; lambs grow faster when they graze.
- Automate one module: sheep on grass over a hopper, observer aimed at the grass block, dispenser with shears aimed at the sheep - dirt-change fires the shears.
- Stack modules side by side for a rainbow wall of wool, one module per color.
- Swap in fresh shears when a dispenser runs dry - each pair lasts 238 uses.
- Collect from the hoppers and build: wool for beds, carpets, banners and every build palette.
Rates
A single auto-shear module produces a few wool per minute around the clock; a 16-color wall with one module each covers every wool need of a survival world. Manual shearing of a dozen sheep gives 1-3 wool per sheep per regrowth.
Tips
- A sheared sheep cannot be re-dyed until its wool regrows - dye before the first shearing.
- Grass blocks under slabs still get grazed: sheep eat through blocks lower than full height, which helps compact designs.
- Keep tall grass out of the pen - sheep ignore it, and it just looks untidy.
- Sheep eat short grass, dry grass and ferns (not tall grass or large ferns) and turn grass blocks into dirt.
- Source: minecraft.wiki Sheep.