How to Breed Sheep in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Feed wheat to each of two sheep to put them in love mode. A lamb spawns right away, the parents need 5 minutes before breeding again (1 minute in Bedrock), and you get 1-7 XP. Lambs take their wool color from their parents, mixing like dyes.

What you need

Wheat (2 per breeding)
2 sheep
A grassy fenced pen

Step by step

Grow wheat from seeds (break tall grass), or grab some from a village farm.
Hold the wheat so sheep follow you - from about 10 blocks away (16 in Bedrock) - and lure two into a fenced pen on grass.
Feed wheat to each sheep: hearts appear and a lamb spawns, plus 1-7 XP.
The parents can breed again after 5 minutes (1 minute in Bedrock). Lambs grow up in 20 minutes; fed wheat cuts the time by 10% per item, and every time a lamb eats placed grass it matures one minute sooner.
Keep the pen grassy: adult sheep regrow their wool after shearing only by eating grass. Dye parents before breeding to mass-produce colored wool.

Java vs Bedrock

Breeding works the same in Java and Bedrock except the parents' cooldown: 5 minutes in Java, 1 minute in Bedrock. Follow range is 10 blocks in Java and 16 in Bedrock.

Versions: Sheep were added in Classic in 2009 and could breed from Beta 1.9 (2011). Dyed-sheep color inheritance arrived with 1.1, and lambs have eaten grass to grow faster since 1.8.

Frequently asked questions

How does lamb color work?

A lamb gets one parent's color, or the dye mix of both parents if their colors combine - red and blue parents can produce a purple lamb. Colors that do not mix pick one parent's color instead.

What is the fastest way to get wool?

Breed a pen of sheep on grass and shear them instead of killing them: each shearing gives 1-3 wool and the sheep regrows it after eating grass, so the same flock produces wool forever.

Do pink sheep exist?

Pink sheep spawn naturally but are extremely rare (about 0.16% of adult sheep). The reliable way to get pink wool is to dye a sheep pink or breed red and white sheep together.