How to build a semi automatic sheep farm
This is a semi automatic sheep farm built in Java edition 1.21.5.
This build will allow you to easily breed sheep and then cook them for you providing both cooked mutton and wool.
This works by housing the sheep in a top pen enabling the player to breed them by feeding them wheat, the baby sheep drop through a gap. At this point the player has the option to let them grow naturally or to feed them and speed up the growing process. Once they are fully grown the player releases a bucket of lava from a dispenser which cooks the fully grown sheep and drops the loot into a waiting chest.
The main product of this build is cooked mutton. Here is a break down detailing what cooked mutton can be used for:
Food source - cooked mutton gives 6 hunger points and 9.6 saturation.
Breeding - can be used for breeding and healing tamed wolves and will speed up growth of baby wolves.
A by product of this build is wool as it also gets dropped when the sheep is killed. Wool is a very useful item in Minecraft and here are some of its uses:
Beds - probably the first thing you will use wool for.
Paintings - can be used to create paintings to decorate your buildings.
Banners - can be crafting into a banner.
Carpets - Can be used to craft carpets to decorate your house although carpets are also useful in farm and redstone builds.
Blocking vibrations - Ideal material for blocking vibrations if you're brave enough to try and face the Warden.
Here's where you can find sheep and wool.
Grassy biomes - sheep generally spawn in small groups in savannahs, meadows, forests and plains.
Villages - sheep will sometimes spawn in animal pens that already contain sheep. Wool can sometimes be found in the houses of shepherds and fletchers and blocks will be found at meeting places.
Shearing sheep - shearing sheep will provide you with an endless supply of sheep as the wool grows back as long as the sheep can eat and can then be sheared again.
Trading - shepherd villagers will often trade wool for emeralds.
Pillager outposts - wool is often used in tent structures.
Woodland mansions - there are sometimes large wool structures in some rooms.
Ancient cities - wool is used to block vibrations from skulk sensors.
Crafting - wool can also be crafted from 4 strings.
In this section we will discuss the materials and the ingredients that we need to make this build. This will give a concise list of the items and the recipe's to make them.
Chest
Hopper
Slab
Dispenser
Bucket
Trapdoor
Button
Ladder
Stair
Glass blocks
Hopper - you will need to craft a chest first.
Dispenser - you will need to craft a bow first.
Here we will explain in detail how to build a semi automatic sheep farm in Minecraft. Please follow the instructions carefully.
To start this build you will need to find a suitable flat space about 10 blocks by 8 blocks.
Then place a chest down with a hopper on top (you will need to crouch to place the hopper).
Start placing stone blocks to around the chest and hopper 3 blocks high, making sure to leave a 1 block space in front of the chest and hopper.
Place a dispenser on top of the middle block behind the hopper.
Place a slab in the gap at the front of the build, on the bottom half of the block at the third block high.
Continue building another 3 layers to make 6 high total.
Place glass blocks at the front so that you can see what is happening.
Place a bucket of lava into the dispenser.
Place a second dispenser 2 blocks above the first.
Next we need to place a trapdoor in the gap above the hopper just below the second dispenser and open it so that it sits flush with the stone block.
Place a bucket of water into the second dispenser.
This shows the view from the back so you can see the back of the dispensers.
Place buttons on both dispensers so that you can release the lava and water when you need to.
Place 2 stairs at the front of the build to one side of the hopper so that you can reach the gap (above the cobblestone slab).
This is so that you can reach the baby sheep if you wish to feed them rather than wait for them to grow.
Now for the difficult part getting the sheep!
Place blocks and stairs as shown in the screenshot so that the sheep end up in your pen and not jumping over the edge.
You will need to lead the sheep from wherever you find them back to the build and up the stairs and then into the pen.
They will quite often wander the top wall and need to be knocked into the pen.
You will need at least 2 sheep to start breeding but you can have as many as you can hold in the pen.
Press the button on the top dispenser to release the water so that the sheep bob to the top of the pen to make it easier to feed them.
Feed the sheep wheat until hearts appear above them and a baby sheep is produced.
Press the button the return the water to the dispenser and the baby should drop through the hole above the hopper.
If you have a lot of sheep in the top pen you may need to move them around by holding wheat and moving around so the babies drop through the hole.
Once the babies drop they will sit above the hopper. You can either wait for them to grow naturally or you can feed them wheat through the gap above the cobblestone slab.
There will be green sparkles to show the sheep growing.
Once the sheep is fully grown it can be cooked.
Press the button on the bottom dispenser to release the lava and then again to return it. This will cook the sheep.
If you check your chest you should find cooked mutton and wool.
Now we need a pen to hold our sheep.
Place 2 stone blocks either side of the second dispenser and then 4 blocks on top.
Now place stone blocks along both sides and glass blocks at the front to make a 4 block x 4 block square with a hole above the hopper covered by the open trapdoor.
Once your sheep are in the pen destroy the stairs and blocks so that you don't get over run with mobs.
What can go wrong -cooked mutton not being produced.
This may be because the baby sheep are not fully grown before you try to cook them. Baby sheep will not drop any loot.
What can go wrong - my sheep are escaping.
This may be because you only have a block high pen. it needs to be at least 2 blocks high.
If the babies are escaping after dropping it may be that your slab has been placed on the top of the block instead of the bottom.
What can go wrong - mobs in your sheep pen.
You will get mobs in your build if you don't remove the stairs at the side of the build.
How to make the build easier -
Add ladders to the back wall of the build to make it easier to reach the buttons and top of the pen.
Additional builds - There is an extra build that can be placed onto this build to improve it. This is a transport system called an up elevator that will enable you to transport your sheep to the top pen, rather than using the stairs and the risk of mobs getting into your build.
