How to make a sheep farm in Minecraft 1.19

Wool is a core crafting and decorative component in Minecraft. Players need at least one sheep to get it. However, by setting up a sheep farm, it's possible to collect large amounts of wool in a relatively short period of time.

Sheep farms in Minecraft come in many different shapes and sizes. Some still rely on player input to operate, while others can be fully automated.

The good news is that a basic automatic sheep farm isn't difficult to build and can be constructed with very few materials.

For new players or those working with a resource deficit, it's best to start small with a basic automatic sheep farm before expanding on the design to be more efficient.

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You only need one sheep and a few redstone-compatible blocks to build a basic auto wool farm in Minecraft 1.19

A basic wool farm design that has worked for multiple Minecraft versions (Image via Mojang)

A simple automatic wool farm can be made in Minecraft with as little as one sheep and a few redstone-compatible blocks.

The basic premise is simple. An observer notices when a grass block changes state (when a sheep eats the grass grown on it). This triggers a dispenser to activate the shears contained within. This will shear the sheep of its wool. A hopper or hopper minecart underneath the grass block can then collect the wool and deposit it into a storage block.

Here are the steps you can follow to build a basic auto wool farm in Minecraft 1.19:

1. Place a dispenser on the ground. It should be facing the surface of a grass block.
2. Behind the dispenser, create a hole one block deep. Next, make a hole underneath the dispenser.
3. Place an observer underneath the dispenser and ensure that the red "eye" of the block is facing you and opposite the hole of the dispenser.
4. Fill the hole behind the dispenser and place a piece of redstone dust on top of the block used to fill it. The redstone dust should be directly behind the dispenser.
5. In front of the dispenser, create an opening one block wide and two blocks tall. This can be accomplished by placing two-block high walls around the one-block area in front of the dispenser. Be sure to place a block on top of the dispenser to ensure there is no room for the sheep to jump out.
6. Create a three-block deep tunnel that reaches the underside of the grass block that is walled in.
7. At the end of the tunnel, underneath the grass block, place a hopper and connect it to a chest in front of it.
8. Place an iron rail on the top of the hopper and a hopper minecart on top of the rail.
9. Back on the surface, put shears inside the dispenser. Use wheat, a lead, or a spawn egg to bring a sheep into the opening in the farm and drop it in front of the dispenser. If needed, you can use stair blocks to bring the sheep along and help it scale into the farm.

This is the basic farm design for wool in Minecraft, but one can expand on it in various ways. For example, players can create additional farms and place sheep within. They can then farm multiple sheep for wool at once.

Additionally, Minecraft players can consider placing powered rails for their hopper minecart on a track running underneath each farm. This will allow it to collect wool blocks underneath many sheep at once without using multiple minecarts.