Minecraft is full of weird little secrets that the developers just kind of left there for us to find. Some are useful. Some are just plain bizarre. But if you’ve spent any time on a multiplayer server or browsing creative builds, you’ve probably seen a sheep that constantly cycles through every color in the game. It’s mesmerizing. It’s colorful. It’s also surprisingly easy to do once you know the specific trick. Learning how to make sheep rainbow in minecraft isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a rite of passage for any player who wants to move beyond the basic survival loop.
You don't need mods. You don't need a complex Redstone circuit that takes up half your base. All you need is a name tag and a bit of XP. Honestly, it’s one of those things that makes you wonder what else Mojang has tucked away in the code.
The Secret Identity of the Rainbow Sheep
The rainbow sheep isn't a glitch. It’s a deliberate "Easter egg" put in by the developers as a nod to Jens Bergensten, the lead creative designer of Minecraft, who is known in the community as "jeb_." While most name tags just give an animal a persistent name so they don't despawn, certain names trigger hard-coded visual changes.
To get this working, you need a Name Tag. You can’t craft these, which is a bit of a pain. You have to find them in dungeon chests, mineshafts, or by fishing them up if you have a lot of patience. Once you have one, head over to an anvil.
Here is the part everyone messes up: the spelling. You have to rename the tag to jeb_.
It must be all lowercase. That underscore at the end? Non-negotiable. If you forget the underscore, you just have a sheep named Jeb who sits there looking at you with a blank stare, remaining stubbornly white (or gray, or black). But the moment you apply that specific jeb_ tag to a sheep, the magic happens. The wool starts shifting through the entire 16-color palette of the game in a smooth, continuous loop.
Technical Quirks and Why It Works This Way
From a technical standpoint, the rainbow effect is purely a visual overlay. It doesn't actually change the "true" color of the sheep. This leads to some pretty funny—and occasionally disappointing—interactions.
For instance, if you shear a rainbow sheep, what do you think you get? A stack of shimmering, multi-colored wool?
Nope.
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You get the original color of the sheep before you named it. If it was a white sheep when you slapped the jeb_ tag on it, you’re getting white wool. The sheep will look naked and pathetic for a few minutes, still cycling through colors on its skin, until it eats some grass and regrows its wool. When the wool grows back, it resumes the rainbow cycle.
It’s a bit of a letdown if you were hoping for a shortcut to getting every wool color for a build. If you want blue wool, you still need lapis. If you want lime wool, you’re still hunting for sea pickles or cactus. The rainbow sheep is purely for show. It's the "RGB keyboard" of the Minecraft world—completely unnecessary but undeniably cool to look at.
Breed Genetics and Rainbow Lambs
Can you breed two rainbow sheep to create a permanent rainbow farm?
Not really.
When you breed two sheep in Minecraft, the lamb usually takes a mix of the parents' colors. However, since the rainbow effect is tied to the name tag and not the sheep's actual DNA, the baby lamb will just inherit the base color of the parents. If you want a rainbow lamb, you have to spend another name tag on it. In the early game, when name tags are rare, this is a pretty expensive hobby.
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Common Mistakes When Trying to Make Sheep Rainbow in Minecraft
If it’s not working, check these three things immediately.
First, the underscore. I’ve seen so many players type "Jeb" or "jeb" and then complain the game is broken. Minecraft is case-sensitive for these specific Easter eggs. It has to be jeb_.
Second, make sure you are actually applying the tag. You need to right-click the sheep while holding the renamed tag. If you're on a console or mobile, use the "use" button. You'll know it worked because the name jeb_ will appear over the sheep's head, and the color shift will begin instantly.
Third, check your version. While this works on almost every version—Java, Bedrock, Education Edition, and the older console ports—there are weird edge cases in very old versions of the game (we're talking pre-1.7.4 for Java) where this hadn't been added yet. But honestly, if you're playing on a version from 2013, you have bigger problems to worry about than rainbow sheep.
Beyond the Sheep: Other Name Tag Tricks
Since you're already playing around with name tags, it's worth noting that jeb_ isn't the only secret. If you’re bored of the rainbow sheep, you can use name tags to flip the entire world upside down—sort of.
Naming any mob (including a sheep, a cow, or even a Creeper) Dinnerbone or Grumm will cause the mob to flip 180 degrees and walk around on its head. It’s terrifying on a Ravager and hilarious on a chicken.
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There’s also the Toast rabbit trick. If you name a rabbit Toast, it gets a very specific black-and-white fur pattern that isn't available naturally. This was actually a memorial for a player's lost pet, which gives it a bit more emotional weight than the disco-party vibes of the rainbow sheep.
Why Do We Love the Rainbow Sheep?
There’s something about the movement of the colors that breaks up the static nature of a Minecraft base. If you have a massive stone castle, everything feels grey and rigid. Adding a "Jeb sheep" to a glass enclosure in the floor or as a "mascot" near your portal adds a layer of life.
Interestingly, the transition speed is fixed. You can't speed it up or slow it down. It’s a rhythmic, pulsing change that has become iconic in the community. It’s the ultimate "low-effort, high-reward" flex in the game.
Step-by-Step Execution
- Acquire a Name Tag. Check chests in Desert Temples or trade with a Master-level Librarian villager. They usually sell them for about 20 emeralds.
- Find an Anvil. You’ll need three iron blocks and four iron ingots.
- Rename the Tag. Place the tag in the first slot, click the text bar, and type
jeb_. This will cost 1 level of experience. - Find your target. Any sheep will do. Color doesn't matter.
- Apply the name. Right-click the sheep.
Once the tag is applied, the sheep is technically "saved." Named mobs don't despawn even if you travel thousands of blocks away. This means your rainbow sheep will be there waiting for you every time you come home, assuming a wolf doesn't get into your pen.
Actionable Strategy for Your World
If you want to use rainbow sheep effectively in your builds, try placing them behind stained glass. The color of the glass interacts with the shifting colors of the sheep in a way that creates some really unique lighting effects, especially if you have shaders installed.
Another pro-tip: If you are playing on a server, naming a sheep jeb_ is a great way to identify your "alpha" sheep. Since you can’t accidentally shear it for the wrong color (it always gives the base color), it stays as a permanent fixture of your farm.
Just remember that name tags are a finite resource early on. Don't waste them on every sheep in the pen unless you have a steady supply of emeralds to keep your Librarian villager happy. One or two "Jeb sheep" is usually enough to get the point across without looking like a glitchy neon mess.
Start by checking your nearby village for a Librarian. If you don't have one, grab a lectern and start cycling a villager's profession until they offer the name tag trade. It’s the most reliable way to get multiple rainbow sheep without spending hours staring at a bobber while fishing.