QUEST 5 · FREE-TO-PLAY

Sheep Shearer

Fred the Farmer's sheep are getting mighty woolly. He will pay you to shear them.

Sheep Shearer — OSRS Wiki quest image
OSRS Wiki image for Sheep Shearer. OSRS WikiGame image © Jagex Ltd
Difficulty
Novice
Length
Very Short
Quest points
1
Released
4 January 2001
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Before you start

Where to start

Talk to Fred the Farmer in the house by the sheep pen north of Lumbridge Castle.

Requirements

None

Items required

Enemies to defeat

None

STEP BY STEP

Walkthrough

Follow the chapters below. Click any screenshot or diagram to view it at full size.

Introduction

Like Cook's Assistant, this quest is designed to help players explore the starting area of Lumbridge. New players are encouraged to follow the steps below to explore different parts of the town; however, collecting and spinning the wool are optional, as the balls of wool are tradeable between players and sold in stores. The fastest way to complete the quest is to simply buy 20 balls of wool from the Grand Exchange and then give them to Fred.

Fred the Farmer's location. Open interactive map ↗Map data and tiles: OSRS Wiki · Game imagery © Jagex Ltd

Speak to Fred the Farmer at his sheep farm, found slightly north of the Lumbridge Castle. Ask about a quest, and he will task you with bringing him 20 balls of wool.

Obtaining the wool

Items recommended: 21 free inventory spaces (24 if doing Prince Ali Rescue)

If you did not bring shears, Fred will give you some. Enter the fenced area connected to the east side of the house where the sheep are.

The spinning wheel on the 1st floor[UK]2nd floor[US] of Lumbridge Castle.
The spinning wheel on the 1st floor[UK]2nd floor[US] of Lumbridge Castle. Image source ↗

Note: Players planning to do the free-to-play quest Prince Ali Rescue are advised to shear and spin at least three more balls of wool.

Shear the sheep, either by selecting the "shear" option on the sheep, or right-clicking the shears and selecting "use," then clicking the sheep. After shearing them, the skinny looking sheep will grow back their wool after one minute. If they run away while shearing, just keep trying.

Avoid the rams, which look like regular sheep with horns. They cannot be sheared, and it is easy to accidentally attack them. The pen also contains "The Thing", which Fred warned the player about. This is actually two penguins in disguise as a sheep, and attempting to shear it will cause the penguins to squeak and run away from you. It can be identified as the only sheep with the "Talk to" option, and poses no danger during the quest. "The Thing" is later encountered during the Cold War quest.

Low-level players may consider setting their attack options to "Hidden" for the duration of this quest to avoid entering combat with them by accident.

The two penguins disguised as a sheep.
The two penguins disguised as a sheep. Image source ↗

Spinning the wool

Once you have 20 pieces of wool, they must be spun into balls of wool. Go to the 1st floor (UK) of the Lumbridge Castle, and find the bedroom on the south end of the castle. Inside is a spinning wheel; click on the wheel with the wool in your inventory to spin your wool into balls. When they are all spun, go back to Fred the Farmer to finish the quest. If you do not have the space to carry all 20 pieces of wool, you can make smaller deliveries until you reach the required total. Note that Fred will not accept noted balls of wool.

Congratulations, quest complete!

Quick checklist 12 instructions

Use this when you already know the route. The full walkthrough above includes explanations and diagrams.

If you already have the 20 unnoted balls of wool

  1. Talk to Fred the Farmer north of Lumbridge.

    Say: I'm looking for a quest.

  2. Fred takes the 20 balls of wool.

  3. Congratulations, quest complete!

If you don't have the balls of wool

  1. Talk to Fred the Farmer north of Lumbridge.

    Say: I'm looking for a quest. → Yes.

    • He will give you shears if you do not have them.

  2. Enter the sheep pen to the east, connected to his house and shear sheep for 20 wool.

    • Ultimate Ironmen: You can deliver the balls of wool in several trips. You do not have to deliver all 20 at once.

  3. Go to the first floor of Lumbridge Castle.

  4. Click on the spinning wheel in the southern room to spin the wool.

  5. With 20 un-noted balls of wool, return to Fred the Farmer.

  6. Talk to Fred the Farmer and hand them in.

    Say: I need to talk to you about shearing these sheep!

  7. Congratulations, quest complete!

QUEST COMPLETE

Rewards

  • 150 Crafting Crafting experience (An additional 50 experience if you make the balls of wool on a spinning wheel instead of buying it yourself)
  • 60 coins

OSRS WIKI CONTRIBUTORS

Sources & credits

Walkthrough text and preparation lists are adapted from Old School RuneScape Wiki contributors under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Game imagery © Jagex Ltd; individual image sources are linked in their captions. This page is fan-made and not affiliated with Jagex.

Game icons © Jagex Ltd, via the OSRS Wiki. Interface icons by Lucide.