How to make Scute farms in Minecraft

Turtle farms are used to get scutes (Image via Mojang)
Turtle farms are used to get scutes (Image via Mojang)

A turtle shell is a helmet in Minecraft as well as a brewing ingredient. Brewing it into a potion will make the Potion of the Turtle Master (more on that here). Wearing one as a helmet will give players two levels of protection, which is the same as an iron helmet. It also has greater durability than iron and will grant 10 seconds of breathing underwater.

In order to get one, players need scutes. Baby turtles will drop them when they grow into adult turtles, which is currently the only method of acquiring them. Here's how to farm them.


Farming scutes in Minecraft

The first step is to find turtle eggs. These can spawn naturally or when players breed turtles. If gamers find them naturally, they need to build a fence around them to protect them from other mobs. The eggs can also be moved with a Silk Touch pickaxe.

Turtles and baby turtle eggs (Image via Mojang)
Turtles and baby turtle eggs (Image via Mojang)

If not, players can breed turtles. They can lead them into a fence by holding seagrass. Feeding them that seagrass will cause them to mate and a baby turtle egg will spawn.

Ideally, each turtle farm needs the following:

  • Sand for the turtles to spawn on
  • Water in which baby turtles can grow
  • Lighting to ensure hostile mobs don't spawn
  • Protection from other mobs
  • A wall to prevent the ocean from flowing in

It also helps to have a hopper to collect scutes right when they drop, otherwise Minecraft players may not be around and they may despawn. Water should also flow around the farm to ensure all scutes get pushed into the hopper and into the chest.

The eggs will usually hatch after a couple of day-night cycles. Once they do, players' work is essentially done. They will slowly grow up and drop a scute when they do.

Optionally, Minecraft players can also feed the baby turtles seagrass to accelerate the growth process. When they're fully grown adults, they can be bred to produce more eggs and start the process over.

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