Attend to live farm, ranch, open range or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses and other equines, poultry, rabbits, finfish, shellfish, and bees. Attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. Duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, milking, castrating, branding, de-beaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. May maintain records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; assist in birth deliveries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. May clean and maintain animal housing areas. Includes workers who shear wool from sheep and collect eggs in hatcheries.
Work Activities
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Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies.
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Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
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Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain.
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Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment.
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Mix feed, additives, and medicines in prescribed portions.
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Shift animals between grazing areas to ensure that they have sufficient access to food.
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Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos.
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Protect herds from predators, using trained dogs.
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Order food for animals, and arrange for its delivery.
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Perform duties related to livestock reproduction, such as breeding animals within appropriate timeframes, performing artificial inseminations, and helping with animal births.
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Patrol grazing lands on horseback or using all-terrain vehicles.
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Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition.
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Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences.
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Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals.
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Collect, inspect, and place eggs in incubators, operate machines for egg washing, candling, and grading, and pack eggs in cartons.
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Move equipment, poultry, or livestock from one location to another, manually or using trucks or carts.
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Maintain growth, feeding, production, and cost records.
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Clean stalls, pens, and equipment, using disinfectant solutions, brushes, shovels, water hoses, or pumps.
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Groom, clip, trim, or castrate animals, dock ears and tails, or shear coats to collect hair.
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Spray livestock with disinfectants and insecticides, or dip or bathe animals.
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Trim and shear poultry beaks, toes, and wings using debeaking machines, heated hand shears, or hot wires.
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Milk animals such as cows and goats, by hand or using milking machines.
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Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
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Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
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Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
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Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
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Control Precision
The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
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Arm-Hand Steadiness
The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
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Production and Processing
Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
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Administration and Management
Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
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Biology
Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Education No formal educational credential
- Work Experience No work experience
- Training Less than 1 month on-the-job training
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Looking for technical training programs?
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Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
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Dependability
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Independence
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Adaptability/Flexibility
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Attention to Detail
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Integrity
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Initiative
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Veterinary injection or suction units or accessories
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Hand sprayers
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Egg inspection or collecting equipment
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Animal shearing or clipping equipment
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Animal husbandry equipment
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Word processing software
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Spreadsheet software
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Office suite software
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Internet browser software
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Data base user interface and query software
