Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals

What the job really is

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.

At a glance

• Sector: Farming, Fishing & Forestry
• O*NET-SOC code: 45-2093
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies.
• Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
• Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain.
• Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment.
• Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos.
• Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals.
• Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition.
• Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences.
• Move equipment, poultry, or livestock from one location to another, manually or using trucks or carts.
• Clean stalls, pens, and equipment, using disinfectant solutions, brushes, shovels, water hoses, or pumps.
• Mix feed, additives, and medicines in prescribed portions.
• Shift animals between grazing areas to ensure that they have sufficient access to food.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Word, All terrain vehicles ATV, Animal hair clippers, Animal hair trimmers, Animal trailers, Animal vaccination syringes, Automated feed batch mixers, Automatic milking parlors, Automatic watering devices, BCL Landview Systems WinCrop

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Animal Breeders
• Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
• Agricultural Equipment Operators
• Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
• Slaughterers and Meat Packers
• Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
• Agricultural Technicians
• First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.