Winter Range Livestock Worker

Job duties

Original text, as filed with the Department of Labor.

Must have 3 months experience with at least 200 head of livestock on the range. One reference required. Required to be available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week and spend the majority of workdays on the range. All job duties are closely and directly related to the production of livestock. Perform any combination of the following tasks to attend to livestock on the range during the winter season: The herder must be experienced in handling extreme winter conditions on the range to prevent the death of livestock, horses, and dogs. The worker must be able to identify approaching storms and periods of inclement weather and take precautions to prevent the herd, band or bunch from drifting against a fence line where the livestock would be at risk of piling up, getting drifted over with snow, and freezing to death. Because animals exert more energy during the winter months, especially in extreme winter weather conditions, the worker must be able to monitor the nutritional needs of livestock and working animals throughout the early winter season. The worker must be experienced in identifying animals that are not getting sufficient nutrition and distribute emergency supplemental feed as required. The worker must make a supply of fresh water available to livestock in freezing temperatures. In general, the worker must know how to maintain animals in extreme weather conditions. The following seasonal duties will need to be performed. Herder will move pregnant livestock from winter grazing grounds to calving/lambing grounds; identify signs of livestock going into labor and identify potential problems during the labor process; know how and when to assist during difficult births; properly constrain livestock during difficult births; graft orphan livestock to mothers; identify herd health issues including but not limited to malnutrition, prolapse and mastitis; provide water to animals, including minor maintenance of water troughs and water lines; haul water in a truck, as required, to supplement animal water needs; provide supplemental feed for livestock if the range provides insufficient forage; disperse livestock on the range to reduce overcrowding and increase the success of mother and calf/lamb bonding; protect vulnerable livestock from predators and competently deploy nonlethal depredation mitigation equipment; move livestock to branding grounds and assist in docking/banding, shearing, herding, branding, castrating/banding, vaccinating, tagging and worming; sort and load livestock onto trucks for transport to new range or to market; safely rope and/or catch livestock with a hook. Move livestock to summer range. The worker must be able to saddle and ride a horse or mule in a safe and effective manner such as to avoid injury to self, coworkers, bystanders, or the animal itself. The worker may be required to shoe horses for his own use. The worker must also be able to use a 4-wheeler in a safe and effective manner. The worker will closely monitor and treat both mother and young offspring which are, as a rule, more vulnerable to colder temperatures and sickness; report to employer dehydration and other indicators of deterioration in animal body condition/behavioral changes indicating malnutrition; assist with supplemental feeding (when weather or quality of forage precludes use of range forage); herd livestock to appropriate grazing areas using winter trailing methods to avoid undue stress; prevent hypothermia/abortion/death; move animals at a pace sufficient to ensure they receive ample water/forage during daylight hours before bedding down at night; assist with branding and tagging and with the vaccination of animals by herding into corrals and/or stalls or manually restraining animals. The worker may assist with repairing or building fence to contain or protect livestock, may assist in the maintenance of tools, equipment, and livestock handling facilities necessary for livestock production.

Requirements

Benefits and conditions