Agricultural Workers

Agricultural Workers typically perform the following tasks: • Feed and water animals, and clean and disinfect pens, cages, yards, and hutches. • Observe animals in heat to detect approach of estrus and exercise animals to induce or hasten estrus, if necessary. • Treat minor injuries and ailments and contact veterinarians to obtain treatment for animals with serious illnesses or injuries. • Purchase and stock supplies of feed and medicines. • Select animals to be bred, and semen specimens to be used, according to knowledge of animals, genealogies, traits, and desired offspring characteristics. • Examine animals to detect symptoms of illness or injury. • Build hutches, pens, and fenced yards. • Record animal characteristics such as weights, growth patterns, and diets. • Brand, tattoo, or tag animals to allow animal identification. • Arrange for sale of animals and eggs to hospitals, research centers, pet shops, and food processing plants. • Place vaccines in drinking water, inject vaccines, or dust air with vaccine powder to protect animals from diseases. • Bathe and groom animals. • Exercise animals to keep them in healthy condition. • Adjust controls to maintain specific building temperatures required for animals' health and safety. • Maintain logs of semen specimens used and animals bred. • Inject prepared animal semen into female animals for breeding purposes, by inserting nozzle of syringe into vagina and depressing syringe plunger. • Clip or shear hair on animals. • Package and label semen to be used for artificial insemination, recording information such as the date, source, quality, and concentration. • Exhibit animals at shows. • Measure specified amounts of semen into calibrated syringes, and insert syringes into inseminating guns.