Animal Husbandry Job Description

The Animal Breeders job function is to breed animals, including cattle, goats, horses, sheep, swine, poultry, dogs, cats or pet birds. They select and breed animals according to their genealogy, characteristics, and offspring. This may require knowledge of artificial insemination techniques and equipment use.

Duties:

The Animal Breeder feeds and water animals, and clean and disinfect pens, cages, yards, and hutches. The Animal Breeder examines animals in order to detect symptoms of illness or injury. The Animal Breeder must place vaccines in drinking water, inject vaccines, or dust air with vaccine powder, in order to protect animals from diseases. The Animal Breeder selects animals to be bred, and semen specimens to be used, according to knowledge of animals, genealogies, traits, and desired offspring’s characteristics. The Animal Breeder treats minor injuries and ailments, and contact veterinarians in order to obtain treatment for animals with serious illnesses or injuries. The Animal Breeder observes animals in heat to detect approaches of estrus, and exercise animals to induce or hasten estrus, if necessary. The Animal Breeder records animal characteristics such as weights, growth patterns, and diets. The Animal Breeder exhibits animals at shows. They are responsible for the building of hutches, pens, and making fenced yards for the animals. Some animals need to be clipped or sheared because of their hair so the Animal Breeder usually takes care of this situation.

Activities:

The Animal Breeder must secure information by observing, receiving, and otherwise obtain information from all relevant sources. The Animal Breeder monitors and reviews information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems. The Animal Breeder identifies information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. The Animal Breeder inspects equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects. The Animal Breeder performs physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.

The Animal Breeder uses hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. The Animal Breeder assesses the value, importance, or quality of things or people. The Animal Breeder analyzes information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. The Animal Breeder must have the ability to convince others to buy merchandise goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions. The Animal Breeder monitors and controls resources and oversees the spending of money.

Skills and Abilities

The Animal Breeder must have the ability to see details at close range within a few feet of the observer. The Animal Breeder must have 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. The Animal Breeder needs the ability to speak clearly so others can understand their instructions as well as the product or animal that is involved with the breeding. The Animal Breeder needs the ability to keep the hand and arm steady while moving the arm or while holding the arm and had in one position. The Animal Breeder needs the ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways. The Animal Breeder needs the ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules for examples patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations. The Animal Breeders need the ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. They also need the ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. The Animal Breeders normally read and do a lot of research in order to keep up with important things that happen concerning the animals. This is vital to make sure that all their animals are immune to any new diseases that might spread causing them to lose the animal or causing birth defects. It is very important that Animal Breeders understand the implications of new information for both current and future problem solving and decision making. They must use good judgment when they are making their decisions considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.