Range Winter Sheepherder

Job description

Must have 3 months acceptable experience with 800-1000 head flocks and/or one acceptable reference.
Herder will be required to maintain the herd so that the animals disperse in large open areas. Herder attends sheep flock grazing on range or pasture and will round up strays using trained dogs. Herder beds down flock near evening campsite. Herder guards flock from predatory animals and from eating poisonous plants. Herder will be required to examine animals for signs of illness and administer medications, insecticides, vaccines and drench sheep according to medication instructions. Herders may perform duties including herding, trailing, sorting and loading sheep onto trucks for transport to new range or market.
The herder must be able to identify approaching storm periods and make precautions to prevent the herd from drifting against a fence line where they pile up and get drifted over with snow and freeze to death. The herder must be experienced in handling extreme winter conditions on the range to prevent death in sheep and dogs. Due to animals exerting more energy during the winter months, especially in extreme winter weather, the herder will need to monitor the nutritional needs of all animals throughout the winter. Herders must ensure that animals have access to unfrozen water and must distribute emergency supplemental feed, as needed.
Herders will assist in lambing, docking, castrating and shearing. The following lambing duties will be required: Move pregnant ewes to lambing grounds; identify signs of ewes going into labor and potential problems during the labor process; know how and when to assist during difficult births; be able to properly constrain ewes for difficult births; be able to graft orphan lambs to mothers. Herders must have the ability to safely catch lambs with a hook. Herders will assist in branding, castrating, vaccinating, tagging and worming. Herders must also be able to identify herd health issues, including but not limited to malnutrition of ewes and lambs, prolapse and mastitis. Herders will provide water to animals, which may require minor maintenance of water troughs and water lines. Herders will haul water in a truck, as needed, to supplement animal water needs. Herders will feed hay, pellets and rations during lambing. Herders may be required to work around and with tractors during feeding on the lambing grounds. Herders may perform general repairs on fence, livestock facilities and general ranch maintenance that is closely and directly related to the herding and/or the production of livestock.
After lambing, herders will disperse livestock onto the range to reduce overcrowding and increase the success of mother and lamb bonding. Herders will provide supplemental feed for the ewes and lambs, if the range has insufficient forage. Herders must continually protect vulnerable livestock (ewes in labor & lambs) from predators. Herders will move ewes and lambs to summer range land.

Some work/tasks may occur off the range, but more than 51% of work will be performed on the range. Western Range Association and its member ranches facilitate practices of good animal husbandry. Herders that are found abusing, neglecting or abandoning livestock entrusted to their care may be terminated for cause. If the negligent/abusive actions of an employee result in the loss/death of livestock or cause harm to another person, the herder may be held accountable for these actions.
The herder will live in the employer provided range housing. The herder may also stay in fixed housing facilities during the lambing period. Said housing will be clean and in good repair at the time it is provided to the herder. The herder is responsible to maintain the housing unit in a reasonable level of cleanliness, in order to avoid flies, mice and other vermin. The herder is responsible to alert the employer of damage to the housing unit within a reasonable amount of time.