Winter Range Cattle Herder
Employer
422 County Road 500 7 miles W of Saratoga, CR 500
Saratoga, WY 82331
United States
Job description
Required to be available up to 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: administer emergency minor medical care to sick/injured pregnant cows using roping methods to
gently immobilize cow without causing undue stress; apply medications to cuts and bruises; assist with supplemental feeding (when weather or quality of forage precludes use of range
forage); brand, tag, clip or otherwise mark young animals for identification purposes; detect direction from which the wind or prevailing storms are coming to keep cows gathered and
safe; detect through winter tracking methods where other rancher(s)' livestock has been to avoid overgrazing of forage; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; feed and water
and ensure adequate provision of both; gather and trail cow-calf pairs through sorting and shipping process; gradually herd cows in specified direction using methods which move cows
slowly and safely through varying terrain, avoiding deep snow; help with maintenance of meadow lands and repair fences; help with training horses and shoe camp horses; herd/trail
cows to viable water sources; keep cows in small groups to allow grazing on proper mix of forage; maintain and set up supply wagon in appropriate direction to provide wind
break/shelter/protection for horses & dogs; make sanded trails for the safety of cows; make sufficient water from snow for horses/dogs at camp; move cows at a pace sufficient to ensure
they receive ample water/forage during daylight hours before bedding down at night; operate camp stove appropriately to provide/conserve heat in extreme cold/high winds; properly
use/store food supplies for herder/horses/dogs; protect pregnant cows from harsh winter conditions; report to employer dehydration & other indicators of deterioration in animal body
condition/behavioral changes indicating malnutrition or disease; report to rancher on water/forage/weather conditions; ride unmarked perimeters of designated range area; rope, flank
and dehorn calves; shoe horses with sharp shoes for better footing on frozen creeks/slopes; track and report location of sick and injured cows; trail groups of pregnant cows to
designated areas using winter trailing methods to avoid undue stress on cows; trail pregnant cows across ice to water sources or to forage area by choosing safe crossing area; use ax
to chop large holes in frozen creeks/reservoirs to water 20-30 cows at a time; use proper animal husbandry skill to prevent hypothermia/abortion/death.
Perform any combination of the following tasks to attend to livestock at the ranch: administer emergency minor medical care to sick/injured pregnant cows using roping methods to gently
immobilize cow without causing undue stress; apply medications to cuts and bruises; assist in the maintenance of tools, equipment and handling facilities necessary to production; assist
with castration of livestock; assist with the vaccination of livestock by herding into corrals and/or stalls or manually restraining animals; brand, tag, clip or otherwise mark young animals
for identification purposes; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; feed and water and ensure adequate provision of both; protect pregnant cows from harsh winter conditions;
report to employer dehydration & other indicators of deterioration in animal body condition/behavioral changes indicating malnutrition or disease; use proper animal husbandry skill to
prevent hypothermia/abortion/death.
Special Requirements
Required to: spend the majority of work days on the range, perform tasks capably and efficiently without close supervision, live and work singly or in small groups of workers in isolated areas for extended periods of time, work outdoors in all types of weather and may experience occasional exposure to hazards such as poisonous snakes, biting insects and extreme temperature, maintain and manage remote housing locations in a safe and responsible manner.