Calver/stocker Herder

Job description

Workers must have at least 3 months of experience birthing livestock with herds of 200 head or larger on pasture. One reference is required.
The worker needs to move pregnant cows from summer grazing grounds to calving grounds. The worker must be able to identify signs of cows going into labor and identify potential problems during the labor process. The worker must know how and when to assist with difficult births. The worker must be able to properly constrain cows for difficult births and able to graft orphan calves to mothers. The worker must be able to identify livestock health issues including but not limited to malnutrition of cows and calves, prolapse and mastitis. The worker must disperse livestock to reduce overcrowding and increase the success of mother and calf bonding and protect vulnerable livestock such as cows during calf-birth from predators. The worker must be able to move cows and calves to branding grounds and assist in branding, castrating, vaccinating, worming and identifying with EID buttons. The worker must be able to moves cows and calves to/from grazing grounds.
The worker receives stockers to the ranch for branding, vaccinating and worming and then moves them to their designated range and water troughs. The worker attends livestock grazing on range or pasture, herds and gathers strays using trained dogs. The worker circulates through the ranges and pastures to search for signs of illness and if found, administers vaccines, medications, insecticides and markers according to ranch policy. The worker must be able to gather every range and pasture for shipment of stockers to market based upon the California vegetation growing cycles. The worker will need to identify animals and sort livestock based on confirmation standards and weights for the shipping process. The worker will assist in loading trucks for transportation of the stockers to market and must be able to verify number of animals and safely load the animals without injury.
The worker must provide water to animals, including minor maintenance of water troughs and water lines. He/she may need to haul water in truck to supplement water needs. Provide supplemental feed with machinery and small 1500# payload trailers for cows, calves, bulls. The worker may perform general repairs on fence and livestock facilities, perform minor mechanical duties, welding and general ranch maintenance closely and directly related to the production of livestock. May assist on an incidental basis in the production of sheep and/or goats. This may include but is not limited to docking, shearing, herding, trailing, vaccinating, sorting and loading onto trucks or transporting.
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 and the animal itself. The worker may be required to shoe horses for his use. The worker may be required to shoe horses for his use. Must be able to safely rope livestock with a rope. The worker must also be able to use a 4-wheeler in a safe and effective manner. Western Range Association and it member ranches facilitate practices of good animal husbandry. Employees 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 employee many be held accountable for these actions.