Occupation
Livestock and ranch worker
Livestock and ranch workers look after cattle, sheep, pigs, or other production animals day to day. The job means feeding, moving, and monitoring animals, maintaining fences and housing, and noticing early signs that something is wrong. Animals need care on weekends and holidays, so cover is arranged around the herd rather than around office hours.
Also known as: Stockperson · Ranch hand · Herdsperson · Animal husbandry worker
Occupation content
Part of Agriculture, animals and environment
What the work involves
- Feed and water stock, adjusting rations on instruction from the manager or veterinarian.
- Move animals between pastures, pens, and handling facilities using low-stress handling techniques.
- Watch for lameness, injury, calving or lambing difficulty, and other health problems, and report them promptly.
- Assist with vaccination, tagging, weighing, hoof care, and veterinary treatments.
- Repair fencing, gates, waterers, and housing, and keep bedding and yards clean.
- Record births, deaths, treatments, and movements in the herd or flock records.
How people commonly enter
- Direct entry with on-the-job training under an experienced stockperson.
- A college certificate or diploma in animal science, agriculture, or livestock production.
- Seasonal calving, lambing, or shearing work that leads into a permanent position.
- Transfer from another hands-on outdoor role such as crop work or equipment operation.
Typical training: Short course or on-the-job training
Licensing: Not typically licensed
Typical work context
Outdoors · Physically active · Shift work · Team based · Varied work
Related interests
Realistic (hands-on) · Conventional (organizing)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Agriculture, animals and environment.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Agricultural Workers · United States
Link checked
- Canada Job Bank — Career planning and occupation search (Livestock worker) · Canada
Link checked
Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Agriculture, animals and environment in Canada, not a figure for Livestock and ranch worker. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Agriculture, animals and environment family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Agriculture, animals and environment: education pathways
Some roles in Agriculture, animals and environment may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Agriculture, animals and environment: licensing
Find jobs
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- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)