General Ranch Hand

Work description

- Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies. - Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals. - Break ice as needed. - Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain. - Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment. - Mix feed, additives, and medicines in prescribed portions. Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences. - Move equipment or livestock from one location to another, manually or using trucks or carts. - Clean stalls, pens, and equipment, using disinfectant solutions, brushes, shovels, water hoses, or pumps. - - Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos. - Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures. Shift animals between grazing areas to ensure that they have sufficient access to food. - Perform duties related to livestock reproduction, such as calving and helping with animal births. - Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition. - Patrol grazing lands on horseback or using all-terrain vehicles. - Groom, clip, trim, or castrate animals. - Spray livestock with disinfectants and insecticides, or dip or bathe animals.

View the official U.S. Department of Labor source

Last updated: October 7, 2026