Animal Breeders — Tasks

Task statements

• Feed and water animals, and clean and disinfect pens, cages, yards, and hutches.
• Observe animals in heat to detect approach of estrus and exercise animals to induce or hasten estrus, if necessary.
• Treat minor injuries and ailments and contact veterinarians to obtain treatment for animals with serious illnesses or injuries.
• Purchase and stock supplies of feed and medicines.
• Select animals to be bred, and semen specimens to be used, according to knowledge of animals, genealogies, traits, and desired offspring characteristics.
• Examine animals to detect symptoms of illness or injury.
• Build hutches, pens, and fenced yards.
• Record animal characteristics such as weights, growth patterns, and diets.
• Brand, tattoo, or tag animals to allow animal identification.
• Arrange for sale of animals and eggs to hospitals, research centers, pet shops, and food processing plants.
• Place vaccines in drinking water, inject vaccines, or dust air with vaccine powder to protect animals from diseases.
• Bathe and groom animals.
• Exercise animals to keep them in healthy condition.
• Adjust controls to maintain specific building temperatures required for animals' health and safety.
• Maintain logs of semen specimens used and animals bred.
• Inject prepared animal semen into female animals for breeding purposes, by inserting nozzle of syringe into vagina and depressing syringe plunger.
• Clip or shear hair on animals.
• Package and label semen to be used for artificial insemination, recording information such as the date, source, quality, and concentration.
• Exhibit animals at shows.
• Measure specified amounts of semen into calibrated syringes, and insert syringes into inseminating guns.
• Examine semen microscopically to assess and record density and motility of gametes, and dilute semen with prescribed diluents, according to formulas.