What You'll Do

  • Feed and water animals, and clean and disinfect pens, cages, yards, and hutches.
  • Examine animals to detect symptoms of illness or injury.
  • Place vaccines in drinking water, inject vaccines, or dust air with vaccine powder to protect animals from diseases.
  • Select animals to be bred, and semen specimens to be used, according to knowledge of animals, genealogies, traits, and desired offspring characteristics.
  • Treat minor injuries and ailments and contact veterinarians to obtain treatment for animals with serious illnesses or injuries.
  • Observe animals in heat to detect approach of estrus and exercise animals to induce or hasten estrus, if necessary.
  • Record animal characteristics such as weights, growth patterns, and diets.
  • Exhibit animals at shows.
  • Build hutches, pens, and fenced yards.
  • Clip or shear hair on animals.

Essential Skills

Critical Thinking 3.25/5
Active Listening 3.0/5
Speaking 3.0/5
Science 3.0/5
Active Learning 3.0/5
Monitoring 3.0/5
Complex Problem Solving 3.0/5
Judgment and Decision Making 3.0/5
Reading Comprehension 2.88/5
Operations Monitoring 2.88/5
Writing 2.75/5
Time Management 2.75/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to sense whether the day to day rhythm and focus of this path line up with what energizes you.

Top passions

  • Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.
  • Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.
  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.

Common styles

Dependability, Integrity, Attention to Detail, Independence, Self-Control

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Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Near Vision 3.5/5
Problem Sensitivity 3.12/5
Deductive Reasoning 3.12/5
Category Flexibility 3.12/5
Oral Comprehension 3.0/5
Inductive Reasoning 3.0/5
Information Ordering 3.0/5
Arm-Hand Steadiness 3.0/5

Technologies & Tools

Adobe Acrobat Adobe Creative Cloud software Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Adobe Photoshop Breedtrak Email software KinTraks Microsoft Access Microsoft Excel Microsoft Internet Explorer Microsoft Office software Microsoft Outlook Microsoft SharePoint Microsoft Windows Microsoft Word Questionmark Perception Respondus Reudink Software ZooEasy VSN International GenStat

Work Environment & Style

Common Styles for This Career

  • Dependability (High importance: 4.3/5)
  • Integrity (High importance: 4.25/5)
  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.06/5)
  • Independence (High importance: 3.88/5)
  • Self-Control (High importance: 3.74/5)

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How to Become One

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful but is usually not required. Training is often provided on the job.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Animal Breeder Animal Husbandman Animal Husbandry Technician Animal Technician Artificial Insemination Technician (AI Technician) Artificial Inseminator Aviculturist Bee Breeder Breeder Canary Breeder Cat Breeder Chicken Fancier Dairy Husbandman Dairy Husbandry Worker Dog Breeder Equine Breeder Fur Farmer Horse Breeder Husbandry Technician Large Animal Husbandry Technician Large Herd Specialist Livestock Breeder Pigeon Fancier Poultry Breeder Poultry Husbandman Poultry Husbandry Worker Poultry Inseminator Rabbit Fancier Rat Culturist