WINTER RANGE SHEEPHERDER

Frank Shirts; Wilder (ID); On-site; USD 17,000 - 25,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer-provided housing

Meals provided

Water and supplies

Job summary

H2ajobs in Wilder, Idaho, is seeking a range herder to manage 800–1000 head flocks on the range. The role requires riding, monitoring nutrition, and ensuring animals have access to unfrozen water during winter.

Housing and meals are provided, with duties including lambing support and predator protection. Candidates should demonstrate experience with extreme winter conditions, tracking animal health, and working with dogs and pack animals to move and tend flocks across large pastures.

Qualifications

• 3 months experience with 800–1000 head flocks.
• Ability to identify approaching storms and protect the herd.
• Experience handling extreme winter conditions on a range.

Responsibilities

• Herd sheep/goats/horses on range or pasture, riding on horseback, ATVs, or on foot.
• Guard flock from predators and from poisonous plants.
• Drench sheep/goats; assist in lambing, docking, and shearing; move pregnant ewes to lambing grounds.

Skills

Range herding experience

Job description

Must have 3 months experience with 800 - 1000 head flocks. One reference required.

The employee must be able to identify approaching storm periods and make precautions to prevent the herd from drifting against a fence line where they pile up and get drifted over with snow and freeze to death. The herder must be experienced in handling extreme winter conditions on a range to prevent death in sheep, goats, horses, and dogs. Due to animals exerting more energy during the winter months especially in extreme winter weather, the herder will need to monitor the nutritional needs of an animal throughout winter. Ensure that animals have access to unfrozen water and to distribute emergency supplemental feed. Monitor snow levels to prevent sheep/goats from being paralyzed in deep snow or caught up against a fence. Herders need to have experience in identifying animals who are not getting enough nutrition, keeping a fresh supply of water in freezing temperatures, and how to maintain animals in extreme weather conditions.

Knowledge of riding horses and pack mules in the high country to move their camp site Attends sheep and/or goat flock grazing on range or pasture: Herds flock and rounds up strays using trained dogs. Attend to sheep grazing on the range to include: Herding sheep on the range or in pastures while riding on horseback, riding ATVs, or walking on foot. Beds down flock near evening campsite. Guards flock from predatory animals and from eating poisonous plants. Drenches sheep and/or goats. May examine animals for signs of illness and administer vaccines, medications and insecticides according to instructions.

Range herding is completed when vegetation is not in a dormant state. A range herder requires knowledge and maintenance of rangeland in order to avoid overgrazing of the range land and prevention of animals ingesting noxious weeds. The proper grazing action of these animals helps to reduce wildland fire fuel, increase soil fertility and improve vegetation. Experienced employees hired for this type of position would need to have the knowledge of maintaining a herd on a range so the animals don’t disperse in large open areas, be able to promote proper grazing of rangeland, and predator control on the range. May assist in setting and moving portable fence and (or) corrals.

May assist in lambing, docking, and shearing. The following seasonal duties will need to be performed. Herder will need to move pregnant ewes to lambing grounds. Be able to identify signs of ewes going into labor and identify potential problems during the labor process. Know how and when to assist during difficult births. Be able to properly constrain ewes for difficult births and able to graft orphan lambs to mothers. Ability to identify herd health issues including but not limited to malnutrition of ewes and lambs, prolapse and mastitis. Provide water to animals, including minor maintenance of water troughs and water lines. May need to haul water in truck to supplement animal water needs. May need to provide supplement feed for the ewes and lambs if the range has insufficient forage. Disperse livestock on the range to reduce overcrowding and increase the success of mother and lamb bonding. Protect vulnerable livestock (lambs & ewes in labor) from predators. Move Ewes and lambs and assist in branding, castrating, vaccinating, tagging, and worming. Ability to safely catch lambs with a hook. Move ewes and lambs to summer range grounds.

The job may entail working with and around farm machinery such as tractors for supplemental feeding purposes.

Housing: Employer-provided (including mobile or range)

Meals: Housing contains free and convenient cooking facilities and employer will provide three prepared meals a day or adequate food, free of charge, based on the requisition by worker, for workers to prepare their own meals while in camp or on the range. Employer may at times provide prepared meals for workers consumption. Employer will provide worker a minimum of 4.5 gallons of potable water per day per worker for drinking and cooking purposes. Additional clean water will be provided to meet the workers laundry and bathing needs

Transport: Transportation from point of recruitment to worksite and from the worksite back to the point of recruitment will be arranged and provided by Employer. Employer will reimburse worker for subsistence costs during travel to worksite no later than the end of the first pay period upon presentation of receipts and from the worksite at the end of the job based on rates established in the applicable regulations.

Experience wanted: 3 months

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