Animal Breeders
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 45-2021.00United States
Select and breed animals according to their genealogy, characteristics, and offspring. May require knowledge of artificial insemination techniques and equipment use.
- Median annual earnings
- $46,660
- Projected change
- +2.9%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 5.53K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
85.7% of the workforce
Growing to 5.69K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What animal breeders do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Examine animals to detect symptoms of illness or injury.
- Select animals to be bred, and semen specimens to be used, according to knowledge of animals, genealogies, traits, and desired offspring characteristics.
- Record animal characteristics such as weights, growth patterns, and diets.
- Build hutches, pens, and fenced yards.
- Brand, tattoo, or tag animals to allow animal identification.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $22,427
- 25th percentile
- $35,117
- 50th percentile
- $46,660
- 75th percentile
- $59,947
- 90th percentile
- $83,377
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $46,660 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+2.9%average or slower
20255,529 jobs
2035 projected5,692 jobs
163 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 85.7%
- Certificate
- 5.7%
- Some college
- 4.5%
- Bachelor's degree
- 4.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Breeders71 postings
- 02Animal Husbandry Technicians29 postings
- 03Husbandry Interns10 postings
- 04Viticulturists10 postings
- 05Farm Technicians2 postings
- 06Herdsmen2 postings
- 07Plant Breeders2 postings
- 08Animal Husbandry Interns1 postings
- 09Assignment Managers1 postings
- 10Broiler Service Technicians1 postings
- 11Digital Content Creators1 postings
- 12Seminar Coordinators1 postings
- 13Vivarium Managers1 postings
Top employers
- 01Tyson Foods11 postings
- 02Hormel6 postings
- 03Iowa Select Farms6 postings
- 04JBS Foods6 postings
- 05Foster Farms5 postings
- 06Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corporation4 postings
- 07Howard Hughes Medical Institute3 postings
- 08Keystone Cooperative3 postings
- 09Ripley Entertainment3 postings
- 10Select Genetics3 postings
- 11International Crane Foundation2 postings
- 12Jennie-O Turkey Store2 postings
- 13Josh's Frogs2 postings
- 14Northwind Pork2 postings
- 15Perdue2 postings
- 16Pilgrim's Pride2 postings
- 17SRI International2 postings
- 18St. Jude Children's Research Hospital2 postings
- 19Tiktok2 postings
- 20University of Nebraska Medical Center2 postings
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