Farm Associate I

Aviagen•Albertville, AL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Farm Associate I plays a critical role in farm operations across Aviagen’s poultry farms, with primary responsibility for the care and welfare of birds in the facility. The role may involve work up to six days per week, including weekends and holidays, and requires carrying out repetitive manual tasks in a range of farm and poultry-processing environments. Duties must be performed safely and efficiently, in accordance with animal care, animal welfare, and biosecurity policies and procedures. The position includes gathering, grading, recording, washing, and transferring eggs; maintaining poultry-house conditions and feed; monitoring flock health and mortality; cleaning houses and rebuilding pens; and collecting birds for moving or weighing. Work may also take place in a hatchery, where duties can include handling day-old chicks, setting and transferring eggs, and disinfecting facilities. Processing-plant duties may include live-hanging poultry and using cutting instruments for trained data-collection tasks. The position involves working with live animals, chemicals, and environments that may be hot or cold, dusty, damp or wet, noisy, and have farm-related odors.

Requirements

Understand oral and written instructions and perform simple tasks.
Basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.
Ability to perform repetitive work.
Ability to stand for long periods, including eight hours or more, and maintain a flexible work schedule.
Ability to grip, grasp, or twist using hands and wrists.
Ability to lift, carry, push, or pull up to 50 pounds or more.
Ability to bend and stoop repetitively throughout the shift.
Ability to work in extreme hot or cold temperatures and in dry, dusty, damp, or wet environments with substantial dust circulation.
Ability to work with and routinely handle live poultry, and to tolerate farm-related smells or foul odors and loud or noisy environments.
Currently authorized to work in the country of the specified job location at hire and maintain authorization throughout employment.

Nice To Haves

Animal husbandry experience is preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

Gather eggs while preventing excessive breakage.
Grade eggs by category, size, and condition.
Transfer egg flats from the barn to the egg cooler room, record egg counts, and assist with washing eggs and maintaining sanitary conditions in the egg wash and cooler rooms.
Maintain and record eggs and gather other data as instructed.
Monitor and troubleshoot poultry-house conditions and equipment, including feed lines, drinkers, fans, and barn appearance.
Monitor and document flock health and mortality.
Clean out houses and rebuild bird pens as needed.
Transfer feed weighing up to 50 pounds, maintain feed in feeders according to trial requirements, and ensure birds can access feed.
Collect birds for moving or weighing.
Work with day-old chicks in the hatchery; duties may include setting, collecting, and transferring eggs and disinfecting the facility.
Perform poultry-processing tasks as trained, including live-hanging poultry and using cutting instruments to de-bone or cut poultry for data collection.
Handle chemicals such as detergents and disinfectants.
Follow animal care standards, animal welfare guidelines, and biosecurity policies and procedures.
Perform essential duties safely and efficiently as trained.