Farm Associate I

Aviagen•Albertville, AL

11h

About The Position

The Farm Associate I supports farm operations across Aviagen poultry farms, with primary responsibility for the care and welfare of birds. The role includes collecting, grading, transferring, and recording eggs; maintaining sanitary conditions in egg-handling areas; monitoring poultry-house conditions and flock health; and assisting with cleaning and rebuilding bird pens. Duties may also include handling feed, collecting birds for moving or weighing, working with day-old chicks in a hatchery, and performing tasks in a poultry processing plant. The position requires following animal-care, animal-welfare, biosecurity, and safety procedures while working with live animals and in varied farm and facility environments.

Requirements

Ability to 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 repeatedly throughout the shift.
Ability to perform manual tasks in extreme hot or cold temperatures and work in dry, dusty, damp, or wet environments.
Ability to work with live animals and routinely handle and interact with live poultry.
Ability to work around farm-related smells or foul odors, loud or noisy conditions, and substantial dust circulation.
Ability to work with chemicals such as detergents and disinfectants.
May work up to six days a week, including weekends and holidays.

Nice To Haves

Animal husbandry experience is preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

Gather eggs in a manner that prevents excessive breakage.
Grade eggs according to category, size, and condition.
Transfer egg flats from the barn to the egg cooler room and record the number of eggs collected.
Assist with washing eggs and maintain sanitary conditions in the egg wash and cooler rooms.
Maintain and record eggs or gather other data as instructed.
Monitor and troubleshoot poultry-house conditions and equipment, including feed lines, drinkers, and fans.
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; additional duties may include setting, collecting, and transferring eggs and disinfecting the facility.
Perform poultry-processing tasks, including live hanging and using cutting instruments to debone or cut poultry as trained for data collection.
Work safely and efficiently as trained and follow animal-care, animal-welfare, and biosecurity policies and procedures.