About Large Animal Veterinary Technician Jobs
Large animal veterinary technicians assist veterinarians with health care for horses and farm animals, including dairy cows and beef cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, and chickens. Some positions are full time and others part time. Large animal veterinary technicians usually work for private practices or university agricultural sciences programs. They have a wide variety of job duties, and every day is different.
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Geography
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Large animal veterinarians travel to farms, stables and ranches to treat animals and perform health checks. Technicians accompany vets when needed, and at other times, they work at clinics, performing diagnostic procedures such as testing blood samples they collected from animals.
Job Duties
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Large animal veterinary practices typically emphasize herd management and health--treating the entire herd. Technicians help with routine work, such as vaccinating and de-horning animals, assisting with equine teeth floating, obtaining blood samples and gathering information from the animals' owners.
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Additional Responsibilities
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Large animal veterinary technicians also assist during surgeries and emergencies, such as twisted-stomach or intestine operations and breech births.
Education
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Veterinary technicians must complete an accredited 2-year program at a technical college in order to become certified or licensed, depending on individual state requirements. Large animal vet techs learn common diseases of farm animals and treatment, in addition to the standard veterinary technician coursework.
Employment Outlook
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Employment outlook is excellent for veterinary technicians, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Large animal veterinary technician jobs are not as prevalent but there also is less competition, since most techs work in small animal practices.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Shelley Moore photo
