Livestock worker
Also called stockman, stable worker, husbandry worker
Livestock workers maintain the health and welfare of animals. They oversee the breeding/production and day-to-day care such as feeding and watering of animals.
What you'd do
Livestock farm labourers · ILO- Digging and shovelling to clear ditches or for other purposes
- Loading and unloading supplies, produce and other materials
- Feeding, watering and cleaning animals and keeping their quarters clean
- Monitoring livestock and reporting on their condition
- Assisting with maintaining the health and welfare of livestock
- Assisting with herding, droving and separating livestock for milking, shearing, transportation or slaughter and between pastures
- Collecting eggs and placing in incubators
- Raking, pitching, stacking and storing hay, straw and other types of animal feed and bedding
- Grading, sorting, packing produce into containers
- Performing minor repairs on fixtures, buildings, equipment and fences
- Mostly outdoors
- A mix of sitting and standing
- Some contact with people
- Good freedom to decide
- Usually under 40 hours a week
- Few deadlines
- Varied tasks, little repetition
Will there be jobs?
Yes, good prospects9 EU countries are short of livestock farm labourers now, but fewer jobs than in most work will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
Below averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €700 a month (Bulgaria) to €3,800 (Denmark), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among elementary occupations in the EU, women earn 9% less per hour than men. Elementary occupations · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Basic schoolingMost people start with basic schooling and learn on the job.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
Very littleAI could help with only small parts of the tasks.
Average task score 0.12 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 10 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for livestock farm labourers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).