Harper Feeders
Part-Time Cattle Health & Stockmanship
Part-time, year-round • Mornings + shipping/processing days as needed •
We don’t need you here all day.
We need you here when it matters.
We’re looking for an experienced cattle person to take responsibility for checking up to 3,000 head of cattle every morning at our fourth-generation family feedlot in Eaton, Colorado.
Walk the pens. Read the cattle. Find the ones that aren’t right. Pull what needs pulled. Treat what needs treated. Make sure waters, fences, gates, and pen conditions are right.
Then, when the cattle are settled and the job is done, go live the rest of your day.
This is a part-time position built for someone who knows cattle and doesn’t need eight or ten hours of work every day to prove it.
We care a lot more about what you notice during the hours you’re here.
The job
Most mornings, your responsibility is straightforward:
Put good eyes on every pen.
Not drive past them.
Not count heads from the pickup.
Actually look at the cattle.
We need someone who can walk through 300 head and notice the one that’s standing just a little differently.
The one that didn’t come to the bunk.
The one whose ears aren’t quite right.
The one that’s breathing differently.
The one you can’t necessarily explain yet—but something about him makes you turn around and look again.
That’s the person we’re looking for.
You’ll identify and pull sick cattle, treat according to our protocols, maintain accurate treatment records, follow up on cattle already being treated, and communicate anything unusual to management.
You’ll also keep an eye on waters, fences, gates, pen conditions, and anything else that affects cattle health and welfare.
Once the cattle are checked and the work is handled, your regular morning is done.
Some days we’ll need you longer.
Cattle don’t operate on a perfect Monday-through-Friday schedule, and neither does a feedlot.
When cattle arrive, we’ll need another capable set of hands to process incoming cattle.
When cattle ship, we’ll need you to help sort, move, load, and ship them correctly.
There will occasionally be other cattle work that requires you to stay longer than your normal morning.
Those days won’t necessarily happen on a predictable schedule, so we’re looking for someone with enough flexibility to help when they’re needed.
But this is not a disguised full-time position.
The core job is morning cattle health.
This could be a really good job for the right person.
Maybe you have cattle of your own.
Maybe you farm and want steady work that still leaves most of the day available.
Maybe you’ve spent years working cattle and want to put that experience to work without committing to a full-time schedule.
Or maybe you simply want a job where you’re trusted to do your work without somebody looking over your shoulder all day.
We don’t particularly care which one describes you.
We care whether you know cattle.
Stockmanship matters here.
We don’t need someone who can make cattle move.
Almost anybody can make cattle move.
We want someone who understands how to read them.
Pressure and release. Position. Timing. Knowing when to push and when to back off.
Someone who can sort cattle without turning the alley into a rodeo.
Someone who understands that calm cattle are easier to evaluate, easier to handle, safer to work around, and generally perform better.
We don’t expect perfection.
We do expect good judgment.
The person we’re looking for
Previous hands-on cattle experience is required. Commercial feedlot experience is preferred but not required.
You don’t necessarily need years of commercial feedlot experience, but you need enough cattle experience that we can trust what you see.
You should be someone who:
- Can confidently identify cattle that aren’t feeling right.
- Understands basic cattle health and treatment.
- Handles cattle calmly.
- Can work independently.
- Doesn’t need someone reminding them to finish the job.
- Keeps accurate treatment records.
- Notices problems and communicates them.
- Takes care of equipment and facilities.
- Understands that livestock still need checked when it’s cold, snowing, muddy, windy, or inconvenient.
- Is willing to come in for shipping and processing when needed.
- Takes pride in doing a job correctly even when nobody is watching.
Most importantly:
If you’re unsure about an animal, you turn around and look again.
What this job is NOT
This isn’t a position for someone looking to pick up a few casual hours whenever it’s convenient.
The hours may be part-time.
The responsibility isn’t.
The cattle need to be checked every morning.
When you’re responsible for them, we’re counting on you to be there and to do it correctly.
It’s also not a cowboy job.
There will be cattle work and cattle handling, but there will also be hospital cattle, treatment records, processing, water problems, mud, manure, gates, and plenty of ordinary work.
We’re looking for someone who enjoys the responsibility of taking care of cattle—not someone who’s only interested when there’s sorting to do.
What you get in return
You get a job with real responsibility without giving us your entire day.
Come in early.
Check the cattle thoroughly.
Handle what needs handled.
Help us on the bigger cattle-work days.
Then go home, farm, run your own cattle, work another job, fish, or do whatever else matters to you.
We’ll give you responsibility and trust.
We expect you to earn both.
Schedule
Days: Approximately 2–4 hours each morning, 6–7 days per week. Start and end times may have some flexibility by mutual agreement. Additional hours will occasionally be required for shipping, receiving, processing and other cattle work.
Year-round position
Pay: $30/Hour
Benefits: This part-time position is not eligible for company-sponsored benefits. No additional compensation or benefits are currently offered with this position.
Requirements: This position requires working on foot around cattle, livestock facilities and moving equipment; walking pens and uneven surfaces; handling and sorting cattle; and working outdoors year-round in typical Colorado heat, cold, wind, snow and muddy conditions. Applicants must be able to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation.
Applications accepted through September 30, 2026. The application deadline may be extended if the position has not been filled.
How to apply
Skip the formal resume if that’s not your thing.
Text message us with:
- Your name
2. Where you’re located
3. What you’ve done with cattle
4. When checking a pen of cattle, what do you look for?
That fourth answer will probably tell us more than a resume ever could.
If you would like to send a resume, please forward copies to our email address.
Harper Feeders
Eaton, Colorado
Fourth-generation family operation • 65,000 lambs • 3,000 cattle
Harper Feeders is an equal opportunity employer
Email
[email protected]
Phone
970-381-2730 (txt msg)
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