Disposing of Deceased Birds in Winter

[FortCluck]

Confession, I had a chicken die over winter. I just put it in a trash bag and in the trash can and it went out to the curb on trash day.

I did the same about 5 years ago to a rooster that died.

 

[Matilda Belle]

Confession, I had a chicken die over winter. I just put it in a trash bag and in the trash can and it went out to the curb on trash day.

How nice of you!

 

[Matilda Belle]

I never thought this would be such a funny topic.

In all seriousness, I have a problem when it comes to losing my chickens. I'm very sensitive and want to respect them after they are gone. I know it's silly and not reality when it comes to chicken keeping. They have short life spans so I have to get used to them passing and not get so attached. And having burials and funerals for my chickens every few months isn't really practical.

 

[AsaDotJava]

When we lose animals, our dogs reap the rewards (unless there is an issue that makes the animal inedible, like medication it was recently given etc).

Also, if you want to bury in winter you could try pouring boiling water onto the ground to soften a spot? Or if you set a little fire on the ground, that should help soften it too I'd think? We don't have much of a winter here, so these are all just untried (on my part anyways) ideas.

 

[FortCluck]

I never thought this would be such a funny topic.

In all seriousness, I have a problem when it comes to losing my chickens. I'm very sensitive and want to respect them after they are gone. I know it's silly and not reality when it comes to chicken keeping. They have short life spans so I have to get used to them passing and not get so attached. And having burials and funerals for my chickens every few months isn't really practical.

I'm the same way about my chickens. The first chicken I ever lost, I cried for weeks. 5 years later and I'm raising meat chickens. I have a layer flock that are my pets that lay me fertile eggs. I just lost one recently and we had a mini funeral for it. It was one of the first layers to start our flock.

 

[BantyChooks]

I lost a bird this morning, actually. I put the corpse back in the woods back a little way, since the ground is frozen. I make sure to do it far enough away that it's not tempting predators to hang around the coop. Other small animals (guinea pigs, rabbits) also go out in the woods if they die during the cold season.

 

[AsaDotJava]

I lost a bird this morning, actually. I put the corpse back in the woods back a little way, since the ground is frozen. I make sure to do it far enough away that it's not tempting predators to hang around the coop. Other small animals (guinea pigs, rabbits) also go out in the woods if they die during the cold season.

I tried this, too... My dogs were the first to discover them lol But I have also set it up to where the dogs won't be out when I set a carcass out because I want to see what comes for it. I am fascinated by carrion eaters!

 

[BantyChooks]

I tried this, too... My dogs were the first to discover them lol But I have also set it up to where the dogs won't be out when I set a carcass out because I want to see hatcomes for it. I am fascinated by carrion eaters!

I've had that happen a few times with neighbouring dogs. My own dog is kept in a run, since she'd try and assist with sending the live birds on to the next plane of existence.

 

[Mimi13]

Okay. I'll consider the fire option. I just hope I don't salivate over a BBQ of my favorite pet hen.

I would burn them as well. But, just a fair warning, it will smell heavenly, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

 

[wyoDreamer]

@AsaDotJava The depth of the frozen soil can get pretty deep. one year the City of Eau Claire, WI had watermains freezing at 7' of bury - so the ground froze over 7 feet deep.

During the winter, the road crews will use "campfires" to thaw the ground enough to replace sign posts, guardrail, etc. that are broke off by accidents and such during the winter. But that is a lot of work for them and they only so it for essentials like stop signs and guardrails.

Where I live in NE Wisconsin, they used to have "Graveyard Reports" when I was young - about 30-40 years ago, lol. They were on the radio with the morning weather and news reports in the wintertime. It was a report on how deep the frost layer was in the ground - as recorded by the area cemeteries when digging graves during the winter. It is not uncommon to have 5-6' of frost during winter around here.