Disposing of "PETS"...

[Bobby Basham]

Hey Folks,

Maybe this is an old question, but how do you humanely dispose of a dead PET chicken (or animal of any kind)?

I refuse to eat a beloved PET chicken found dead from preditor attack, desease or natural causes, and refuse to start a pet cemetery in my back yard. I have no problem eating chickens that have been processed by others, being a country boy at heart, but have no interest in doing it myself.

I don't think you can just put them in a plastic bag and throw them out with the garbage for city pickup, or call Animal Control. Chickens don't live forever and, eventually, it's bound to happen. Can't cremate them because open burning is not allowed within city limits.

Just curious as to how the non-processing folks deal with that issue, as morbid as it may seem to some. I don't think I would immediately take it to a neighbor/friend who knows how to process, not knowing the cause of death to begin with, and would never want to eat a diseased chicken, if that were the case.

I like to look at all the issues from birth of a pet to death. My purpose is accumulating as much info as possible into a huge notebook (housing, medical, nutritional, vets and/or contact persons etc.) to be a responsible pet owner throughout their lives, because they can't speak for themselves. --BB

Bobby Basham
Tucson, Arizona

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I hear that you don't want to start a pet cemetery in your back yard, but perhaps you might rethink that. When I was growing up, my mother would bury our deceased pets in her rose garden. There is an option of cremating cats and dogs, which I have had done, and then buried their ashes under a new plant. I doubt that you could have a chicken cremated, however.
I think when my chickens die, I will bury them in the yard under a new plant. It's a circle of life thing.

I don't know if my story helps at all, but hope you find a solution that is right for you.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Burying a pet in your backyard is only an option if you own the property and are certain you will never sell it or move. That situation for a family is pretty rare.

Dead pets can be taken to the local animal shelter for proper disposal.