Ideas for how to dispose of my poor dead hen :(

[pigcoon]

My poor hen died overnight. SHe is the second to become sick, but the other other hen is recovering well. This one became very bloated very quickly and went downhill fast. I had started her on antibiotics IM last night but it was too late.

My flock is now four.

Sad question. What do I do with her? It is too cold and frozen for a proper burial. I dont' want to just throw her in the woods though that is an option for sure. My kids will be home in a few hours. I am o.k with them seeing her but she is kind of a family pet and I want to have a plan.

Thoughts?

 

[chicmom]

Gee that's difficult...I am so sorry you lost your hen!

Right away I thought, bury her, but you're right, our ground is frozen too. Could you possibly lay her to rest but put a pile of rocks over her body, sort of like a burial mound? That might be good especially if the kids want a little ceremony......

You could use rocks, piling them in a very neat mound over and around the body, and if you don't have rocks, even sticks or branches would work. YOu could maybe put the hen's body on a little bed of straw, and cover her with straw before you cover her body with the sticks or rocks......

That's the only thing I can think of.....

Sharon

Oh, and let me add, I'd pick a little place in the woods to do this....

 

[DanyyChicken]

Oh that's so hard when there are children envolved but it could be a good learning experience for them as well.
I was gonna suggest a rock pile ceremony as well. That is of course if you have rocks that are accessible and not covered by show. Maybe you could find a nice box for her and line it with hay first.
I don't know if you have a local humane society that could take her off your hands for incineration. Although if she was diseased they may not what to have you drop her there.
I know I had mentioned to my husband that we should have pre dug some holes out in the woods in the fall to be prepared for such an occassion but of course we didn't. Luckily we haven't had any losses.
Best of luck to you

 

[chickieshealing]

My chicken died a month ago and she is still in the freezer. I'm waiting for a nice day to bury her. I'm not sure your freezer situation, but maybe you know someone who can store the chicken until the ground thaws.

 

[pigcoon]

Thanks everyone. We do not have ANY freezer space; can't even fit our human food in there let alone a large bloated chicken.

I really like the idea of the rock pile and a shallow box. I think I'll try to find some rocks (also that aren't frozen into the ground) before the kids come home and we'll try that. Then I guess we could have a 'proper burial' in the spring.

I'm off to disinfect the coop with bleach solution and the vet wants me to give the rest of the IM injections to the other 4 hens as a precaution.

Thanks again everyone!

 

[poseygrace]

Sorry for your loss! We had a predator get one a few months back and my 4 year old was so sad. I think it really helped her that we did a little ceremony for her, and said a prayer. I know, I know, it's just a chicken... but it was the first time she'd really experienced death and I think it helped her understand the permanency of the situation... She still walks by where we buried her and says, "Hi Lina. I hope you are laying eggs for Jesus now." Ha ha!

 

[pigcoon]

Poseygrace that is so sweet!

We took care of this when the kids got home. They all thanked her for her eggs and said a little prayer. We coudln't access any rocks--ground too frozen--so we used extra logs that won't burn well and made a pyre on her in a little boot box.

I treated the rest of the chickens and cloroxed the coop.

Thanks all!

 

[poseygrace]

I'm glad the ceremony went well. It sounds very sweet! Have you tried de-worming the other chickens? I am on a kick about that right now because I just discovered them in my flock, and it explains a lot of lethargy and lack of egg laying. I hope you get to the bottom of it and don't lose any more. Good luck!