What do you do if a chicken dies?

[HowIsItDone]

I know it sounds morbid, and I guess it is, but now that I have chickens, I need to know what to do with their body, if/when they die.

People with acreage bury them, but what do those of us with smaller properties do?

We don't have Veterinarians for chickens here in Canada, and we can't get 1/2 the Meds our American friends can get.

So, when one dies, what do I do?


HT to @microchick for making me face it.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I think most just take them to the dump.

 

[NeoHomesteader]

If it is a close to a trash day, bag it up and throw it in the can. Or You can still bury in a small yard.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

I think most just take them to the dump.

We have a slow moving creek filled with Snapping Turtles and Catfish.

 

[swamphiker]

I have a fairly small yard, and I just bury them. That way they get to stay on at their home and the veggie garden and fruit trees get some extra nutrients. If you go this way, make sure not to bury them inside any kind of plastic as it makes decomposition take much much longer.

 

[Sally PB]

If you bury them, dig a deep hole. You don't want a critter or dog digging them up. Two feet deep seems to work for me.

 

[HowIsItDone]

If you bury them, dig a deep hole. You don't want a critter or dog digging them up. Two feet deep seems to work for me.

That makes sense, but I have rocky soil.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You can put the body in your regular city trash if you have no other options. We live way out in the country and put them out in what we call the "bone pile," on the edge of the forest for nature to take care of.

 

[RossAcres]

I may sound harsh or offend some, but I burn my birds when they pass. I don't have to worry about smelly trash or digging a hole. Also don't have to worry about a critter digging them up. It doesn't need to be a massive fire, just enough to do the job. I haven't noticed a smell when I do it either.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If you are worried about odor, wrap it in plastic bags and store it in the freezer until the night before trash pickup.