What do you do with your chickens when they die?

[TheAunties]

Hello ya'll

Since I recently lost 2 of my favorite chickens for unrelated issues. It got me to thinking...what do you do with your chickens when they die? Do you bury them? Throw them in the trash? Eat them? I am curious. I have started a chicken cemetery it seems. That is definitely not my future plan. I was just curious to know what everyone does with their chickens when they die.

Thanks!

Hi We did bury a few then bin a few- it felt all wrong - we have friends that cook them and feed them to the cats Then we had some killed by the local fox which we put back over the fence so the fox could have them - we knew she had babies to feed. Since then we have always put our dead hens on wasteland (late at night) and checked early the next morning - they are always gone. (UK city)

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Had to put one down a few days ago due to being half eaten by some animal. So sad. I bury them and have their names on their grave stones.

 

[6BeachChicks]

Had to put one down a few days ago due to being half eaten by some animal. So sad. I bury them and have their names on their grave stones.
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Minerva was as old as mine. I’m sorry that happened to you. You did the best thing for Minerva.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

Minerva was as old as mine. I’m sorry that happened to you. You did the best thing for Minerva.

Thank you this is very comforting. It was a hard night

 

[6BeachChicks]

Thank you this is very comforting. It was a hard night

It’s the worst thing. Minerva is with the other countless chickens that passed.

 

[hambowles]

Basil, what a sweet name....

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

Had to put one down a few days ago due to being half eaten by some animal. So sad. I bury them and have their names on their grave stones.
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man, that really sucks. I am so sorry.

 

[629864]

I feel like

I never like losing birds but i would rather lose one to a predator than have it languishing in sickness and me trying everything to keep alive and losing it anyway. Which has happened to me twice this year (once was a predator that it survived but then died despite my efforts). I always feel like such a terrible mess of a chicken keeper when they die slowly. At least a predator is part of the circle of life I guess? I don't know why but sick or hurt chickens just tug at my heart strings whereas the predators are generally quick and leave you a pile of feathers to mourn. That's probably just me though lol

I say the same when one of my dogs gets a guinea. I'd rather a hungry predator get them than a dog who gets fed regularly. Predators....it's sad, but part of nature. My dumb dogs....that just makes me mad, especially when they're supposed to be GUARDING the livestock. But the dogs have a poultry problem, so we have them in paddocks surrounding the house and the chicken/guinea area. I've lost some chickens to coyotes when the chickens left the fenced area before dark, but the remaining hens seem to understand that dark=danger. Same with guineas, although guineas are far more "survival challenged". We started with 26 guineas and now have only 3. We started with 23 RIR hens and now have 16...all the hens that died were taken by coyotes... all when they pushed the limits of free ranging too far. No predators have entered the fenced area because of our LGDs. Guinea deaths were mostly coyotes, but some got eaten by the dogs. Now we have 16 teenager pullets/cockerells and I hope they'll learn from the hens' cues to avoid the other side of the fence where either dogs or coyotes could get them. But I am adamant about having them remain free range, so I know we're going to lose some from time to time.

 

[629864]

We have about 300 chickens, 100 pheasants, 50 quail and about 40 pigeons so it is inevitable that some of them die. We are very much into using everything. So…….We clean the birds freeze them in dated bags. Then in the winter, we keep a crock pot going to put on the dog’s food. We have GSP hunting dogs. This way we make sure the dogs stay hydrated.

We will do the same with chickens and goats that die of injuries, but not disease of course. What does GSP stand for?

 

[629864]

Strange you asked this question. Yesterday morning I looked out the kitchen window at the coop and saw smoke billowing out of the windows! I ran up and the coop was filled with dense acrid smoke. I had a heat lamp in one section for my youngsters since it's been 28* lately. I guess they got rambunctious and knocked it off the support and it set the bedding on fire. That in turn burned an area about 9x15 out of the floor board, part or a wall stud and floor beam.

The smoke killed 16 of my 18 young ones. My 7 older girls are ok. They were all groggy from the dense smoke but today seem ok.

I had no time to deal with them today but in the morning I'll collect them up and will put them on my burn pit.

I will be removing the heat lamps from my hen houses tomorrow. I am so sorry this happened to you. It's heartbreaking all the way around.