What do you do with your chickens when they die?

[JacinLarkwell]

It's unwise to eat birds that were showing symptoms of illness or died due to something other than being processed.

Most of ours go in the garbage, but certain ones that pass on get buried.

 

[faraz_with_his_barredrock]

feed them to the crows and foxes

 

[6BeachChicks]

I bury them in my garden, they are pets.
Basil got a nice secluded spot, next to the frog pond, and lots of pretty vines. Somewhere where my other chickens don't dig.

I’m sorry to hear about basil, I saw in your signature though. Liz passed at the vet, and he took her to a pet cemetery.

 

[Sally PB]

We bury ours very deep in our garden area.

I did the same with two cockerels who were two cockerels too many. I thank them for their contribution to the soil.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I like this idea. I’ll have to consider it as my soil is so rocky that I use extreme raised beds (3 ft +).


This was my first inclination, but I’m not sure I want ‘yotes to associate my or my chickens’ smell with a free and easy meal.

A great deal depends on the cause of death. If the bird is healthy and I’m the cause if death, it’s food. If they die of old age, probably a trip to the dump, unless the smell will get too bad before my trash run. Then, it’s likely to be burial. If disease causes the death, I’d have to consider communicability before deciding among trash, burial, or burning.

I have no issues with the coyotes.

Only predators I've dealt with was weasel, skunk, & an unknown raptor.

Once a stranger who wrung the neck of a favorite cockerel of mine.

4 birds I had to put down: #1. Severe Brooder Aspergillosis, #2. Severe Sour Crop(Didn't know how long the bird was suffering with the condition was to late to treat)#3. Prolapsed constipated hen, that ended up getting fly strike, #4. Reoccurring Bumblefoot on a crippled hen. She had slipped tendon when she was a chick.

Deaths by another rooster: 1. Black Sumatra, & 1, Welsummer

Natural Deaths: 1 heart attack, 1 heat stroke.

I forgot I lost 2 one year due to Mycotoxicosis, from eating moldy feed. The first one died, & second I put down to end the suffering.

 

[MTKitty]

I have no issues with the coyotes.

Lucky. I’ve seen two, heard more, and found scat/tracks. The one I saw this spring was no more than 100 feet from my front yard. That was pre-chicken.

Once a stranger who wrung the neck of a favorite cockerel of mine.

Ugh. Monkeys.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Lucky. I’ve seen two, heard more, and found scat/tracks. The one I saw this spring was no more than 100 feet from my front yard. That was pre-chicken.


Ugh. Monkeys.

They wander the area, but never once went after the birds.

Yeah, I was really upset. It was almost Christmas when I found him dead.

 

[My Bagurks]

We have coyotes and fox. So I bury them far away from the coop area. They need to be a few feet down or they will be found inside a week.

 

[cherrynberry]

We have coyotes and fox. So I bury them far away from the coop area. They need to be a few feet down or they will be found inside a week.

Same. I bury them, but due to having one dug up before, I bury them with a stone slab on top.

The stone slab is reused after a while. I like to bury next to trees.

 

[gtaus]

My backyard chickens are not pets. If one got injured and died, I might butcher it for food. If a chicken dies from an unknown disease, then it gets buried into a compost pile.

I would not leave my dead chicken out to feed predators. I think that might encourage them to come back for the live ones in the chicken run/coop.

IIRC, I saw a YouTube where Joel Salatin feeds his old chickens that he culls to his hogs. He does not take the time, or effort, to process old laying hens. Makes more sense on his commercial farm to feed the hogs all those old, culled chickens.

If your chickens are pets, then I suppose a proper burial would not be out of the question. I like the idea of burying it in the garden where it's body can bring new life to plants and food in the future. But whatever brings you comfort at the passing of a pet is OK with me. Sorry for your loss.