What do you do with your chickens when they die?

[trainman]

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.

 

[rsmith1109]

You should really bury them. Do you have a pet cemetery in your area?

Please explain why they should be buried. Thanks

 

[ceegeeque]

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!

We have chickens, goats and horses. We always bury our chickens, we have and newborn goatlings (premature) not survive and they are buried too. I had a much loved rescued Percheron and he is also buried here. We hired a back hoe guy recommended by our vet my

 

[Poultrybonkers]

If they mean something I bury them if not I yeet them

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

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.

Wow, I am so sorry to hear that. That is awful.

 

[Coop-de-coop]

Please explain why they should be buried. Thanks

Oh any number of reasons-sentiment, practicality, returning the deceased right back to nature.

Living in a rural area I take my deceased birds to a remote area far from home, dogs, livestock. I cover them up with whatever is at hand, thank them, and bid them RIP.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

We have chickens, goats and horses. We always bury our chickens, we have and newborn goatlings (premature) not survive and they are buried too. I had a much loved rescued Percheron and he is also buried here. We hired a back hoe guy recommended by our vet my

I saw about to say ..holy cow! Percheron's are not small. I am jealous you have horses. I love them. They are beautiful animals. I have some goats too..strictly pets. I have learned animals are much nicer and do hurt you as much as people so that what I lot of my time is spent with.

 

[8CityChicks]

Mine also are pets so I bury them side by side at least 2 feet deep in the chicken yard where they spent most of their time. Since I have a lot of trees and roots I bought an electric auger which is perfect for drilling the holes and use a set of snips for roots. Always wrap mine in a paper bag to avid having to throw dirt directly on them. One day when someone else owns the property they will think we practiced voodoo with so many chicken bones in the ground. In 8 years I've lost ten to age and hawks and one to a fox. I have a mixed age flock of 10 so more losses to age are probably not far off.

 

[KauaiChickenMama]

The coop has a simple latch, instead of a combo lock, so it's easy access. Planning on changing the lock.

Plus, we weren't there when it happened, thinking it was sometime early in the morning when it was dark. It was also snowing really hard, so any tracks would have been covered up.


Found my Big Boy laying in the middle of the coop, neck feathers ruffled up forward towards his face, & legs stretched out.
I recognized that from the times I had to put birds down, using the cervical dislocation method.

Someone actually walked on to your property and did that??? Wow, that makes me want to install cameras.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Someone actually walked on to your property and did that??? Wow, that makes me want to install cameras.

I would if I had the time.