What to do after a chicken dies?

[Guinea Goonie]

The wife found a white silkie hen in the cows water tub. Looks like she got in there a drowned. I was sick, I hate animals having to die a unnecessary death. The farm sure does bring it share of death. Sometimes i just have to sit back and realize that this is what happens to animals no matter what you do to keep them happy, safe and healthy. It still hurts when one of my girls dies Roos are so busy being idiots they hardly ever get in trouble.

Any who, we put them in the empty feed bags and bury them. It keeps the animals from digging them up.

 

[Barn Maid Ann]

I have buried and re-buried the same hen over and over due to coyotes digging her up. And she died last winter (not this past, but LAST winter).
I am all for the burining ritual on the wooden altar.

This may be what we will do next time. The dumpster seems cold, but I'd resort to that if I had a lot of bodies to dispose of, I guess. And no doubt, there will be a next time. I have not had so many pet worries til I got the chickens. My dogs cats and horses are easy to turn over to the vet for their total health needs. But it seems like you are pretty much on your own with chickens.....

 

[vermontgal]

I don't have a place I can have a burning altar without putting my own house at risk... but I think I could rent a fireplace in the local park for a chicken roast (I mean char). I think the burning feathers will smell bad, though?

I might try burying her at a friends house come spring. For now she is well-sealed in the freezer, as there is no hope of burial right now. The snow pack is 2-5'.

I think I will keep a few of her feathers to remember her by. She had such a lovely golden mane - hence her name Liona.

 

[CityChook]

I'm really sorry to hear about your Liona. Darn it anyways. It hurts when our friends die and it feels a little silly to talk about it to others, but you're amongst friends here. I hope that it works out.

 

[bizzeeb60]

I was glad to see this topic when I signed on to BYC today. I found one of my hens dead yersterday. I am not sure what happened either. We had purchased 3 new laying hens the day before and other than "Hester" being queen of the roost asnd picking a bit of of fight, nothing elses seem wrong, they were all fine in the morning, in fact Hester who has been a little brroody lately was iun the nesting box as usual. When I went to give theri evening snack (scratch mix with fresh apple, raisins & dried cranberries) Hester was laying dead with her neck twisted and stuck under the edge of the fence. I am just not sure if she was fighting with one of the new hens, or if the Rooster got rougfh with her or if was something else. None of them has appeared to be ill and they were all fine this morning. Sad thing is she was my best layer of my original 5 hens.

 

[vermontgal]

Sorry to hear about Hester.

The head stuck under a fence makes me wonder about predators (which you might want to take precautions for the others). My pullet died entirely inside the coop; which is what makes me think it was a heart attack or another acute health problem.

 

[rooster0209]

i bury mine.

 

[bizzeeb60]

should have explained myself better about the head under the fence. Hester had scratched herself a little cubby against the coop fence and caused a little dip unmderneath it where she was stuck, not actually outside the coop but inside. As for predators, when we built the coop, we put chicken wire three feet out at the base of the coop, which is now fully overgrown by grass so that it cannot even be seen let a,olne penetrated by any predator and there is no space when anything can get to the chickens otherwise. That is what makes us think the Roo may have accidently caused her demise. The three new onnes appear to be adjusting well and the remaining hens and Roo seem to have accepted them.

 

[cmom]

I have a pet cemetery. When one of my animals die they get buried there. I bury them deep. I had either a dog or coyote dig one up once so now I make sure the hole is at least 3 feet deep.

 

[Imp]

Uh Oh!
Flashback to the Stephen King book.

Imp- Stephen King even said it was too creepy.