When a Hen Passes...

[CoopBoots]

Does anyone cry? I did with Winston and assume I will when the other 5 eventually pass. They are just such fun and I love taking care of them...

Oh...and when you do bury them, do you just bury them "naked" or wrap them in a cloth or put them in a box?

Yes. I often do. *hugs*

I'm so sorry about your hen.

 

[CCsGarden]

Does anyone cry? I did with Winston and assume I will when the other 5 eventually pass. They are just such fun and I love taking care of them...

Oh...and when you do bury them, do you just bury them "naked" or wrap them in a cloth or put them in a box?

I did cry when my doves and first chicken passed. My brothers built a nice a wooden coffin for the doves.

 

[tlcmurphy]

Cry? Like a baby, they’re my pets. Folks I know don’t understand how I can eat fried chicken, but cry when my girls die.

That’s why I like BYC, you’re my people

 

[Anon112]

If they have any medication in their system, I do a cardboard box compost where I put them in a box in my garage with mulch and dirt above and below the body to give the compounds time to break down.

If they have nothing in their system I either bury them or, if it feels right, I sometimes put them in this clearing in the woods for the local foxes.

 

[Winston1]

Cry? Like a baby, they’re my pets. Folks I know don’t understand how I can eat fried chicken, but cry when my girls die.

That’s why I like BYC, you’re my people

OMG...me too! I'm making breaded chicken tenders tonight for dinner! Eh...unreal...

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you all for responding. I feel that the dumpster is so heartless. I do like "nuthatch" that you at least took some to the woods, if you have the time/light in your area...at least it would feed another animal in the wild. I also love the idea of burying them in the garden. They will become fertilizer and become a part of my beautiful garden, as they breakdown.

Their spirit is gone, just a empty shell now.
If I left the chicken in the pen, the others would have no problem eating it.

The act of burying livestock is a new phenomenon.

 

[Bsmac]

Does anyone cry? I did with Winston and assume I will when the other 5 eventually pass. They are just such fun and I love taking care of them...

Oh...and when you do bury them, do you just bury them "naked" or wrap them in a cloth or put them in a box?

I bury ours around the perimeter of our large garden. I bury them just as they lived. And yes I shed tears every time... All of our chickens know their names and will generally make a noise if you call them by name! Such big personalities! If I have to help them pass to keep them from needless suffering well... those bother me the most...

 

[RECKLESSTEEGAN2011]

I lost my roo, Mooney, early 2025 and it was sad as hell. (He always danced for me when I walked into his run.) My Grandad usually tosses them into the dumpster. We yeeted Mooney into the canal in our backyard.
Edit: We played "The Other Side," by Colton Dixon the funeral service

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I haven’t lost one of old age or disease where I live now but if I do I will do the same thing I do with raccoons or possums—take it to the top of the mountain and leave it for nature to dispose of as it sees fit. When I had suburban chickens burying them wasn’t an option so in the bin they went. Which was not ideal.

 

[alinas2010]

I’m very sorry for your loss. Chickens are some of the most cruelty treated animals on the planet, so the ones I raise I be sure to always give what they deserve; a nice burial to honor a life spent providing us with the enjoyment of raising them and the nourishment of their eggs.

My very special chickens that are near and dear to my heart I will get cremated just like we do our dogs. That way we can take them with us wherever we go. The cremations we get usually come with a clay paw print and a tuft of fur returned to us with the ashes in a nice urn. I suspect that the ones that contain our chickens would turn out just as beautiful with feathers and a cute little chicken foot print in a piece of clay.