What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Tombull10]

Hi,

 

I have recently got my 3 ex batt girls who are coming along really well. I did loads and loads of research to feel armed with all the facts before i got them but i do have 1 last little (morbid) qustion.

 

What do you do with your girls when they die? I seem to remember reading they can't be buried. I'd hate the thought of 'binning' them. Do you have to take them to a vet to dispose of? Awful question i know but i like to be ready for any eventuality!

 

Thanks

[The Dogmother]

Welcome to the forum, and glad to hear that you have done plenty of research, but as you say, it's best to be prepared for every eventuality.

 

DEFRA says that we may not bury them in our gardens; they prefer that we bag them up and dispose of them in the wheeliebin

 

The other alternative is to take the carcass to the vet, where it will be incinerated.

 

Personally, I bury mine in a massively deep hole, which has a slab on top.

 

I hope that you get may years enjoyment from your girls

[Redwing]

Its a good question to ask so that you are prepared when the time comes

 

I double bag mine up and bin them, I know its a bit of an undignified disposal but it makes common sense for me

 

If it was a very special chook I might be tempted to bury it but as Claret says a deep hole is necessary (Mr Fox may dig them up otherwise)

 

You must not incinerate birds as per DEFRA guidelines

 

The other option is to take it to the vet to dispose of but there will be a charge (normally not very high)

[Griffin]

 

I double bag mine up and bin them, I know its a bit of an undignified disposal but it makes common sense for me

 

Same here, except I'll take them to the tip personally rather than leave them out for the dustmen because I'm worried my cats will tear open the bags. I paid £11 to have Catherine incinerated by the vets and that's not practical for the large amount of chooks I have so I doubt I'll do that again but she was our first to die.

[Egluntyne]

I double bag and bin them too.

 

You shouldn't incinerate them yourself either. If you prefer this method of disposal, it is best to ask the vet to do it. Garden incinerators don't get anywhere hot enough, and the smell and fumes would be totally noxious.

 

Good for you for rescuing ex-batts and for asking questions well in advance.

[Space Chick]

Same here, I did the double bag approach when I lost my Martha, the way I saw it, it was just her body, her sole had already gone to the Great Flock in the Sky

[Tutti Frutti]

I called DEFRA 2 days after Penny died. They said YES we can bury them - as long as they didn't die of anything on the "LIST OF NOTIFIABLE DISEASES"

 

(I had to ask what the list was although I wasn't lol'ling at the time, I was very upset. I could almost hear the lady on the phone "TUT" as she sighed and then said... bird flu, swine flu, anthrax "That kind of thing"). If you google it, you'll find it.

 

So it depends - if they die from old age then yes you can bury them (just make sure she's deep so a fox can;t dig her up). Or there are the other options as others have mentioned - double bag, ask a vet to cremate or go direct to a pet crematorium.

 

HTH. But hope you don't need this info for a VERY VERY long time...

Edited January 30, 2010 by Guest

[CrazyDaizy]

Take to the vet, and they can dispose of the bodies for you. We paid to have them cremated so we could scatter the ashes in the garden. It's a bit expensive (about £20-30) but it felt the best thing to do.