majuka Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 So sorry for your loss. RIP Daisy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandkymberley Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) Well, i am godsmacked, so many people bag and bin their hens? OMG! I couldnt do that, sorry but in my opinion it sick and very disgusting. When Cherry died we took her to the vets, it cost £7 to cremate her and her ashes were scatted by the pet cremation company. Feeding to wild cats - thats even worse (if thats possible) just my thoughts on the matter Edited August 2, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandkymberley Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 RIP Daisy may she live happliy in hen heaven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyChickenLover- Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Thankfully I haven't had a hen die yet, but all my other deceased pets get burried really deep. We bury them with a bit of sawdust and paper bedding that had been sprinkled with lavender oil to discuise the scent of the pet, and food (hamster mix, not anything a fox would like) inside a box tied with sisal (or ribbon, for the earlier ones, before I realised that ribbon would not decompose). When they're burried we sprinkle more lavender oil over the grave, then cover it with bricks for a couple of months so that the foxes can't dig it up. Sometimes we place flowers over the grave to further hide the scent. Sorry to hear about Daisy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Our two that have died we have buried, as will Cocoa when she goes, as they were our first three girls. After that, I'm afraid, we will have to bag and bin them as we just will not have the room in the garden. We already have 2 cats, 3 hamsters and two GALS buried there. Almsot pet cemetry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I have been thinking about this recently as I have 2 four and half year old girls.Over the years, we have had one disposed of by the vet, then the next one was PTS by vet then he said that disposal would be £35 on top so she was bagged and binned then we had one of our original Pepperpots who passed away peacefully and she went in the bin too. We have a fortnightly collection and food waste bins, mouse offerings from the cats now go into the food waste because it seems apropriate, but a large hen i am not so sure about, but it would seem more practical than putting her into the bin, because the waste is dealt with in a more hygenic way. Any views? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sage Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I lost a hen last week. She was double bagged & bined. We only started recyling food waste in our garden waste bin a few months ago and I was wondering about wrapping the hen in newspaper and putting her with the garden/food waste. The only problem was the bin is collected every other week where as the general waste is weekly. Sage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I think I probably wouldn't put a dead hen in with food waste. Am thinking that the feathers will be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I'm wondering if having the hens cremated has anything to do with all of the plums we have had this year This is the sixth year we have lived here and for five of those years our plum tree has produced about 20 - 25 plums. This year, after many cremations have been scattered around the tree, we must have had about 6 kg of plums, a complete record for this tree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy chick Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I think ashes have lost most of the nutrients when burned iykwim. But you never know Are your plums ready for picking mine are still green. I have only had 1 die so far but she was double bagged and binned. Within 2 days before bin men came there were maggots in there but maybe the bags weren't air tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 According to Defra cremations should only take place at licensed sites. Summat to do with garden bonfires not being hot enough to kill off any bugs adequately. Plus, the smell of burning feathers is hard to stomach apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I think ashes have lost most of the nutrients when burned iykwim. But you never know Are your plums ready for picking mine are still green. I wasn't sure if it was the hens or not, it just seemed strange that we have had so many this year compared to previous years. Mine are all off the tree now, the majority are in the saucepan just waiting to be turned into chutney and I have a few left in a bowl now. We waited ages for them to ripen and then they all ripened at one, hence vats of chutneys, jellys and butters to try and use them up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majuka Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 According to Defra cremations should only take place at licensed sites. Summat to do with garden bonfires not being hot enough to kill off any bugs adequately. Plus, the smell of burning feathers is hard to stomach apparently. People cremate their own pets? eeeugh, I can't imagine how bad that would smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I lost a hen last week. She was double bagged & bined. We only started recyling food waste in our garden waste bin a few months ago and I was wondering about wrapping the hen in newspaper and putting her with the garden/food waste. The only problem was the bin is collected every other week where as the general waste is weekly. Sage I have - briefly - considered this, as our 'green' bin takes food waste and garden waste, and it's collected weekly unlike the ordinary waste bin which is fortnightly. I don't think the feathers would be a problem. However, I couldn't face the real possibility that, as the bin was upended into the waste lorry ... I don't need to describe it, do I! I'd stick to double-bag-and-bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 ... I couldn't face the real possibility that, as the bin was upended into the waste lorry ... I hadn't thought of that aspect of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I thought about phoning our Council and asking the question " Where do you put a dead hen?" but couldn't face trying to explain it all...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyChickenLover- Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I'm wondering if having the hens cremated has anything to do with all of the plums we have had this year This is the sixth year we have lived here and for five of those years our plum tree has produced about 20 - 25 plums. This year, after many cremations have been scattered around the tree, we must have had about 6 kg of plums, a complete record for this tree! Something like this happened to me too When I lost Luna she was burried, and next spring some crocuses grew on her grave. We didn't plant them, and they had never appeared before, but they've shown up every year since. I like to think that Luna had something to do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reikiranf Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 We have a brown wheelie bin into which we can put garden waste & also raw & cooked food including meat, fish and bones, so my girls get well wrapped in newspaper & go in there The contents of the bin get heat treated to kill off bacteria & made into compost so I like to think that my dearly departed girls are doing their bit for the environment, for me it's a better option than burying them and encouraging foxes into the garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandkymberley Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 we attempted to cremate the other - not very well as it turned out. How and Why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Omletina Kyckling Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I double bag and bin too.....didn't want to start burying them when I have a tiny garden and then have to dispose of subsequent ones differently once I ran out of room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Rhode Island Red Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I bury the deceased Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickichicky Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 My vets charge £13.50 for them to be PTS & cremated (no ashes returned). But I have to admit to having been naughty & cremated 2 that died in their sleep... But I have a large metal crate as a bonfire & chock it with Pallets from work which burn really hot - so nothing is left. I also have no neighbours to smell anything untoward should there be anything - but I haven't noticed it with all the wood. I have buried our sadly lost cats and the odd Guinea pig round the garden, but wouldn't fancy it with chooks for the reasons above. Bagging them no doubt is the best option, but I would find it very hard & sad, especially if the collection was more than a couple of days away Vets is my preffered option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolly Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I must admit I'm a right softy and where possible, burial in the garden is my preferred option. Having said that, I had to leave one hen to be appropriately disposed of at the vet's after being PTS, as there was a foot of snow on the ground at the time. When we lost Lola recently, I spent an afternoon digging a suitably deep hole for her, which ended up being 4 foot deep, my husband was most impressed I'd managed it at all, as our ground is heavy clay, but I wanted to do the best for her and there was no way she was going to be at risk of being dug up on my watch! I know it's daft, but I still think of her as 'being in the garden' and it makes me feel better. But, as someone said earlier, once you've started down this route, it's difficult to use another method but I do realise that as time goes on this won't be practical space-wise. Everyone to their own I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingRamses Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 Thanks all for kind words, hopefully the foxes will not find her, now covered in roofing tiles as well!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foulbird Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 cremation at the vet for me but I did homecheck one couple for a dog and they put their chickens (we're talking serious money here) in a clearing in their woodland at the 'bottom' of their garden where the red kites took them. Wish we could all do that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
