One of our hens was acting strange one day, laying on the grass and leaning to one side. In the morning, we found her dead in one of the nesting boxes. We wondered what we should do to properly dispose of her remains and protect the other hens. Here is what we found are the most important steps:
- remove it from the other chickens
- examine for signs of trauma or other clues
- secure it in a brown paper grocery bag or equivalent
- dig a hole, preferably away from where dogs and other animals frequent
- sprinkle some lime in the burial site
- bury the chicken in the bag, don’t use a cardboard box (it will collapse over time)
- pack the dirt compactly on top
Remove it from the other chickens
Removing it from the coop and away from the other chickens is the first priority. Without knowing why she died, we had to stop the risk of spreading an infection to the others, even though it was probably too late.
We put on some nitrile gloves, like the kind you would find at a home improvement or auto parts store, before touching her. The last thing we wanted to do was bring in some bacteria or disease into the house on our hands.
Examine it for signs of trauma or other clues
Chicken are wonderful backyard pets, but they can also be quite aggressive. It’s not unusual for hens to attack each other to establish dominance. Look for evidence of injury around the head and neck. You may find swelling or injury around the comb, eyes
Other areas to check include the breast for firm muscle tone, the base of the feathers for signs of parasites and the vent for signs of bleeding or other unusual discharges. The vent is the combined opening for the intestinal, urinary, and reproductive tracts. You may find signs of lice or mites here.
If you do find something significant, the rest of your flock may be in danger. Treating and cleaning the coop, run and other areas accessible to the chickens may be the best defense.
Secure it in a brown paper grocery bag or equivalent
Depending on the time of year, location and weather conditions, you may need to dispose of the remains quickly. We don’t have extreme temperatures or predators nearby, so we ended up waiting a couple of days before the burial.
To keep it from attracting flies or other insects, we placed her body in a strong grocery store paper bag and kept her in the garage until we were ready. The paper bag serves two purposes; to keep it sealed and protected plus it provides a good wrapping when burying it.
Dig a hole, preferably away from where dogs and other animals frequent
We have very rocky soil, so this step is not easy. Using a post hole digger or shovel, dig a whole as wide as the paper bag and at least two feet deep. That should be deep enough to keep any odor from attracting animals who may dig it up.
If possible, consider a location that any dogs or other pets don’t frequent. Even wrapped in a bag and buried under two feet of dirt may not be enough to escape our dog’s keen sense of smell.
Your local regulations may restrict the burial of pets and other animals. It’s always best to check with your local authorities to be safe.
Sprinkle some lime in the burial site
Using lime helps by reducing odors from decomposition and can help the process move a little faster. Some recommend putting it below the body and others say to put it on top. Maybe doing both is a safe option.
The main thing is we wanted to have this burial be final. Finding it dug up or having odors coming from the grave were things we wanted to prevent.
Bury the chicken in the bag
We buried the hen in the paper bag to provide a little bit of stability and dignity. Tossing her in and piling dirt on her directly just seemed a bit painful, after all, she had a name.
I was going to use a cardboard box (like a little coffin) for the burial, but my wife reminded me that the box will also decompose and likely create a little sinkhole.
Pack the dirt compactly on top
Pack the dirt back on top of the bag tightly so that the chance of ground sinking is minimized. Over time, the bag will decompose as will the hen, but the ground should stay stable.
I packed it by stepping on it while refilling the hole with dirt. This little job should require any special tools. Your own body weight should be sufficient.
It’s been more than three months since that burial and we haven’t had any problems. We used an area in a large planter box that only has little decorative plants in it and has some fencing around it that discourages our dog from venturing around it.
We did lose two other hens, each about three weeks after the first, so there was likely something common about their deaths, but we never did find any evidence of the cause.
Common causes of chicken death
Without an actual examination by a veterinarian, it’s hard to know exactly when a chicken died. The most common causes are sudden death syndrome, heart attack, respiratory infections, parasites and trauma.
Sudden death syndrome
This unpredictable condition seems to strike without warning. Studies have been done to identify any behaviors in the hours or days before it happens, but there doesn’t seem to be any indicators. The sudden death often involves a short episode of distress and wing flapping followed by a final collapse.
Most of the time this isn’t witnessed by anyone. You just find the dead chicken in the coop or run with no outward signs of what caused it. With no known cause, there is no known preventive treatment.
Heart attack
Just like their human caretakers, chickens are commonly affected by heart attacks. This is another unpredictable event that you can’t do much to prevent.
A good, healthy diet with fresh water and clean conditions help prevent many problems for your chickens, but a heart attack may be more tied to genetics and less to your efforts.
Egg bound
This condition occurs when an egg gets stuck somewhere between the shell gland and the vent. It’s pretty much impossible to detect this until it’s too late. Chickens who are overweight, affected by parasites or have a poor diet are more susceptible to this tragic condition.
They literally die from being blocked up by an egg. Younger hens seem to experience this more than older hens, but watch out for the overweight condition. It seems to be the leading cause.
Parasites
This is a tough one to detect unless your chickens allow you to hold them and do a closer examination. Some parasites are external and easily seen by looking around the areas they prefer like the eyes, nose, mouth and vent. Small parasites like mites and ticks may be visible when you check these areas closely.
Internal parasites are a different story. They can come from a variety of sources. I suspect that the three hens we lost were due to internal parasites. The reason is that in the months prior, we had hung some birdhouses in the backyard. As the baby birds hatched, they loved finding bits of food left over from our chickens.
Little intruders
The baby birds were small enough to fly in between the chicken wire around the run and spent a lot of time near the chickens. It’s likely that they brought something into that environment that normally wouldn’t get in. There was probably a lot of their droppings in the dirt where our chickens were feeding.
The hens were only about four years old and for three to die so closely together, the little birds seem like good suspects. I have no proof, but we took extra steps to close all gaps which kept the baby birds out just to be safe. None of our other hens have had any problems since.
Emotional loss of a pet chicken
Hens are exactly like dogs or cats in their interaction with us humans. However, once you name them and see how their curiosity leads them to follow you around and investigate everything you’re doing, you get the sense that they are connecting.
When that hen that normally avoided getting caught and handled by you is now lifelessly in your hands, it’s hard not to feel sadness and loss. We don’t slaughter our chickens, so a full like is expected with good care and feeding.
There is also a certain amount of guilt associated with a death since you have nearly full control of their environment. If we had blocked out those little baby birds earlier, if we hadn’t put up the birdhouses… Who knows if it would have made a difference, but it’s hard not to feel some responsibility.
The process of burying the hen also brings a feeling of defeat. It was our job to keep them safe and healthy and we failed. Maybe we didn’t, but these are things that cross your mind. If a hen is supposed to live five to ten years and you lose three of them when they’re only four years old, the common element is you.
All we can do is move forward, learn from any mistakes we may have made and try to help the other chickens live a longer life.
