Question about dead animals

CountryMom22 · #21 02/02/15, 06:59 PM

We have a wildlife refuge with wolves and they will take animals as long as they are fresh.
We also have a private individual who has a pack of wolf hybrid dogs that it has been rumored will take dead livestock, but only the smaller sized animals. Otherwise we just take them to the edge of the property and feed the fox and coons around here. And no, it has never caused a predator problem, so far!

DEKE01 · #22 02/02/15, 08:04 PM

If prions are your worry, read the link. It says a good hot compost pile is better than burial or burning. I compost lots of animals and have found a foot or two of wood chips is more than enough to block smells. Add enough manure to get a good C:N balance and you'll not be able to find anything of the carcass in 6 months.

http://www.decodedscience.com/fighti...mposting/46166

And here's another site which shows not perfect prion remediation in composted sheep, but shows that a good hot pile can do the job.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1636000/

Whisperwindkat · #23 02/03/15, 07:16 AM

Typically, dead stock is fed to the dogs. If too large for them then the cats and chickens eat too.

rambler · #24 02/03/15, 08:03 AM

Lot of rules real farmers are supposed to follow on this, guess the homesteaders can do whatever they want.

Here you can compost smaller animals, need to call the rendering works for bigger animals. But you need an approved composter building enclosure to do so, and they have laws that just about shut down all the rendering companies as well.

Technically burying is allowed, but restricted to needs to be so and so deep, but so and so many feet above the water table, which is one of those wink, wink deals - we say we allow it but no place in the entire county will ever meet the conditions we set up, so it is effectively banned.

I would of course compost them, but that is about all that is allowed here.

Paul

stickinthemud · #25 02/03/15, 08:25 AM

Recommendations for PA:
http://extension.psu.edu/animals/com...ing-guidelines

arabian knight · #26 02/03/15, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by highlands

1) Feed to dogs
2) Feed to chickens
3) Feed to compost pile

-Walter

And Eagles need to eat also. I dragged a 2 week old calf that died way out into the woods and fed those beautiful Eagles. There are about 2 around that I have seen, boy is that a sight to behold. LOL

DaleK · #27 02/03/15, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rambler

Lot of rules real farmers are supposed to follow on this, guess the homesteaders can do whatever they want.

Here you can compost smaller animals, need to call the rendering works for bigger animals. But you need an approved composter building enclosure to do so, and they have laws that just about shut down all the rendering companies as well.

Technically burying is allowed, but restricted to needs to be so and so deep, but so and so many feet above the water table, which is one of those wink, wink deals - we say we allow it but no place in the entire county will ever meet the conditions we set up, so it is effectively banned.

I would of course compost them, but that is about all that is allowed here.

Paul

Similar here, we can bury but you pretty much need a backhoe to make it legal. Can compost, need 2' of carbon material below the corpse and 1.5 above and away from slopes or water table. Limited incineration allowed for poultry, smaller pigs

MichaelZ · #28 02/03/15, 05:06 PM

Personally, I would bag them in a large black trash bag and take to the dump, as our ground is frozen.

GeneMO · #29 02/03/15, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rambler

Lot of rules real farmers are supposed to follow on this, guess the homesteaders can do whatever they want.

Here you can compost smaller animals, need to call the rendering works for bigger animals. But you need an approved composter building enclosure to do so, and they have laws that just about shut down all the rendering companies as well.

Technically burying is allowed, but restricted to needs to be so and so deep, but so and so many feet above the water table, which is one of those wink, wink deals - we say we allow it but no place in the entire county will ever meet the conditions we set up, so it is effectively banned.

I would of course compost them, but that is about all that is allowed here.

Paul

Dont believe we have such rules here unless you have a CAFO. Most small farmers would be exempt.

Gene

spur · #30 02/05/15, 10:59 AM

I would have to say it would depend on where you live , where your neighbors are and what you think about dead critters in general. My first thought would be to put them in a fence row away from my house and let nature take it's course, scavengers, and or natural decomposition. Next would be the compost route ( that is nearly the same as natural decomposition just accelerated by heat and more bacteria ).My absolute last option would be to bury anything. That is the most unnatural of all of the options weather you are talking about critters or people. More pollution is caused by people burying things than any other way of doing things. A very large portion of the most toxic chemicals would decompose if they were allowed exposure to the sun as opposed to being allowed to saturate into the earth. When something animal or vegetable reaches the end of it's cycle it is meant to fall down and be rendered useful as food for the next generation to continue. Exposure to sun, wind, rain and air does what is necessary for that process. When something is buried some of the natural components are shut out and the resulting mess is something nature isn't equipped to deal with ( this is what we chose to call pollution). I do realize that with the continual growth of the population that we can't deal with things that are always natural but we as 'homesteaders ' can do our part not to make things any worse that they already are. In my opinion the burying route says more about ' out of sight, out of mind' than what is proper. What say you? Off my soapbox let her rip.

motdaugrnds · #31 02/05/15, 02:16 PM

I place all dead carcases, as well as any parts I don't want to use for house and/or animals when slaughtering, into a raised bed. Then cover with about 4 ft of sawdust. Have also used pine shavings. One can cover the bed with chicken wire if need be; however, in my area I let the fowl take care of anything that comes to the top due to weather.

Forerunner · #32 02/06/15, 12:37 PM

*rolls up his left sleeve and digs into his favorite working compost pile (there are currently ten) about 14 inches deep, then holds his hand in there for about three seconds before withdrawing it quickly for obvious reasons ......letting out a slow, deep whistle in appreciation for the obvious power of thermophilic microbes.........walks back to the current project, chuckling out loud, then quips, "Microbial George and the clan be like, 'Prions be goooooood.......in bah-be-cue........ Thinks Ah'll have me some".

gila_dog · #33 02/07/15, 08:19 AM

How far to the nearest National Forest? I just take a dead goat or batch of chicken guts out there and leave it for the coyotes, ravens, and vultures. Not politically correct, but very easy. And it will take a lot of convincing to convince me that there's anything wrong with that. Every deer or elk that a hunter shoots leaves behind a gut pile and other odds and ends. Every critter that lives out there eventually dies and becomes scavenger food. The wild scavengers have been putting the dead to good use for millions of years.