The chicken graveyard

We have a chicken graveyard. There are probably about 6 chickens in it. Polly is buried by the Shed, everyone else is in the graveyard. Polly was the first one to die, she was a guinea. It was really cold out, the ground was frozen and that was the only place we could break through. 

About a year later when a rooster died we put him in the woods. After that we just put everyone beside him....and now we have a little chicken graveyard. Complete with flowers.

flowers blooming where the chickens are buried

We don't bury every single chicken that dies anymore, especially if it's winter. Sometimes you just can't get through the frozen ground. The ones we did bury though are all in the same basic area.

The chicken graveyard

Is that pushing it a bit? My mom gave me a pot of bulbs that were past bloom (as people often do with those of us that have unlimited amounts of planting space) and I put them next to Snowballs stone. They bloom a lovely purple color early in the spring each year.
Yes, the chickens get headstones when they die. They're not like etched or anything fancy like that, but there is a stone above where each chicken is buried. I started putting them there to let me know where not to dig...because digging in the wrong place in a chicken cemetery can be quite traumatic! It sort of evolved from there and now each chicken has their own stone. I have seen some cute chicken plaques online though, so I can't be the only one that buries their chickens!

The flowers bloom every year to remind me that Summer is coming. Unfortunately we need to dig there again. Pebbles just died. She was quite a few years old and died in her sleep. It's just a part of chicken keeping I suppose. Though this does bring me to the question: do you have a chicken graveyard too?

Related reading: Dealing with the death of a chicken.

~L

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8 comments:

  1. I don't think it's pushing it- I actually think it's very sweet and loving:)

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    1. Thank you! Sometimes I think I go a little too far, but many of our chickens are more like pets then livestock.

      ~L

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  2. I think that is wonderful. We have a graveyard of sorts as well and have stones arranged around it. It's in the woods so I haven't planted any flowers yet, but I think I should :)

    So sorry about Pebbles. Losing chickens is such a hard part of keeping them.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I think I want to pick up some bulbs for the new grave also. You should definitely plant some! It's a sweet reminder to see the splash of color in the woods.

      ~L

      Delete
  3. We had a graveyard when we started the farm. The first ducks to die went in there and even got headstones. But as the farm grew, and the accidents, injuries, and old age deaths with chicks, chickens, ducks, and guineas increased, we got tired of burying everything and the kids didn't need the kind of ceremony that entailed any more. So now we only have a graveyard for the dogs that have passed on from old age. And we have bulbs and perennials planted there, too. Kind of a nice reminder of the pets that have traveled through our lives with us. Stevie@ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com

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  4. We don't have chickens yet, but we have our pet graveyard in the back corner of our backyard. My son's hamster, who was almost four years old when she died, resides there. We also had to bury a kitten we very much cherished who died from distemper. I went to our local dollar store and bought two wooden crosses and put them on the fence above the graves. I think having animals is such an important part of growing up. They teach children responsibility and (usually) give back unconditional love, but most of all they teach compassion. I think some type of a memorial for our departed furry or feathered friends is so important for children to be involved, as the final lesson learned, of course, is that everything eventually dies. Not the happiest lesson, but one that must be learned nonetheless.

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  5. We have lost only one hen so far and someone told us that putting the carcass into the septic tank would help with the culture. I so wish that I had intervened and had my husband bury her in the bush instead. From now on I will create a lovely chicken cemetery like yours. And I think planting the bulbs is a very sweet idea.

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  6. 25 aug 2019 1:42 pm edt:
    >'We don't bury every single chicken that dies anymore, especially if it's winter. Sometimes you just can't get through the frozen ground. The ones we did bury though are all in the same basic area.'
    >'Yes, the chickens get headstones when they die. They're not like etched or anything fancy like that, but there is a stone above where each chicken is buried. I started putting them there to let me know where not to dig...because digging in the wrong place in a chicken cemetery can be quite traumatic! It sort of evolved from there and now each chicken has their own stone. I have seen some cute chicken plaques online though, so I can't be the only one that buries their chickens!
    >The flowers bloom every year to remind me that Summer is coming. Unfortunately we need to dig there again. Pebbles just died. She was quite a few years old and died in her sleep. It's just a part of chicken keeping I suppose. Though this does bring me to the question: do you have a chicken graveyard too?'

    (1)'If you want to become part of the earth, get a biodegradable casket, don’t be embalmed and pass on the vault (if you can find a
    green cemetery). If you go this route, it will probably only take your flesh 1 year to become grass, or flowers or a mud pie.
    Or, you could just be cremated. That’s the quickest way to become dust.'
    in https://www.calebwilde.com/2015/01/ten-things-about-human-decomposition/ from google(open casket burial decomposition)result 1

    (2)'When buried naturally - with no coffin or embalming - decomposition takes 8 to 12 years.
    Adding a coffin and/or embalming fluid can tack on additional years to the process, depending on the type of funerary box.'
    in https://www.ranker.com/list/how-long-does-it-take-a-body-to-decompose/erin-wisti from google(open casket burial decomposition)result 2

    maybe reg-wiggler-worm can recycle chicken-corpse to vermicompost, vermicompost is fertile-soil which grow plant.
    vermicompost-tips:http://wortel.ucoz.com/vermicompost.htm

    ReplyDelete