Need help on disposal of a old cow

[mbdexter]

Hello Everbody


I am sure that this question has been asked a few times but when I came home from work I found my first dead cow, It looks like I lost her some time during the night. Everything looked fine when I checked them last night. The one that I lost was an old cow that should probably have been shipped this fall but cull prices are in the toilet where I live. The sad part is She was the first cow that I have ever owned. I know that if you have livestock you are always going to lose some this is the first cow out of my small herd that I have lost.

Now my problem is what to do with the frozen body. The ground is totaly frozen so burial is not an option at this time. Our local dump does not accept dead livestock. I live in an area with a lot of neighbors and a lot of dogs.

I know that there are people who have to deal with this every year looking for advice.

My first idea was to try to burn the body next spring?

 

[1848]

A sack of lime sprinkled over her may keep the dogs off for now. Just keeping stacking some old limbs on her until you can burn her (neighbors might be able to help with some type of fuel) Old tires work well and burn real hot...just allot of black smoke. If you have a tractor and burying is not an option then at least lift her up enough to get some tires under her. Soak her with deisel before you like it off. Make sure the wind is blowing away from any residence...or straight up. If she freezes solid (not sure about your weather extremes) there is always a way you can remover piece by piece...a chainsaw, but I wouldn't recommend the following unless you absolutely had to get her moved and she was frozen solid.

 

[CKC1586]

Do you have a woods you can drag her into? Let nature dispose of her?

 

[dun]

If there are any dairys in the area ask them if there is a dead stock removal company, and if not, what they do with their dead animals.
I had to shoot a 400 lb calf this morning and she is too big to just haul to the back for the scavnegers and too small to eat. I called the knackers and they'll be out in the morning, cost 20 bucks.

 

[mbdexter]

Hello

Thanks for the replays so far,

The area where I live is pretty wide open, There is some bush but it is not on land that I own and I don't thoink that the neighbors wou;ld like a dead cow left there.

I live in canada and the company that used to some pick up dead cattle does not that any more I think. That is tomorrows job.

I own a tractor with a loader so moving the body is not a problem it was just gettimg rid of it is the issue,

With the weather that we are having I know she is frozen solid.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

scavengers/mineral cycle for me - usually drag 'em to a hill so they can find 'em easy (and hill tops need the soil enhancement more than low spots)

 

[bgm]

Around here there's a rendering truck that will haul them off. Costs $60. I wish it was the $20 Dun was talking about. I've seen lots drug back into ditches and left. Or if you want to go to an extreme you might check this out. I found it bizzare and interesting.

http://tammi.tamu.edu/carcasscompostasae032263b.pdf

 

[mbangus]

if you live in canada you should know the rulees by now
- brain scoop there's 75.00 bucks in it for you
- get a premit form cfia to move srm unless she on your home 1/4
- compost the body in sask or mb other provinces have dead stock drop off areas
obey the rules and we wont be back to situation we were in

 

[Brandi2005]

If there are any dairys in the area ask them if there is a dead stock removal company, and if not, what they do with their dead animals.
I had to shoot a 400 lb calf this morning and she is too big to just haul to the back for the scavnegers and too small to eat. I called the knackers and they'll be out in the morning, cost 20 bucks.

Just curious...why did you have to shoot a calf?

 

[dun]

If there are any dairys in the area ask them if there is a dead stock removal company, and if not, what they do with their dead animals.
I had to shoot a 400 lb calf this morning and she is too big to just haul to the back for the scavnegers and too small to eat. I called the knackers and they'll be out in the morning, cost 20 bucks.

Just curious...why did you have to shoot a calf?

Severly broken leg. Pictures are in the htread of Milkmaids about pictures of injurys/maladys

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Around here there's a rendering truck that will haul them off. Costs $60. I wish it was the $20 Dun was talking about. I've seen lots drug back into ditches and left. Or if you want to go to an extreme you might check this out. I found it bizzare and interesting.

http://tammi.tamu.edu/carcasscompostasae032263b.pdf

Interesting article thanks - I love to poke dead things with a stick.

 

[rockridgecattle]

mbangus :clap:

We just had this problem. Did the BSE test, Husband cut off two hind quarters for the dogs...dog food real expensive, gives them something to do in the cold winter and called a guy if he wanted timber wolf bait.
CFIA allows movement off the home quarter without permit if:
Your land is across the road and you do not have to go down the road. Do not dispose in the pasture.

 

[Carnivore]

I had to shoot a 400 lb calf this morning and she is too big to just haul to the back for the scavnegers and too small to eat.

Huh? it seems to me that would be pretty good eaten. No, you won't more than 80 pounds of meat or so, but it should be tender.

 

[Avalon]

My son made me keep his firts show heifer till she died. She was 15 yrs old (hip problems). Tried talking him into cashing in all summer. Wouldnt do it. Naturally she went into the stock tank to die. Of course he was away at school when we had to pull her out. We just drug her into a bottom land pasture. I think it took about 4 weeks for the scavengers to clean things up. We just call the place "the bone yard".

 

[dun]

I had to shoot a 400 lb calf this morning and she is too big to just haul to the back for the scavnegers and too small to eat.

Huh? it seems to me that would be pretty good eaten. No, you won't more than 80 pounds of meat or so, but it should be tender.

We had just put a whole steer in the freezer a week or so ago. I also think the meat would be pretty strong coming from an animal that was in tremendous pain.

 

[Limomike]

I would not eat one that has been stressed like that either.
Dun, 20 bucks is cheap to get someone to come out after a dead animal. Around here they charge 60 bucks. they used to PAY us to come get an animal, so now.. I just drag them off into the woods, and bury them.

 

[dun]

I would not eat one that has been stressed like that either.
Dun, 20 bucks is cheap to get someone to come out after a dead animal. Around here they charge 60 bucks. they used to PAY us to come get an animal, so now.. I just drag them off into the woods, and bury them.

It's a regular route around the area that they make apparently. They won;t take anything that's been dead more 2 days or so, a little longer in the winter. Last year they only charged 10 bucks but like everything else, the price has gone up. Wasn;t all that long ago that they would pay to get them, then it went to picking them up and no money changed hands, and now we have to pay them. It's followed the same pattern as the pick ups at the slaughter places. They used to pay us to pick up the fat and waste from butchering, now they have to pay them.

 

[hrbelgians]

Here is a tip that might work for you!!???
Take a small dump truck load of green (wet and not kiln dried) sawdust and cover her up. In 6 weeks it is nearly all dissolved. I would not believe it, however have seen it with my own eyes!!
Good Luck.

 

[grannysoo]

We never have the freezing solid problem here. We drag them to an area of woodlands behind our pasture and they are basically gone within 3 days. You'll only find some bones and hide left after that.

 

[donnaIL]

I had to shoot a 400 lb calf this morning and she is too big to just haul to the back for the scavnegers and too small to eat.

Huh? it seems to me that would be pretty good eaten. No, you won't more than 80 pounds of meat or so, but it should be tender.

We had just put a whole steer in the freezer a week or so ago. I also think the meat would be pretty strong coming from an animal that was in tremendous pain.

We are eating the heifer thats leg was broke a couple months ago..ofcourse she was about 16 months and it was approx. 300lbs meat. She was not a dark cutter and the steaks and stew meat are quite good...what I don't like is she was not fattened and so the meat is very lean...almost have to spray the pan with pam to cook a hamburger.

sorry for you loss mbdaxter. donna